In another interview, Bono elaborated further on the song's theme of "mid-life crisis": "There used to be a verse at the end about Frank Sinatra, because if I was going to be singing about New York, New York, I felt like I should.
ɪn ɐnˈʌðɚɹ ˈɪntɚvjˌuː, bˈoʊnoʊ ᵻlˈæbɚɹˌeɪɾᵻd fˈɜːðɚɹ ɔnðə sˈɔŋz θˈiːm ʌv "mˈɪdlˈaɪf kɹˈaɪsɪs": "ðɛɹ jˈuːzd təbi ɐ vˈɜːs æt ðɪ ˈɛnd ɐbˌaʊt fɹˈæŋk sɪnˈɑːtɹə, bɪkˈʌz ɪf aɪ wʌz ɡˌoʊɪŋ təbi sˈɪŋɪŋ ɐbˌaʊt nˈuː jˈɔːɹk, nˈuː jˈɔːɹk, aɪ fˈɛlt lˈaɪk aɪ ʃˈʊd.