We all have had that one pivotal decision; an alternate reality we only visit when we feel nostalgic. Audra Watt, who’s based in Nashville, wrote the song about a decision she made when she was just 18: staying in Tennessee for college instead of moving to New York City. That single choice changed everything — her career, her family, and the person she became. “Here in New York” is her way of revisiting that moment, wondering what might have been while still feeling grateful for what is.
This is not just a song about a City, it’s a profound, open hearted meditation on Choices, memories and Gratitude. Some songs don’t just tell a story, they feel like one.
At the beginning of the song, the sound of real New York traffic fades in, car horns, the hum of the city, and you can almost see the skyline rising above you. This immediately puts you in the feeling of what she’s singing about. The song’s production which was led by Andrew King at Vibe King Studio is so detailed and beautiful. King’s layering of instrumentation especially the work with the acoustic guitarist Sol Philcox creates a lush soundscape while a spontaneous, electric guitar riff in the instrumental break was so good they adapted the vocal bridge to match it. That’s beyond production, that’s letting the song live.
Audra’s voice carried a type of charm that makes you listen closely. There’s a wonder in her voice that can’t be missed. She lets every lyric speak for itself and the warmth around her voice is enough to make you believe every word.
Audra’s curiosity is one reason this song resonates deeply. Her lyric paints a vivid picture of a life that could have been. “The song is about the space between the choices we make and the lives we imagine, a song for the what if’s that stay with us wherever we go”
Her voice is gentle, grounded and intensely wistful, singing about fire escapes and subway noises as if they were personal myths. You can tell that she’s grateful for her present life (community and family) but she still honors the ghost of the 18 year old who dreamed under the New York skyline.
Here in New York is specific to Audra Watt’s journey and it is a gorgeous piece of songwriting that somewhat still feels universal and relatable. It reminds us that every place we visit reflects the paths we choose and the paths we left behind.
The song paints New York not just as a place, but as a symbol — a version of life that still lives somewhere in Audra’s imagination. She writes about that “other self” with tenderness, not regret. It’s a rare kind of emotional honesty, the kind that doesn’t need to pick sides between what could have been and what is.
As the song closes, the sound of the city fades back in. You feel like you’ve walked a few blocks through someone else’s memory — maybe even your own. It’s a soft landing for a song that spends its time suspended between two worlds.
“Here in New York” isn’t just a single, it’s a snapshot of a life moment that still glows years later. It’s about standing on one path while imagining another, about how our choices become both our foundation and our question mark.
Audra has written a song that reminds us that every choice we make leaves behind a shadow of the life we didn’t choose. “Here in New York” captures that feeling perfectly: wistful, grateful, and beautifully human.
If you love story-driven songwriting and warm, indie-inspired soundscapes, this is a song you’ll want to play more than once.
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