Well, I thought a lot about the meaning of this song, and my conclusion is it has very little to do with terrorism, unless you call the music of Britney Spears and her kind terrorism (and I must admit I'm inclined to).
To me this is a song about a guy who's realized he can't run from his destiny, and his true calling is music and poetry:
"They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within"
Singer/songwriter ignored by the know-it-alls. Could even be he's talking about Bob Dylan or probably himself.
"I'm coming now I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He's back, he's better, and he's ready now (which he also states later on in the song).
"I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin"
It's his destiny. He was born into this world to change it through his art.
"I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
Music is his weapon. Today his country, tomorrow the world!
"I'd really like to live beside you, baby
I love your body and your spirit and your clothes
But you see that line there moving through the station?
I told you I told you I told you I was one of those"
He'd like to settle down, but life on the road is his way. He doesn't have the mind of a settler, husband, whatever.
"You loved me as a loser
But now you're worried that I just might win
You know the way to stop me
But you don't have the discipline"
He's starting to get recognized. She knows that this means he'll be on the road even more often, and it's easy to stop him by giving him an ultimatum, but she feels it's not right.
"How many nights I prayed for this: to let my work begin
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He's practiced, he knows what people want, he knows what he wants, and so it all begins. Finally the masses will hear his message.
"I don't like your fashion business, mister
And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin
I don't like what happened to your system
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He doesn't care much for the pop industry where image is everything.
"And thank you for those items that you sent me
The monkey and the plywood violin"
From "mere" poetry to song lyrics/music. He has certainly developed a lot.
"I practiced every night and now I'm ready
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
As said before, he's ready to spread the word.
"Remember me, I used to live for music
Remember me, I brought your groceries in"
He tried to be a regular man in the street, but it's not his way. He used to live in his own little musical world, and now he's come out into the real one.
"It's Father's Day and everybody's wounded
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He'd like to stay at home, but it's really not his way. He has to follow his calling.
Well, there you have it - my interpretation of this excellent song. I apologize if my thoughts are hard to follow sometimes, but after all I am Norwegian. ;)
I arrived at the same basic interpretation, in a different way.
I arrived at the same basic interpretation, in a different way.
For me the key was thinking about those two targets: Manhattan and Berlin. Why those two? It makes the most sense, if they can somehow be seen as iconic twins. In which way could they be seen as twins? It is rather obvious: They were the two foremost centres of radical artistic innovation back in the 1980s. So for the artist, they were twin citadels to conquer. They do not really pair well in any other sense. If the idea was to attack political power centres, it would be Washington, rather than Manhattan. And it would certainly not be Berlin back in the 1980s. If the idea was anti-capitalist, Manhattan would make sense, but the pairing would be with London, not Berlin. If it was something about Holocaust, as some suggest, Berlin would make sense, but Manhattan would seem an odd target.
So for me, these lyrics are about the artists drive for conquest inside the world of human creativity. Re-reading the lyrics from this perspective immediately allowed several dots to join. The detailed interpretation by crazypoet filled in the rest of the picture for me.
What then about Cohen's own statement that this is about "terrorism"? Well, see whom he mentions as his preeminent terrorists: Jesus, Marx, Einstein. This is about the terror of radical creativity, not bombs. Cohen would be right in the sense that e.g. Einstein's dissolution of space and time stroke terror much more deeply in human minds, than any number of misguided bomb-men can do. The same could be said for shocks arising from 20th century innovations in art and music, which again and again made large numbers of people feel deeply disturbed.
Well, I thought a lot about the meaning of this song, and my conclusion is it has very little to do with terrorism, unless you call the music of Britney Spears and her kind terrorism (and I must admit I'm inclined to).
To me this is a song about a guy who's realized he can't run from his destiny, and his true calling is music and poetry:
"They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom For trying to change the system from within"
Singer/songwriter ignored by the know-it-alls. Could even be he's talking about Bob Dylan or probably himself.
"I'm coming now I'm coming to reward them First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He's back, he's better, and he's ready now (which he also states later on in the song).
"I'm guided by a signal in the heavens I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin"
It's his destiny. He was born into this world to change it through his art.
"I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
Music is his weapon. Today his country, tomorrow the world!
"I'd really like to live beside you, baby I love your body and your spirit and your clothes But you see that line there moving through the station? I told you I told you I told you I was one of those"
He'd like to settle down, but life on the road is his way. He doesn't have the mind of a settler, husband, whatever.
"You loved me as a loser But now you're worried that I just might win You know the way to stop me But you don't have the discipline"
He's starting to get recognized. She knows that this means he'll be on the road even more often, and it's easy to stop him by giving him an ultimatum, but she feels it's not right.
"How many nights I prayed for this: to let my work begin First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He's practiced, he knows what people want, he knows what he wants, and so it all begins. Finally the masses will hear his message.
"I don't like your fashion business, mister And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin I don't like what happened to your system First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He doesn't care much for the pop industry where image is everything.
"And thank you for those items that you sent me The monkey and the plywood violin"
From "mere" poetry to song lyrics/music. He has certainly developed a lot.
"I practiced every night and now I'm ready First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
As said before, he's ready to spread the word.
"Remember me, I used to live for music Remember me, I brought your groceries in"
He tried to be a regular man in the street, but it's not his way. He used to live in his own little musical world, and now he's come out into the real one.
"It's Father's Day and everybody's wounded First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"
He'd like to stay at home, but it's really not his way. He has to follow his calling.
Well, there you have it - my interpretation of this excellent song. I apologize if my thoughts are hard to follow sometimes, but after all I am Norwegian. ;)
Don't know if you're still around this site, but your interpretation seems spot on.
Don't know if you're still around this site, but your interpretation seems spot on.
Yours is very accurate and artistic interpretation. I would interpret it in the same way.
Yours is very accurate and artistic interpretation. I would interpret it in the same way.
I arrived at the same basic interpretation, in a different way.
I arrived at the same basic interpretation, in a different way.
For me the key was thinking about those two targets: Manhattan and Berlin. Why those two? It makes the most sense, if they can somehow be seen as iconic twins. In which way could they be seen as twins? It is rather obvious: They were the two foremost centres of radical artistic innovation back in the 1980s. So for the artist, they were twin citadels to conquer. They do not really pair well in any other sense. If the idea was to attack political power centres, it would be Washington, rather than Manhattan. And it would certainly not be Berlin back in the 1980s. If the idea was anti-capitalist, Manhattan would make sense, but the pairing would be with London, not Berlin. If it was something about Holocaust, as some suggest, Berlin would make sense, but Manhattan would seem an odd target.
So for me, these lyrics are about the artists drive for conquest inside the world of human creativity. Re-reading the lyrics from this perspective immediately allowed several dots to join. The detailed interpretation by crazypoet filled in the rest of the picture for me.
What then about Cohen's own statement that this is about "terrorism"? Well, see whom he mentions as his preeminent terrorists: Jesus, Marx, Einstein. This is about the terror of radical creativity, not bombs. Cohen would be right in the sense that e.g. Einstein's dissolution of space and time stroke terror much more deeply in human minds, than any number of misguided bomb-men can do. The same could be said for shocks arising from 20th century innovations in art and music, which again and again made large numbers of people feel deeply disturbed.
From Denmark 10 points go to Norway ...
@Peter_Helby Thank you, Denmark! And thanks for the thorough explanation of Manhattan/Berlin, which is indeed very interesting!
@Peter_Helby Thank you, Denmark! And thanks for the thorough explanation of Manhattan/Berlin, which is indeed very interesting!