In Memoriam: Leonard Cohen

1934-2016

The secret chord,
the 4th, the 5th,
a minor fall, a major lift

I'll stand before the Lord of song

with nothing on my tongue

but Hallelujah.

Now, Suzanne takes your hand and she leads you to the river
She's wearing rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey on our lady of the harbor
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 wil lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds her 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

Cohen Continues to Amaze

Leonard Cohen makes music amazing. Here is one from his latest album that does nothing but amaze and dazzle. His voice gets your attention; the music supports the lyric without making any demands, just carrying them along; then you see the lyrics printed on the screen and he uses the Orthodox Jewish standard of not spelling out the Creator (G-d), and you know you are in the midst of someone who takes the Spiritual seriously.

Cohen, of course, is the surname of the priestly clan of the Hebrew Bible. Leonard was born Jewish which undoubtedly informs his views of G-d, has also spent years with Eastern religions.

Cohen: the priestly class of the Hebrew Bible;
Leonard: a Cohen (priest) for the 21st Century.

I saw some people starving

There was murder, there was rape

Their villages were burning

They were trying to escape

I couldn’t meet their glances

I was staring at my shoes

It was acid, it was tragic

It was almost like the blues

It was almost like the blues

I have to die a little

between each murderous plot

and when I’m finished thinking

I have to die a lot

There’s torture, and there’s killing

and there’s all my bad reviews

The war, the children missing, lord

It’s almost like the blues

It’s almost like the blues

Though I let my heart get frozen

to keep away the rot

my father says I’m chosen

my mother says I’m not

I listened to their story

of the gypsies and the Jews

It was good, it wasn’t boring

It was almost like the blues

It was almost like the blues

There is no G-d in heaven

There is no hell below

So says the great professor

of all there is to know

But I’ve had the invitation

that a sinner can’t refuse

It’s almost like salvation

It’s almost like the blues

It’s almost like the blues

A Remarkable Song's Ascent

It's about Biblical images of a shepherd King named David; it's a story of Samson and Delilah; it's a reflection on making love; it's a universal awareness that in the end there's nothing but standing before a Creator and singing.

Hallelujah.

Leonard Cohen wrote the original verses; John Cale sang the first variation; Jeff Buckley turned it into an anthem; Rufus Wainwright made it more playful; k d lang performed it at the Olympics and helped make it international.

It has been used for weddings, Yom Kippur services, movie and TV soundtracks and 9/11 reactions.

Hallelujah.

I just finished reading the book, The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah" by Alan Light. It tells the now 30-year journey of what has become an iconic song. Light traces the composer, Cohen, through his career and how this song, barely noticed for the first ten years of its existence slowly rose to the stature it has today.

It is a remarkable song that has a life of its own thanks in part to Cohen's own openness to change. The melody is simple, haunting and unforgettable. The first time one hears it, you think you've heard it before. It builds on its own familiarity and pulls you in. Light examines the song, the various verses added to it, it's use in the movie Shrek, American Idol and as the instrument for a resurgence and appreciation for Leonard Cohen, who as Light points out does the simple and radical thing of rhyming "what's it to you?" or "come to fool you" with "Hallelujah."

In the end for many, it may be the closing stanza of Cohen's original lyrics that speak of an attitude and a spirituality that we all seek to live. It is a holy or broken

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

Here is the now wise elder Cohen singing at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2008.

Note: Go to You Tube and hear the other three remarkable interpretations by
John Cale
Jeff Buckley (life at Sin-e) and
Rufus Wainwright.
Each is unique and will bring out different emotions.