Infatuated with the city, Mann expresses his desire never to leave by alluding to the sinking of the city and asserting that he'll go down with it: "And if Venice is sinking/Then I'm going under".
Infatuated with the city, Mann expresses his desire never to leave by referring to the city's sinking and stating that he'll go down with it: "And if Venice is subsiding/Then I'm going under".