I'm Your Man Tabs:
- First We Take Manhattan »
- Everybody Knows
- I'm Your Man
- Tower Of Song
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To: jamesb@nevada.edu
Subject: CRD: FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN - Leonard Cohen
>From ttgssa@eua.ericsson.se (Stefan Svala)
FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN (Leonard Cohen)
Dm Am
They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
Dm Am
For trying to change the system from within
Dm Am
I'm coming now I'm coming to reward them
G F E Am
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
Dm Am
I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
Dm Am
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin
Dm Am
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
G F E Am
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
C G F
I'd really like to live beside you, baby
C Am
I love your body and your spirit and your clothes
C Am
But you see that line there moving through the station
G F E Am
I told you I told you I told you I was one of those
Dm Am
You loved me as a loser but now your worried that I just might win
Dm Am
You know the way to stop me but you don't have the discipline
Dm Am
How many nights I prayed for this: to let my work begin
G F E Am
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
Dm Am
I don't like your fashion business, mister
Dm Am
I don't like these drugs that keep you thin
Dm Am
I don't like what happened to your sister
G F E Am
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin (chorus)
Dm Am
And I thank you for those items that you sent me
Dm Am
The monkey end the plywood violin
Dm Am
I practiced every night and now I'm ready
G F E Am
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
Dm Am
Remember me, I used to live for music
Dm Am
Remember me, I brought your groceries in
Dm Am
It's Father's Day and everybody's wounded
G F E Am
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
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No Picture
Tyler Average |
#1 by Tyler Hutchison at Oct 1, 2007 at 9:24 PM EST |
| This one was a powerful comeback hit, not least on the airwaves. I was in college at the time, doing an exchange year in France, and remember hearing it on the radio night after night the winter of '88-'89, myself deep over my books. The lyrics semed strangely foreboding, but in just one or two years, they'd sound prophetic. Lines such as "Do you see the line there, moving thru that station" or "You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline" seemed to have presaged the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet union. In fact, the lurics are somewhere mid-80s i think. Jennifer Warnes' powerful version came out in '86. Both versions are very strong, but different; the futuristic synth beat of the "I'm Your Man" take fits the song like a glove. | |
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No Picture
Randy Wanna Be |
#2 by Randy Burden at Oct 4, 2007 at 6:36 PM EST |
| I always thought that this song was somehow about terrorism, though it's really hard to say for sure. I think it's because the Jennifer Warnes version starts with a sample of a news reporter who says (in German): "Regarding the assassins resposible for the attack on the German-Arabian Society in Berlin, the police have made some progress..." before being drowned out by the instrumental intro. | |
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No Picture
nick Wanna Be |
#3 by nick at Oct 6, 2007 at 3:13 PM EST |
| I think it means exactly what it says. It's a terrorist song. Yeah it is. | |
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No Picture
James Average |
#4 by James Newsome at Oct 8, 2007 at 8:06 AM EST |
| one of you hit the nail on the head...leonard predicted 9:11... read the song over again and you`ll see it.its about a terrorist leading up to his big day his time to shine | |
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No Picture
bobby Rhythm Player |
#5 by bobby volm at Oct 10, 2007 at 7:07 AM EST |
| Perhaps there is a social or political entity; perhaps simply an abstract emotional representaion on it's way from past subjection to some sort of comeback. Someone has every intention and plans on making alot of wealth and power out of the crumbs tossed to them in the past. The weapons may include music, since the first-person also alludes to thanking someone for a cheap violin. The monkey? Perhaps some kind fo cross to bear, like the figurative 'monkey on the back'. That could drive the art; this weapon that will be the eventual reprisal for all past grievances. This tune was covered also by R.E.M. on a tribute album to Cohen called "I'm Your Fan". Highly recommended. These covers led me to his work and are nice. I agree that there is an omenous overtone, though hard to pinpoint. On early listens to the track, I heard the reference to a (birth) mark on the skin. This made me think of the numeric tatoos from the Nazi prison camps. The "line" moving through the station also made me think of WWII era transit by train. (or cattlecar!) , possibly of prisoners, which fed my mental imaginings of the speaker being a survivor or descendant of the holocaust. Not likely what Cohen had in mind, but I mention it to broaden the field of speculation. Besides, it leaves no room for the 'drugs that make you thin', the 'fashion business', or multitude of other mentions that still hang as merely free poetry in my mind. The extension of that line of interpretation would be that those persecuted in that era and in that place seek their power base in America (Manhattan) and proceed forward slowly to their ultimate goal of striking back at the political center that spawned their oppression so many years ago (Berlin). Perhaps the weapons might include art, money, and influence. Again, nothing in the rest of the song bolsters this angle, it's just one that kept creeping into my mind on listening. Lenny, where are ya? Tell us what'cha had in mind! :) -phase | |
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No Picture
chris Wanna Be |
#6 by chris calle at Oct 11, 2007 at 10:01 AM EST |
| Well it's not quite so simple if you read the lyrics.... Not quite terrorism but revolution, quite a different concept. "Take" implies "by force of arms" and actually holding it, not just damaging/destroying/killing. The narrator is a revolutionary who couldn't change the system from within so he'll do it from without, with the help of "we" -whomever they may be, but judging by the backup singers' lines, his supporters are devoted. My take is that the song is writeen about a future, corrupt, world-government (as Manhattan and Berlin have little connection outside of being major cities), and the narrator is going to overthrow it, or at least try to. And that line about the monkey and the plywood violin? Well perhaps our narrator's just crazy. Typical of a Leonar Cohen song, there's litte in the way of solid interperitation... | |
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No Picture
nathan Average |
#7 by nathan skidmore at Oct 11, 2007 at 11:53 PM EST |
| I think the words are cooler than the actual song, but its still rockin | |
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No Picture
Joe Average |
#8 by Joe Blurton at Oct 16, 2007 at 3:04 PM EST |
| one of you hit the nail on the head...leonard predicted 9:11... read the song over again and you`ll see it.its about a terrorist leading up to his big day his time to shine | |
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No Picture
Andrew Rhythm Player |
#9 by Andrew Clayton at Oct 17, 2007 at 4:26 PM EST |
| Though the "modern" arrangement and production of the time gives this song a cheesy veneer, it's still pretty cool. The music alone gives me visuals of Jim and William Reed riding a convertible at night, looking like Miami Vice but still retaining their Psychocandy-era haircuts. I guess the lyrics are about fascism (or so i've read somewhere). | |
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