Nietzsche once remarked that life would be “aimless” (a confused “getting lost”) without music. There are many instances of musical performance that attest to the accuracy of this insight, and among these one must certainly count the music of Leonard Cohen. I can hardly imagine that fans of the man who “was born with the gift of a golden voice” (as he sings in The Tower of Song) would be among his musical followers without being aware that, unlike so many popular singers (including groups), his music is as unsentimental as it is deeply moving.
When I had the privilege to see a full recording of his 2008 (17 July) concert at the O2 Arena in London — beautifully filmed, into the bargain, showing many little events onstage and backstage that reflect the character of this extraordinary singer — I was reminded of several things. Foremost among these is the almost inexplicable power of music, which, of all the arts, probably has the capacity to move human beings more deeply than any of the others, with the possible exception of tragedy — which, according to Nietzsche, was born from the “spirit of music”, anyway — and, of course, cinema, which combines music with other artforms, as in this recording, which even the small screen of television cannot hide.
At the time of the concert Cohen was already 73-years-old, and although his voice has become more gravelly bass since he first appeared on the music scene four decades ago, he is still as capable as ever of captivating his audience. And with supporting singers like Sharon Robinson (a long-time creative collaborator of his) and the “sublime Webb sisters”, as he referred to them, the concert was (is, in recorded form) a feast for music lovers.
It is not only Cohen’s inimitable voice that is crucial to his musical charm — although Schopenhauer would argue that this is the true musical element — his lyrics are usually sheer poetry, and speak of keen, if often melancholic, insight into the vagaries of human life. And even if they are mostly love songs, they do not reduce love to monodimensional sentimentalism: the lyrics intertwine desire, ecstasy, tenderness, loss and pain in a manner that persuades the listener that the one who wrote these songs is no stranger to love won and lost. Consider these words from Take this Waltz (apparently inspired by Lorca):
Now in Vienna there are ten pretty women.
There’s a shoulder where death comes to cry.
There’s a lobby with nine hundred windows.
There’s a tree where the doves go to die.
There’s a piece that was torn from the morning,
And it hangs in the Gallery of Frost —
Ay, ay ay ay
Take this waltz, take this waltz,
Take this waltz with the clamp on its jaws.
The countervailing meanings conjured up by these metaphoric juxtapositions go to the heart of what poetry is. To move from the allusion to beautiful women (regardless of the incongruously limiting number) to a hint that even death itself may sometimes need consolation (an intended “measure”, no doubt, of the degree of suffering in the world), that a “place” destined for dying is not altogether absurd (as early human communities knew), and that a time of day has a distinctiveness and concreteness which can be torn and preserved, like an artwork, under suitably cryonic conditions, is to weave a spell with words that transports one beyond the logic of the everyday, and simultaneously bathes it in a transforming and redeeming light.
At this stage of the song/poem one might expect it to continue, like a painting, to elaborate in various lyrical shades and hues on some of the other interstitial cultural and experiential spaces of the famed city of Vienna, the city of Freud, Hundertwasser, Wittgenstein, Loos and Klimt, but the very next stanza intimates that this is a love song, appropriately so, given the fact that it is a waltz — and a wonderful one for dancing, into the bargain (ask me, I know …):
I want you, I want you, I want you
on a chair with a dead magazine.
In the cave at the tip of the lily,
in some hallway where love’s never been.
On a bed where the moon has been sweating,
In a cry filled with footsteps and sand –
Ay, ay ay ay
Take this waltz, take this waltz,
take its broken waist in your hand.
What is it to desire someone burdened with a “dead magazine”? In the very least, it is to state one’s wish for nothing that would distract one from the erotic intentions at hand. But poetry cannot be reduced to single meanings — its raison d’être is, after all, to push the multivocality of language to its limits (in contrast to science, which pulls in the opposite direction). Hence, the “cave at the tip of the lily”, conjures up images of the beauty of the female sexual organs (often depicted in the shape of flowers, like orchids) as well as of wild, exotic spaces for a romantic tryst, and so on, and on …
But for me the most poetic stanza of this poem/song is the last one, which poignantly captures, in many overlapping nuances, the mesmerizing quality of (feminine?) beauty (and of music and dance itself), as well as the nostalgia (etymologically: “mental pain”) that inevitably follows love lost:
And I’ll dance with you in Vienna,
I’ll be wearing a river’s disguise.
The hyacinth wild on my shoulder
my mouth on the dew of your thighs.
