Twenty years ago in 2004 was my first summer with Leonard Cohen. I discovered him for the first time during those days of midnight sun in Alaska. He played while I was on the road in my red Chevy S10, and his baritone ‘golden’ voice sang about sixties girls like Marianne and Suzanne while I was at home.
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| a young Leonard Cohen, writing poems in his bathtub |
While romance was/is
not exactly my cuppa, there was some kind of philosophical gravitas and
mysticism to this poet/writer turned-poet-singer, who climbed a whole mountain
side, to wash his eyelids in the rain (ref. So long, Marianne), while he
was singing about his lady loves.
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Over
the years in addition to dipping into the deep well of Cohen’s soulful lyrics
delivered in his slow drag voice, I have had the opportunity to watch some
Leonard Cohen documentaries too. The first one “Ladies and Gentlemen… Mr. Leonard Cohen: An Intimate Look into a Poet's Life (1965)” showcasing Cohen as a
young poet is (IMHO) better than Netflix’s 1922 documentary “Hallelujah:Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song” taking its title from Cohen’s famous song of
the same name. To me, Cohen is more that Hallelujah which has been done to
dust, with so many covers.
Fata Morgana(1971),
Werner Hertzog’s art-house psychedelic film features Cohen songs like Suzanne,
Avalanche against the stark sands of Sahara desert.
I leave you with one of his best lyrics, from his poem/song Anthem - “Ring the bells that still can ring/Forget your perfect offering/There is a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in”
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