Leonard Cohen

November 11, 2016 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Modern Music, MUSIC, Poetry | 1 Comment |

(photo by Rama)

Leonard Cohen (21 September, 1934 to 7 November, 2016)

With a voice even less impressive and more throwaway than Dylan, like a sombre, kindly and perhaps slightly whiskey-giddy uncle, singing his niece to sleep.  A sublime indifference to Fame; a gorgeous disregard for money matters, such that he failed to notice his management was cleaning him out.  A true poet’s sense, and it is rare, for true poetry to bind with popular music to advantage.  Except he did it, in First We Take Manhattan, Dance Me To The End Of Love, Famous Blue Raincoat, So Long, Marianne, and one of the best songs anyone ever wrote – and for TVC, still the best version – 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”




 

1 Comment

  1. Reply

    Peter GW Sumadh

    November 14, 2016

    "The old guard die hard"
    ...(to be continued...)...!


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