And I’ll bury my soul in a scrapbook,
with the photographs there and the moss.
And I’ll yield to the flood of your beauty,
my cheap violin and my cross.
And you’ll carry me down on your dancing
to the pools that you lift on your wrist –
O my love, o my love
Take this waltz, take this waltz,
it’s yours now. It’s all that there is.
One could offer interpretations of many more of his songs or poems, but here this will have to suffice. I suppose that one cannot expect that someone who has been lauded for both his musical as well as his literary achievements should be compared to run-of-the-mill singers (and comparisons are odious, anyway); suffice it to say that wailing voices repetitively trotting out “And I swear … “, or its pop equivalents, fade into insignificance next to the music of Leonard Cohen.
Lest I have given the impression that his music may be exhaustively subsumed under the heading of “love songs”, let me hasten to point out that many of his songs dwell satirically on social and political themes, including The Future, Democracy, First we take Manhattan (a “musical” revolutionary’s song) and Everybody knows. Moreover, the quality of his musical composition as well as his voice is such that it reinforces the linguistic meaning of his songs — even, miraculously, when his voice is present only in spectral form, as on the album Blue Alert, which he co-wrote with jazz singer and romantic partner Anjani Thomas, who sings the songs as if Leonard has somehow insinuated himself into the seductive timbre of her voice.
Among the many cover versions of his songs (Hallelujah being a particular favourite) by Jeff Buckley, Kate Voegele and others, I should single out one — Jennifer Warnes’s (Jenny sings Lenny) album of Cohen songs entitled Famous Blue Raincoat, which, because it is sung in a distinctive feminine voice, allows new musical meaning to emerge. Which is just as well: one could become chronically melancholic if you only listen to Leonard, whose bleak, but excruciatingly beautiful album, Ten New Songs (that bears the stamp of fellow composer and singer Sharon Robinson’s influence), could induce suicidal feelings in some aficionados.
One should not overlook the fact that his music has found its way into film as well, such as Altman’s McCabe and Mrs Miller, and the “teen revolutionary film”, Pump up the Volume, which features, appropriately, the satirical song, Everybody Knows.
As for myself, in my own life I rank the music of Leonard Cohen with that of Bob Dylan, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Gershwin, the Beatles, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart, just to mention some of my favourites. And even if, because I am not exempt from the very human pain induced by lost love, my eyes involuntarily fill with tears when I listen to Alexandra Leaving (a song rooted, ironically, in a Greek poem concerning abandonment by God), this is no reason to stop listening to Leonard Cohen. One should not economize on one’s awareness of human finitude and fallibility.
Beautiful
A fitting tribute, though I would qualify that while his voice has wonderful qualities and is well suited to his lyrics, it is not the music itself that makes his work special – the music is very simple, plain and unadventurous. I always felt that he is a poet using musical delivery as a vehicle for his poetry, and to give us his voice.
For that reason, except for Dylan I can’t rank Leonard Cohen with those you named – they gave us music, while Cohen used the music to give us poetry – I would have to rank him separately (though definitely on an equal level).
A wonderful, moving and most deserving tribute to a true maestro of the heart , mind and soul who has made such a great cultural and inspirational mark particularly on our generation, but also over the last five generations. Music over the last 3 decades has largely played a commercial tune and with a few exceptions has been pretty uninspiring. Cohen will always be a diamond. He leaves an indelible mark. Thanks Bert.
sorry…. ‘last five decades’….not generations (whoops)
As a long time fan of the great Leonard Cohen myself, I thank you most sincerely for this beautifully written piece.
I find that simply listening to his words and music inspire me to greater creativity. It is comforting to know that one is not alone in appreciating his wonderful verbal and musical skills.
I committed these lines of his to memory, and quote them here for no particular reason
“Ring the bells that still can ring,
Forget your perfect offering,
There is a crack in everything,
That’s how the light gets in.”
With apologies to Leonard Cohen, or a variation on ‘as the mist leaves no scar’:
When contact too close and too prolonged
Did not lead to a dark accusation
Instead to an ashamed indifference
Wondering if, ‘as the mist leaves no scar
On the dark green hill, so my body
Leaves no scar on you, nor ever will’
Then, unable to answer an unvoiced accusation
I condemn you, my friend, to self-immolation.
On second thoughts I prefer the Leonard Cohen original – less dark and depressing – (which Leonard Cohen is sometimes seen as although much of his recent work has lighter notes – his earlier work was the bleakest) – please delete my previous post editor! Not in Leonard Cohen’s league unfortunately …
Leonard Cohen’s works are essentially the searching of a human heart for God. I don’t see how there can be any other interpretation of Hallelujah.
