Music

How a big British band created an anthem for New York

When it comes to the title of ultimate New York City anthem, Jay Z and even Frank Sinatra have now got competition from 3,000 miles away in the form of Elbow — an indie-rock band from Manchester, England.

Since forming in 1997, Elbow have steadily become an arena-filling attraction in the UK, and performed at the Olympics closing ceremony in 2012. But last year, during writing sessions for their sixth album, “The Take Off and Landing of Everything,” singer Guy Garvey decamped to New York for several weeks to find inspiration, and the city didn’t fail him. “What struck me was the sense of community in New York that’s born of being a tough city to live in, but one that everyone’s really proud of,” he tells The Post.

His observations were channeled into the album’s gloriously uplifting, standout track, “New York Morning,” which will be a big moment during their show at Webster Hall on Friday. When the train is late again and you’ve nearly been flattened by commuters, fire up this song. Here are Garvey’s explanations and inspirations for the song’s key lyrics.

“Oh my god, New York can talk/Somewhere in all that talk is all the answers.”

Garvey says: “I noticed an argument can flare up very quickly in New York, but it can dissipate very quickly and people move on with their day. Similarly, every time I’ve asked someone for help, advice or directions, in New York, I’ve got it.”

“Everybody owns the big ideas/And it feels like there’s a big one round the corner.”

“Imagine being a New Yorker and knowing that your great-grandfather helped put windows in the Empire State Building — knowing that you’re part of something so iconic through your heritage,” Garvey says. “To me, those people are just as important as the architects who designed New York.”

“It’s the modern Rome and folk are nice to Yoko.”

“I’ve always felt a sense of national guilt over the way the British press chased [out] John Lennon and Yoko Ono with openly racist headlines,” the singer explains. “In John’s last press conference before moving to America, he told them as much. New Yorkers still celebrate them. Yoko wrote me a lovely letter confirming that when she heard the song.”