Leonard Cohen, whose song, Suzanne, was the source of my daughter's middle name, sings to my heart, especially now that his voice has gotten older, less perfect, more moving.
I have nothing to say today that is worth sharing, except that I hope you enjoy his songs. Two more.
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Cohen had this to say about the song in the third to last link above:
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"'Dance Me To The End Of Love' ... it's curious how songs begin because the origin of the song, every song, has a kind of grain or seed that somebody hands you or the world hands you and that's why the process is so mysterious about writing a song. But that came from just hearing or reading or knowing that in the death camps, beside the crematoria, in certain of the death camps, a string quartet was pressed into performance while this horror was going on, those were the people whose fate was this horror also. And they would be playing classical music while their fellow prisoners were being killed and burnt.
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So, that music, "Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin," meaning the beauty there of being the consummation of life, the end of this existence and of the passionate element in that consummation.
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But, it is the same language that we use for surrender to the beloved, so that the song -- it's not important that anybody knows the genesis of it, because if the language comes from that passionate resource, it will be able to embrace all passionate activity."
14 comments:
One of my favorite verses from Leonard Cohen comes from a song called Anthem:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
Much love to you this autumn morning.
Susan:
I'll look for that on YouTube.
He's coming to Philadephia later this month. I'd love to go, but the price of a ticket (and you have to buy two!) would help heat my house for three weeks, so I'm going to stay home. YouTube isn't as good as being there, but it will do for now.
Much love to you, too, friend.
:)
I love that photo- -so precious! Leonard Cohen's poetic lyrics have always appealed to me.
Deedee: I was about 6 months old in that photo. My mother told me the snowsuit was red wool. She had bundled me up, as mothers are wont to do, and propped me up against the garage wall. We were in North Carolina and the snowfall was extraordinarily deep for the area.
Cohen is a remakable poet/lyricist, in my opinion. It is good to find others like his songs, too.
:)
Leonard Cohen is a favorite around Spadoville. We just recorded the London performance that was shown on Public TV. Great stuff. The song Hallelujah is one that mesmerizes me. The word itself, spiritual and maybe bordering on religious. The song, I can't describe, but certainly not religious for me.
Peace.
Good morning, Joe:
I think it is the cadence of the music that gets to me with Halleluja, and others of his songs. Feels like a heartbeat.
Martha
I also love Cohen's Anthem.... it has such a sweet sting.
nice visit with Leonard... thanks
Watched him on the telly in London a month or so again. Tears streaming down my face all the way through, largely unexpected.
Harlequin:
I like how you described it - "a sweet sting." Yes.
:)
Lucy:
His sing has a similar effect on me, and I have no explanation, either.
My sister said the first time she had a deep-tissue massage, she wept the entire time. Not from pain, but because something deep inside her soul responded to the massage, completely unexpected, and there was an emotional release. Maybe that's what happens when we hear his voice, his words?
:)
(O)
Leonard Cohen is a gift to us all. We should all be graced with an afternoon of coffee and fire with Cohen. It should be mandated. I think the world might be a more beautiful place.
xo
erin
OH, and have you ever seen Antony do Cohen's If it be your will? It was live in concert. Oh.my.god. Antony's imperfect being, his torn shirt, his rejected masculinity, his unfinished gestures - all of it married with Cohen's poetry, ohmygod, it's so beautiful. The first time I saw it I was almost horrified and then I softened. Youtube it. It's so worth the watching. Going to go and watch it again myself. It's been months.
xo
erin
Yes. His voice has improved over the years. I often listen to him when I'm in my studio.
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