The line "So Good They Named It Twice" is a play on the fact the name of the city and state are both "New York". "New York, New York" (as it is sometimes simply called) was the first hit for Kenny after a number of non-charting singles in the United States.

New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists in approximately 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653.

It was named after Holland's largest city by Dutch settlers in 1624. New Amsterdam was the capital of New Netherland, where the Dutch were very involved with the fur trade. In 1664, the English took over New Amsterdam and renamed it New York after the Duke of York.