And even if it all goes wrong
I will stand before the Lord of SOng
With nothing on my lips but Hallelujah.
Or Our Lady of the Harbor.
She is a real Madonna that overlooks Montreal Harbor.
Well worth a visit for any Leonard Cohen fan
Thanks Bert. Whipped out my CD’s and listening again for the first time in ages.
Nobody says it like LC. Here are some lines from just one of his songs, The Future:
“Take the only tree that is left,
stuff it up the hole in your culture.”
Says everything there is to says about deforestation in two lines.
Darkness of the human condition, the need to dictate, the need for control:
“Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me baby
Thats an order!”
Anarchy:
“And now the wheels of heaven stop
You feel the devil’s riding crop
I’ve seen the future baby
it is murder”
Our violent nature, our propensity to condemn as a group and the tribal, sycophantic mob:
You’ll see a woman
hanging upside down
Her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the little poets
coming round
trying to sound like Charlie Manson
A man who is brutally honest about who and what we are and who has the courage to hold up that mirror to us. Maximum respek Mr Cohen.
I always thought my Dad was crazy to like Leonard Cohen’s singing, until I started listening – really listening – to him. Then I got hooked too.
Excellent article. That too is my favourite verse of ‘Take this Waltz’ and I buried my ‘soul in a scrapbook’ of Leonard’s lyrics a few years a go now
Havelock – You make a good point, and in a sense I have to agree, namely that, compared to the ‘mathematically’ intricate music of Bach, or the ‘adventurous’ (to use your word) lyricism of Mozart’s music, Cohen’s seems simple and straightforward. So far I agree. But you also mention the qualities of his voice, and it is precisely this, I believe, that imparts something musically valuable, even unique, to his music as a whole. I had this in mind when I referred to Jennifer Warnes’s rendition of his songs – she has a wonderful voice, but it contrasts so graphically with Cohen’s that one realizes just how much his distinctive voice is indispensable for ‘his’ music. (Which can, of course, be sung by others – have you heard Michael Buble, pronounced ‘Bubliee’ – if I remember his name correctly – sing ‘I’m your Man’? A wonderful rendition, but not Leonard Cohen’s).
T. Watkins – Thank you for reminding me of those poetic lines. They are among those sung in his London concert.
Mark – Nothing wrong in allowing someone else to trigger some creativity in oneself! Cohen does it, too, and so did Shakespeare.
Thanks Bert. Was at a concert of his in Canada last year – mesmerizing. How about these bitter-sweet lines:
Thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes.
I thought it was there,
For good.
So I never tried.
Grant – Thank you for focusing on what I really neglected saying. Cohen is certainly no stranger to the worse/worst side of the human condition. But neither does he fail to acknowledge the good, joyful side. In his own way he has been very ‘political’, like giving his support to the efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians together in a new spirit of mutual understanding.
Lovely, thanks Bert – and all the comments too. I’m also a diehard Dylan fan, but the older I get the more I appreciate Cohen’s lack of finger-pointing – he’s as tough on himself (tougher)as he is on the subjects of his love and yearnings. Dylan’s ‘love’ lyrics (especially the early songs)have a certain coldness and small-minded meanness that definitely lend the songs their edginess(‘How does it feel’…)but dont come near the soul of Cohen’s love lyrics.
I had to stop and put on Bach’s Hunt Cantata’s just to find if I am missing something here. (Cohen is indelibly etched in memory like a bad horror movie or nails-on-blackboard sounds). If one take a record of Bach’s and play frisbee with the dog, then subject it to various chemical tests and afterwards play it on a cheap Chinese stereo to a tone-deaf person, he would perhaps find it comparable to Leonard Cohen’s hyper emotional, unmusical music, even though he would still be able to hear snatches of the wonderfully intricate, crisp, clear, unwasteful phrases of Bach’s music through the scratches. I will agree that Cohen is the poetic master of depression and suicide accompaniment but music? No, really, that is like comparing Mr Malema with Mr Mandela, they are both dark but there the similarity stops.
Dear Bert
Your commentary moved me to tears, as has Cohen himself. What an uplifting piece on a bare and uninspiring Monday morning. Is the concert out on CD and DVD?. What is the name? Our usual outlets’ paltry collections will probably not include this.
