Saturday, November 24, 2012

Why I love Leonard Cohen



Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas (2012)
Track Listing
01 00:00 "Going Home"
02 03:48 "Amen"
03 11:22 "Show Me the Place"
04 15:30 "Darkness"
05 19:59 "Anyhow"
06 23:06 "Crazy to Love You"
07 26:10 "Come Healing"
08 29:00 "Banjo"
09 32:20 "Lullaby"
10 37:01 "Different Sides"


"Going Home"

I love to speak with Leonard
He’s a sportsman and a shepherd
He’s a lazy bastard
Living in a suit


But he does say what I tell him
Even though it isn’t welcome
He just doesn't have the freedom
To refuse

He will speak these words of wisdom
Like a sage, a man of vision
Though he knows he’s really nothing
But the brief elaboration of a tube

Going home
Without my sorrow
Going home
Sometime tomorrow
Going home
To where it’s better
Than before

Going home
Without my burden
Going home
Behind the curtain
Going home
Without the costume
That I wore

He wants to write a love song
An anthem of forgiving
A manual for living with defeat

A cry above the suffering
A sacrifice recovering
But that isn’t what I need him
To complete

I want him to be certain
That he doesn’t have a burden
That he doesn’t need a vision
That he only has permission
To do my instant bidding
Which is to say what I have told him
To repeat

Going home
Without my sorrow
Going home
Sometime tomorrow
Going home
To where it’s better

Than before
Going home
Without my burden
Going home
Behind the curtain
Going home
Without this costume
That I wore

Going home
Without the sorrow
Going home
Sometime tomorrow
Going home
To where it’s better
Than before

Going home
Without the burden
Going home
Behind the curtain
Going home
Without this costume
That I wore

I love to speak with Leonard
He’s a sportsman and a shepherd
He’s a lazy bastardLiving in a suit

"Amen"

Tell me again
When I’ve been to the river
And I’ve taken the edge off my thirst
Tell me again
We’re alone and I’m listening
I’m listening so hard that it hurts
Tell me again
When I’m clean and I’m sober
Tell me again
When I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again
Tell me over and over
Tell me that you want me then
Amen…

Tell me again
When the victims are singing
And the Laws of Remorse are restored
Tell me again
That you know what I’m thinking
But vengeance belongs to the Lord
Tell me again
When I’m clean and I’m sober
Tell me again
When I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again
Tell me over and over
Tell me that you love me then
Amen…

Tell me again
When the day has been ransomed
And the night has no right to begin
Try me again
When the angels are panting
And scratching at the door to come in
Tell me again
When I’m clean and I’m sober
Tell me again
When I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again
Tell me over and over
Tell me that you need me then
Amen…

Tell me again
When the filth of the butcher
Is washed in the blood of the lamb
Tell me again
When the rest of the culture
Has passed through the Eye of the Camp
Tell me again
When I’m clean and I’m sober
Tell me again
When I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again
Tell me over and over
Tell me that you love me then
Amen…

"Crazy to Love You"

I had to go crazy to love you
Had to go down to the pit
Had to do time in the tower
Begging like crazy to quit

I had to go crazy to love you
You who were never the one
Whom I chased through the souvenir heartache
Her braids and her blouse all undone

Sometimes I'd head for the highway
I'm old and the mirrors don't lie
But crazy has places to hide in
That are deeper than any goodbye
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsty.com/leonard-cohen-crazy-to-love-you-lyrics.html ]
I had to go crazy to love you
Had to let everything fall
Had to be people I hated
Had to be no one at all

I'm tired of choosing desire
I've been saved by a blessed fatigue
The gates of commitment unwired
And nobody trying to leave

Sometimes I'd head for the highway
I'm old and the mirrors don't lie
But crazy has places to hide in
That are deeper than any goodbye

Had to go crazy to love you
You who were never the one
Whom I chased through the souvenir heartache
Her braids and her blouse all undone 

"Banjo"

There’s something that I’m watching
Means a lot to me
It’s a broken banjo bobbing
On the dark infested sea

Don’t know how it got there
Maybe taken by the wave
Off of someone’s shoulder
Or out of someone’s grave

It’s coming for me darling
No matter where I go
Its duty is to harm me
My duty is to know

There’s something that I’m watching
Means a lot to me
It’s a broken banjo bobbing
On the dark infested sea


"Lullaby"

Sleep baby sleep, 
The days on the run 
The wind in the trees is talking in tones 
Lullaby 

If your heart is torn 
I don't wonder why 
If the night is gone 
Is my lover there 
Is my lover there 

Well the mouse eats the crumb, 
Then the cat eats the crumb. 
Now they've fallen in love, 
Then they're talking in tones 

If your heart is torn 
I don't wonder why 
If the night is gone 
Is my lover there 
Is my lover there 

Sleep baby sleep, 
There's the morning to come, 
The winds in the trees, 
They're talking in tones.


"Different Sides"

We find ourselves on different sides 
Of a line nobody drew 
Though it all may be one in the higher eye 
Down here where we live it is two 

I to my side call the meek and the mild 
You to your side call the Word 
By virtue of suffering I claim to have won 
You claim to have never been heard 

Both of us say there are laws to obey 
Yeah, but frankly I don't like your tone 
You want to change the way I make love 
(But) I want to leave it alone 

The pull of the moon, the thrust of the sun 
Thus the ocean is crossed 
The waters are blessed while a shadowy guest 
Kindles a light for the lost 

Both of us say there are laws to obey 
But frankly I don't like your tone 
You want to change the way I make love 
(But) I want to leave it alone 

Down in the valley the famine goes on 
The famine up on the hill 
I say that you shouldn't, you couldn't, you can't 
You say that you must and you will 

You want to live where the suffering is 
I want to get out of town 
Come on, baby, give me a kiss 
Stop writing everything down 

Both of us say there are laws to obey 
Yeah, but frankly I don't like your tone 
You want to change the way I make love 
(But) I want to leave it alone 

Both of us say there are laws to obey 
Yeah, but frankly I don't like your tone 
You want to change the way I make love 
(But) I want to leave it alone...





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