A Lonely Christmas in New York Quiz

Answer: Paints

Another winter song that mentions Manhattan is "Violets for Your Furs" written by composer Matt Dennis and lyricist Tom Adair, where the reference occurs in the verse:

"It was winter in Manhattan, falling snowflakes filled the air
The ground was covered with a film of ice
When a little simple magic that I heard about somewhere
Changed the weather all around, just within a trice"

Answer: Christmas

Another Christmas favorite that mentions traffic lights or stop lights is Ray Evans and Jay Livingston's "Silver Bells:

"Strings of streetlights, even stop lights, blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush home with their treasures
Hear the snow crunch, see the kids bunch, this is Santa's big scene"

Answer: No

The line should read: "But my spirit doesn't seem so bright now".

Answer: Windows

Another Christmas favorite that mentions windows is "The Christmas Waltz", written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne:

"Frosted windowpanes, candles gleaming inside
Painted candy canes on the tree"

Answer: Listen

A number of seasonal songs make reference to singing seasonal songs. The most beloved of these is doubtless Mel Tormé and Bob Wells' "The Christmas Song":

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a quire
And folks dressed up like Eskimos"

Answer: Tender

The beloved Christmas carol "Silent Night" includes the word 'tender':

"Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin mother and child
Holy infant, so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace"

Answer: Fifth Avenue

Another holiday song that mentions Fifth Ave. is Irving Berlin's "Easter Parade":

"On the avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure"

The rotogravure is the color magazine or supplement of a Sunday newspaper.

Answer: Cry

In general, songs that include the verb 'to cry' use it in its sense of 'to weep' or 'to wail' as in "Away in a Manger":

"The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes"

Here, though, 'cry' is used in the sense 'to call' or 'to exclaim'.

Answer: Happy

The title track of Robert Goulet's 1963 Christmas Album is Antony Velona's "This Christmas I Spend with You".

Answer: No

On the record, the sax takes the bulk of what would be another A section, with Neil coming in with the closing line, "A lonely Christmas in New York".

Answer: In Central Park

Another song that mentions Central Park is Vernon Duke's "Autumn in New York":

"Lovers that bless the dark
On benches in Central Park
Greet autumn in New York
It's good to live it again"

Answer: St Patrick's

This is the only song I've come across that mentions St. Patrick's. St. Paul's Cathedral in London is the setting for the Sherman Brothers' "Feed the Birds":

Early each day, to the steps of St. Paul's
The little old bird woman comes
In her own special way to the people she calls,
'Come, buy my bags full of crumbs

'Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do
The young ones are hungry, their nests are so bare
All it takes is tuppence from you'"

Answer: Pretending

Pretending isn't always a bad thing; to whit "Pretend" written by Cliff Parman, Dan Belloc, Frank La Vere and Lew Douglas

"Pretend you're happy when you're blue
It isn't very hard to do
And you'll find happiness without an end
Whenever you pretend"

But the speaker in "A Lonely Christmas in New York" reluctantly concludes that pretending won't solve his problems.

Answer: It's just a

Neil has written other New York songs; namely, "New York City Blues", "Alone in New York in the Rain" and "Brighton", referring to Brighton Beach Brooklyn, where he grew up.

Though I haven't made a scientific survey, my guess is that there are more songs about or mentioning New York than any other city in the world. Among those that spring immediately to mind are "Manhattan Serenade", "New York City Rhythm", "Spanish Harlem", "New York, New York", "Sunday in New York" and "Brooklyn Blues". There are countless others.

Answer: The Miracle of Christmas

As of December 2020, Neil's most recent album is "I Do It for Applause", issued in 2016; but, he is far from retired. Up until the start of the Covid 19 outbreak in the U.S., he maintained a busy concert schedule as well as hosting a monthly program, "In the Key of Neil", on Sirius XM's 50s on 5 channel. Though in person performances had to be curtailed during the pandemic, the radio show went on, as did his work as an entertainer. Throughout 2020, he presented a "Daily Mini-concert" every weekday on social media platforms.

He also remains active giving interviews and making appearances on radio and streaming video programs.