One of my favourite verses is
‘Baby lets get married
We’ve been alone too long
Let’s be alone together
Let’s see if we’re that strong’
I’m not sure of the title of the song.
Thanks also to all the people who have responded with their favourite Leonard Cohen lines
@Hopeful, Hallelujah by the late Jeff Buckley is hauntingly beautiful, and even more so due to his untimely death, drowning in a river. Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.
Oh, and how do I know I’m special, if a little strange? I was the only kid in standard 6 who knew Who by fire’s lyrics off by heart. It scared the girls off though…
And who by fire, who by water,
who in the sunshine, who in the night time,
who by high ordeal, who by common trial,
who in your merry merry month of may,
who by very slow decay,
and who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate,
who in these realms of love, who by something blunt,
and who by avalanche, who by powder,
who for his greed, who for his hunger,
and who shall I say is calling?
And who by brave assent, who by accident,
who in solitude, who in this mirror,
who by his lady’s command, who by his own hand,
who in mortal chains, who in power,
and who shall I say is calling?
Sue Krige – The DVD is called ‘Leonard Cohen Live in London’, and it sells for R220, where I live. It is well worth buying – just how extraordinary a person he is, comes through in the courteous and graciously grateful manner in which he treats eberyone in the group that supports him.
X Cepting – You missed the point of my placing Cohen in the same group of ‘music(al) figures’ as Bach, Mozart, Glass, and others – it wasn’t a comparison, but a grouping together as far as my love of their divergent music goes. But sure – let’s talk ‘comparison’. As I’m sure you know, a ‘comparison’ is only meaningful if the things one is comparing are not identical, but ‘similar’ in only some, but not other, respects. The ‘similarity’ between Cohen’s music and Bach’s lies there, for me, where the singularity of their respective music moves a chord in my own psyche (or, if you like, soul), albeit a different one. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos move very different chords on my soul, compared to Cohen, or to Beethoven (say, the latter’s Second Piano Concerto), but move me they do. If all you get from Cohen is depression and suicidal feelings, you should not listen to him.
Jan – Thanks: the oxymoron, ‘bitter-sweet’, aptly sums up the sense of Cohen’s music, just as Shakespeare’s ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow’ sums up a lot of what it means to be in love.
Thanks for sharing, everyone.
Give me back my broken night
My mirrored room,
My secret life
Its lonely here,
There’s no one
Left to torture
Give me absolute control
Over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
Thats an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree thats left
And stuff it up the hole
In your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Ive seen the future, brother:
It is murder
Things are going to slide,
Slide in all directions
Wont be nothing
Nothing you can measure
Anymore
The blizzard,
The blizzard of the world
Has crossed the threshold
And it has overturned
The order of the soul
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
You dont know me from the wind
You never will, you never did
Im the little jew
Who wrote the Bible
Ive seen the nations
Rise and fall
Ive heard their stories,
Heard them all
But loves the only engine
Of survival
Your servant here,
He has been told
To say it clear,
To say it cold:
Its over, it aint going
Any further
And now the wheels
Of heaven stop
You feel the devils riding crop
Get ready for the future:
It is murder
Things are going to slide …
There’ll be the breaking
Of the ancient
Western code
Your private life
The Future theme song in Natural Born Killers
Cohen the master!
yup. changed my life he did.
Hi Bert, thanks for a wonderful and truly inspiring article. I can’t believe it’s almost 10 years since I attended your brilliant philosophy and film study lectures. Hope you are well. I’m also a huge fan of Leonard Cohen’s music and poetry, and I was privileged to see him perform live at the Big Chill Festival in England in August 2008. My favourite song is “Hallelujah” and I’m also deeply touched by “Alexandra Leaving”. All the best!
I’ll add Tom Waits to your list…
My man and I often dance to the music of Leonard Cohen, improbable as it may seem, and because he is a romantic, he often sings along in his rich baritone voice (which makes me melt inside). Those times make my life worth living.
Pastor – Thanks for those words – I sure hope they are not prophetic, but looking at the state of the world today (buckling under the scourge of capitalism), they just may be!
Erns – Nice hearing from you. I recall the days when you were in my class. We had great discussions then, and I am aware of the fact that you have since made abundant ‘use’ of your philosophical and literary education. I envy you your attendance of the Cohen concert in London – I have noticed that his world tour is still going on, and I hope to catch him some time. Go well.
Listened to Bird on a Wire this morning – sums up the human condition perfectly. The man is a genius.