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First We Take Manhattan

from Quality Items by Eric Blowtorch and the Inflammables

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    14 years' hard labor by a cast of dozens went into Milwaukee's first triple album, Quality Items by Eric Blowtorch and the Inflammables.
    "Like Sandinista!, the longer you live with it, the more you discover, and deeper you find your love for it." -Steve Shafer, The Duff Guide to Ska

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  • Full Digital Discography

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    releases

    Get all 27 Eric Blowtorch releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Been So Down, Bluegrass Kas, Too Many Dues, Quality Items, Groping in the Dark, Straight to Hell, Most Dangerous Man, Salt Water, and 19 more. , and , .

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lyrics

First We Take Manhattan (L. Cohen, arr. E. Beaumont/M. Koch)

They sentenced me to 20 years of boredom
for trying to change the system from within
I’m coming now, I’m coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I don’t like your fashion business, mister
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 that’s moving through the station?
I told you, I told you, I told you that I was one of those

I’m guided by a signal in the heavens
I’m guided by the birthmark on our skin
I’m guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

You loved me as a loser; will you love me if I win?
You know the way to stop me, but you don’t have the discipline
How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

credits

from Quality Items, released May 21, 2022
E.B.: vocal, rhythm guitar, piano
Dan Flynn: lead guitar
Liz Ramirez: clarinet
Eric Jacobson: trumpet
Dave Cusma: trombone
Juli Wood: tenor saxophone
Andy Noble: upright bass
Michael Koch: drumkit, vocal

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Eric Blowtorch Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Singer/guitarist/songwriter Eric Blowtorch sings, plays, and writes reggae, ska, rocksteady, soul, rock 'n' roll, funk, Latin, disco, hip-hop, Anglo-Afropop, and jazz songs with rhythm, melody, passion, and original comic timing. E. B. plays solo, in small combos, and with a band, Eric Blowtorch and the Bodyguards. ... more

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