I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
he said to me, “You must not ask for so much.”
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
she cried to me, “Hey, why not ask for more?”
Oh like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
I’m crying now. I shouldn’t be surprised; the man was 82. But still…
Great character piece on him in The New Yorker, and what told me that he’d never replicate that wonderful concert from his last tour in 2009. Afterwards, we bumped into some of his backup singers at the convenience store at the head of the road to the venue. I regret not having the courage to ask them if he was anywhere around, or how it was to tour with him… So it goes.
Since the two songs I would’ve quoted already have been, I’ll try this one:
Goodbye Mr. Cohen.
RIP, Mr. Cohen
*
They sentenced me to twenty 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*
Marianne Jensen died on 28 July 2016. Cohen’s farewell letter to Marianne was read at her funeral, stating that “… our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine.”
Ugh.
I had heard he was failing, but it’s still a rough bit, especially this week.
*
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?*
“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 will 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”
Ten thousand gospel songs couldn’t say anything so profound. No one has ever made music this good for as long as he did. I will still be listening to him when I am eighty-two.
Just saw the news. Live at the Isle of Wight is spellbinding and should be watched over and over. May he have all peace.
A live Closing Time
And I just found this great quote from Iggy about touring Europe with the Stooges in 2010 at the same time Leonard Cohen was touring:
Eight words.
*
Get ready for the future
It is murder*
I’m not really one for heroes but Leonard was pretty close to that for me. What a week.
Was just grooving to something off his new album this afternoon at work. Jeez…
I found that story so moving when I read it a few weeks ago. The paragraph before, and his, so very much in his voice and as comforting as could be…
And the response two days later, so sad but so comforting…
from the New Yorker article just 3 weeks ago…
I’m sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can’t stand the scene.
And I’m neither left or right
I’m just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I’m stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I’m junk but I’m still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Did you ever Go Clear?
More on this in post #34, thanks MacCat. The New Yorker article is an excellent read.
Not only were Cohen’s lyrics powerful and poignant, for many of us his early works are inextricably associated with our youth and our own dawning perceptions. I feel like I’ve lost a dear friend.
[QUOTE=MacCat (quoting Leonard Cohen)]
Oh like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
[/QUOTE]
This.
Well, this made me cry. He’s turning to gold.
God, I’m gutted. I wouldn’t have thought the death of someone whom I’ve never met could have that effect on me. It just feels like he was there for me through so many times of darkness, so who do I turn to now?
What a shitshow this year’s been.