Every time I hear on the radio the new Alicia Keyes/Jay-Z song, “Empire State of Mind,” I (mis)hear Keyes’s lines as her voice enters the song. To me, it sounds like:
In New York…
I’ve become a wintry tomato
There’s nothing you can’t do…
Play the video, and listen for the line starting at 0:56. Do you hear what I hear?
In the car today I asked Lydia, “What is she actually singing there?”
Lydia replied, “Something about dreams.”
“Dreams?” I queried. “Dreams?! Where do you hear that?” I sang to Lydia my tomato line.
Lydia smiled. “I think I prefer yours, Mom.”
For the record, this is what Keyes sings. Lydia is right.
In New York…
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothing you can’t do…
You pick what you like: wintry tomatoes, or concrete jungle dreams. I’ll stick with what grows on the vine.
leaf stitch word 
To say that I adore you is an understatement! đŸ™‚
I’m *your* wintry tomato, honey. đŸ˜‰
I don’t know, but I heard “wintry tomatoes”, too. I heard it, my daughter heard it, and my friend heard it…and I’ve been asking around…what the heck is a wintry tomato??
Mary, how affirming! Thanks for writing. Since I told my two daughters the line, they’ve been singing it my way, and my teenage son has reported it to his friends. “Wintry tomato” is ringing through this house.
Perhaps we will start a trend.
But “Concrete jungle where dreams are made of” is not grammatical! đŸ™‚
And my syntax is more pleasing, too, right?
I have thought this so often that I actually Googled “wintry tomato” and “Jay-Z” and was taken to your site. I’m so glad i’m not the only one!
Too funny; I thought the same thing and had to Google.
lol … i just googled “i’ll become your wintry tomato” and came across your page. i knew those lyrics couldn’t be right … what the heck is a wintry tomato anyways? you’re not alone in (mis)hearing the song that way
I still hear wintry tomato until I read the lyrics while the song is going on….I asked my friend, and she actually googled it and sent me your site.
I hear “I become your wintry tomato!”
Love it!
I googled the phrase “I’ve become a wintry tomato” and found this. I guess I’m not the only one who hears it.
My daughter and I have also had the “wintry tomato” discussion for months and so I finally googled (like so many before me) the phrase and found this affirmation. And yes, I’m sticking with the off-season, urban, patio-farming lyric.
I googled the term “wintry tomato” after hearing the song and came across your blog. I believe that “wintry tomato” is a bit like “big apple”, and should be used an endearing reference to New York City.
I like that idea. In fact, perhaps NYC in its maturity is more a wintry tomato and no longer the big apple.
I thought it was wintry tomato as well .. It sounds so much like that o.O
HA! and all my friends thought i was nuts! well, i mean more than usual lol
Karin, you are in good company. MANY people hear “wintry tomato.”