Lullaby Of Broadway

The song presents Broadway as a lively place that stays awake long after ordinary bedtime. Its “lullaby” is not a quiet tune meant to send children to sleep, but the city’s noises and nightlife. The mood is playful and energetic, then gently settles as the night ends and people finally head home to rest.

Several images make this contrast clear. The subway’s rumble, taxis’ rattle, and the lively entertainment are treated as a kind of music. “Hip hooray and ballyhoo” suggests noisy celebration and excitement. The “Broadway babies” are not necessarily literal children: the phrase seems to mean people who belong to Broadway’s late-night world. Calling the milkman as a sign that it is time to sleep shows how late the night has become.

The song affectionately turns a busy city into a parent rocking a baby, even though the “baby” may be an adult enjoying the clubs and crowds. The lyrics also hint that the nightlife can blur into exhaustion: things become “hazy,” and one person goes home to sleep all day. The tone is cheerful rather than critical, but the repeated bedtime language carries a small irony: Broadway’s lullaby is made from the very noise that keeps people awake.