And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin
I don't like what happened to my sister
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
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, told you, I was one of those
And I thank you for those items that you sent me
The monkey and the plywood violin
I practiced every night, now I'm ready
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
(I am guided)
Ah remember me, I used to live for music (baby)
Remember me, I brought your groceries in (ooh baby yeah)
Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded (baby)
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
Eventually, he knows he’ll drift away from his initial goals and ideals, like he drifted away from being a common man. More likely than not, he will make compromises and turn into something different in order to “take” the world. 
 In an exhortation to those who he has, and will, leave behind, he asks them to remember simpler times, where he was idealistic enough to live for music by its own sake. 

First We Take Manhattan