Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah and Suzanne

[pinto]

Caught a piece about Cohen on PBS after the convention stuff. Hadn't heard his songs/poetry for years. Thought these two may be a good fit here. His references are intensely personal I think; sexual, religious and personal. Pointedly, beautifully poetic and so challenging.

~ pinto

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[Warpy]

1. Religious allusions in poetry

and in visual arts are why I suggest everybody read the bible cover to cover at some point. It is the mythic basis of western culture and even if you're not a believer, should be read as literature.

The bible study workbooks that confine believers to Genesis, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Paul do them a terrible disservice.

[chollybocker]

2. Saint Leonard.

Draws thousands of worshippers wherever he wanders.

He's about as close as it gets.

[Heddi]

3. Suzanne has one of my favorite sets of words in music

"and Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water, and he spent a long time watching from his lonely wooden tower. And when he knew for certain only drowning men could see him, he said 'all men shall be sailors then until the sea shall free them.' But he himself was broken long before the sky would open. Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone"


that song reminds me of 10th grade...

[Petrushka]

4. Early this year, The New Yorker published a poem by Cohen, including the audio.

Follow the printed poem while listening to the audio and notice the differences in some of the wording:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2012/01/23/120123po_poem_cohen


BTW: His new album---"Old Ideas"---came out in late January; and I bought it a month or so ago along with a couple of his books.

[GliderGuider]

5. I remember

In the fall of 1968 I was in first year at McGill. I remember walking beside the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, looking at 'the garbage and the flowers' and singing "Suzanne". It's one of my most treasured memories.

My wife grew up in Montreal and was there at the same time, though we never met. We just listened to this video with misty eyes.

Thank you for posting this.