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Some Great Poems by Canadian Leonard Cohen

  
By:  Buzz of the Orient  •  4 days ago  •  18 comments


Some Great Poems by Canadian Leonard Cohen
 

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Some Great Poems by Canadian Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen was an author, poet, songwriter and folk singer, and many of his songs were actually poems.  Here are a few of his greatest ones.  At a huge festival on the Isle of Wight, 600,000 in attendance, Leonard Cohen performed and the audience demanded encores even though it was the middle of the night, Joan Baez was asked if she understood his songs, and she replied that she didn't but his songs come from deep inside of him and they go deep inside those who hear them.

SUZANNE

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 wanna 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


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


And you want to travel with Him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust Him
For He's touched your perfect body with his mind


Now, Suzanne takes your hand

And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From the Salvation Army counters


And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers


There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror


And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind


BUZZ NOTE It was a cool evening at the 1966 Mariposa Folk Festival north of Toronto when I watched Leonard Cohen take the stage and sing Suzanne to an absolutely mesmerized audience - the hair on the back of my neck stood out straight, and that song has remained my most favourite folk song of all time ever since. 


Montrealers know that Suzanne is THEIR song.  "Our Lady of the Harbour" is a famous Montreal cathedral near the river.


ANTHEM




The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to be


Ah, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold, and bought again
The dove is never free


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


We asked for signs

The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah, and the widowhood



Of every government
Signs for all to see


I can't run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
They're going to hear from me


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


You can add up the parts
But you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee


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


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


That's how the light gets in
That's how the light gets in


HEY THAT'S NO WAY TO SAY GOODBYE


I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm


Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm
Yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new
In city and in forest they smiled like me and you
But now it's come to distances and both of us must try


Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye


I'm not looking for another as I wander in my time
Walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme
You know, my love goes with you as your love stays with me
It's just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea


But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye


I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm
Your hair upon the pillow, like a sleepy golden storm
Yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new
In city and in forest they smiled like me and you


But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye


HALLELUJAH


Now I've heard there was a secret chord



That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor falls, the major lifts
The baffled king composing Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof



Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah


You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah






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Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1  author  Buzz of the Orient    4 days ago

Has anyone else ever tried to copy lyrics to post them here?  No matter how much I try, I can't get them right.  When they're in stanzas, and you copy them and paste them the spaces between the stanzas disappear, and when you try to correct it and put spaces in between them, it goes its own way and does whatever it wants, scattering everything.  So I gave up and I don't care. 

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
2  Krishna    3 days ago

Has anyone else ever tried to copy lyrics to post them here?  No matter how much I try, I can't get them right.

I've had that problem.

I found a solution, but its not perfect. I did "Select All" then cut. And pasted it into a new email in my email program. Then again Select All-- and there should be an icon on the bottom of the new email for "Plain Text".

Then cut and paste back into NT comment.

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
2.1  Krishna  replied to  Krishna @2    3 days ago
Then cut and paste back into NT comment.

Actually I think there might be a better way-- on NT. The new comment box on NT has a lot of formatting options (many of which I've never needed). IIRC a symbol on the top menu bar (for a new comment on NT) has an underlined and slanted capital Tx.  I believe that is the formatting symbol for "plain text" (Select all-- or part of the text. Then use that menu symbol. 

It looks like this:  Tx

Clicking that on selected text should disappear all the formatting (?)

P.S. I'm using a PC (Windows). It  may or may not be different on a MAC.

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
2.1.1  Krishna  replied to  Krishna @2.1    3 days ago
Actually I think there might be a better way-- on NT.

Another similar problem I've had-- unable to format text. Well-- it looked like lines of text-- in a box. But nothing worked. Then I realized what looked like text surrounded by 4 straight lines wasn't text-- it was actually a photo of text, not actual text.

And that (to coin a phrase)-- is a horse of another colour!

256

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
2.1.2  Krishna  replied to  Krishna @2.1.1    3 days ago
And that (to coin a phrase)-- is a horse of another colour!

There he goes again! Will Krishna ever stop horsing around? jrSmiley_26_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.1.3  author  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Krishna @2.1    3 days ago
"Actually I think there might be a better way."

Looks like a better solution.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.1.4  author  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Krishna @2.1.1    3 days ago
"...a horse of another colour!"

That means it's a whole image.  I've tried using screenshot in that case.

By the way, I'm surprised taht you used British spelling like I do.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.1.5  author  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Krishna @2.1.2    3 days ago
"There he goes again! Will Krishna ever stop horsing around?"

Thank you for your horsing around.  I woke up this morning to see none of my articles on the Front (Home) Page (which is a first time for a long time) and you are resurrecting them. 

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
2.1.6  Krishna  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @2.1.5    3 days ago
you are resurrecting them. 

I call it my "Jesus Gambit" (trying to get things ressurected from the dead!). Which can include fallen NT seeds of course.A variation of the Standard Cyber-Wicca. All it takes is a little Essence of Coloured Horse , Eye of Newt, and the use of the Merrie Olde British Spelling Incantation! Boil, toil, double, trouble!

jrSmiley_113_smiley_image.png AYE OF NEWT

256

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.1.7  author  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Krishna @2.1.6    3 days ago
I call it my "Jesus Gambit"

LOL

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
2.1.8  Krishna  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @2.1.4    2 days ago
I'm surprised taht you used British spelling like I do.

Sometimes I get bored with the stuff that's posted online, so I try to do things to create a little excitement!

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.2  author  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Krishna @2    3 days ago
"I found a solution, but its not perfect."

Thanks for the suggestion.

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
2.2.1  Krishna  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @2.2    3 days ago
Thanks for the suggestion

Your quite welcome!

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
3  Krishna    3 days ago

At a huge festival on the Isle of Wight,

A minor error perhaps?

Usually unreliable sources are reporting that President Elect Elon Musk has renamed the "Isle of Wight" as The Isle of America.  Henceforth, anyone using the prior name will be proselytized to the full extent of the law!!!

TRESPASSERS WILL BE VIOLATED!!!

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
3.1  author  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Krishna @3    3 days ago

That's quite a stretch since it's off the coast of England. 

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
3.1.1  Krishna  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @3.1    2 days ago
That's quite a stretch since it's off the coast of England. 

Then it must be moved-- ASAP!

MAKE GEOGRAPHY GREAT AGAIN!

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
3.1.2  Krishna  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @3.1    2 days ago
That's quite a stretch since it's off the coast of England.

Well remember-- two wrongs don't make a Wight!

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
3.1.3  author  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Krishna @3.1.2    2 days ago
"two wrongs don't make a Wight!"

Nor do two Wongs make a white.

 
 

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