First we take manhattan

Canadian journalist Gwynn Dyer suggested that the song is related to the narcissism and naivety of the West German Red Army Faction , which focuses more on radical chic than on real politics (lines “First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin”, rus. First we take [ capture] Manhattan , then we will take Berlin ). ^[1] The First We Take Manhattan was probably written by Cohen, inspired by the 1986 Red Army Faction terrorist attacks in West Berlin . The performer himself, without naming specific facts or events, confirmed that the song is his reaction to terrorism. In an interview, he admitted that he was impressed by the position of the terrorists, which does not allow for excuses and compromises, although he does not approve of when it appears in the case. “Our terrorists, Jesus , Freud , Marx , Einstein . The whole world is still shuddering. ” ^[2]

The composition was first recorded by Jennifer Warns on the 1987 tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen , which consists of nine songs by Leonard, two of which had not been released by then (one of them was “First We Take Manhattan”) . In 1986, at the annual Grammy Awards , album producer Roscoe Beck (who became one of the producers of Your Your Man Cohen a year later) invited his longtime friend Stevie Ray Vaughan to record guitar parts in First We Take Manhattan. The guitarist arrived at the studio without an instrument and Beck lent him one of his old Fender Stratocaster . ^[3] Vaughan completed his work at about 4 a.m. After the release of the album on the composition, a video appeared filmed in New York by clip maker Paula Walker. In it, Stevie Ray Vaughan plays his Number One guitar while standing on the Brooklyn Bridge , while Jennifer Warnes walks around the city and meets Leonard Cohen. ^[four]

Cohen presented his own version of “First We Take Manhattan” (with two additional verses), on the 1988 album I'm Your Man . The recording of the Canadian artist is dominated by the awakening rhythms of synthesizers and drum machines . ^{[5] A} friend of Leonard Dominique Issermann, who works in the field of photography, shot a black and white video for the song (you can see it with Cohen in a scene on the seashore). ^[6] During a tour in support of I'm Your Man, the musician usually performed a slightly modified version of “First We Take Manhattan,” which was influenced by funky music. The live version of the song can be seen in the BBC documentary “Songs from The Life Of Leonard Cohen”, originally aired on British television and subsequently released on videotape . ^[7] Cohen continued to perform such a version of "First We Take Manhattan" on tour in 1993, 2008 and 2009.

• The first cover of "First We Take Manhattan" was recorded by American band REM on a tribute to Leonard Cohen I'm Your Fan . This version also appeared as a b-side in some editions of the 1992 single REM single “Drive”. ^[eight]
• Spanish flamenco singer Enrique Morente translated Cohen's song into his native language and created a new arrangement using Spanish guitars and drums. His version, simply named "Manhattan", was featured on the 1996 Omega album. ^[9]
• Joe Cocker recorded his version of “First We Take Manhattan” on the 1999 album No Ordinary World . ^[ten]
• Norwegian gothic metal band Sirenia presented their cover of “First We Take Manhattan” on the 2004 mini-album Sirenian Shores .
• Warren Zivon , referring to Cohen as one of his favorite authors, performed a hard rock version of the song during the tour in support of his album Mr. Bad Example . ^[eleven]
• Boris Grebenshchikov sang “First We Take Manhattan”, one of his favorite songs, in 2005. This entry can be found on the collection of demos Imported songs . ^[12]
• Vasily K. in 2002 on the album "My Cohen" ^[13] recorded a creative adaptation of "Manhattan and Berlin." ^[14]
• Alexander F. Sklyar at concerts performs the Russian-language cover “Manhattan-Berlin” by Tomsk poet Andrei Olear ^[15] .

• First We Take Manhattan on Leonard Cohen's Official Site