Listening to Cohen’s songs is a divine experince . He is no ordinary poet.! He is no ordinary singer!You have to set the stage for him.
Switch off you lights
and play him on your hi fi.You will see him getting into your soul slowly but surely
Cohen is a poet, a musician, a novelist, a ladies man, a Buddist monk, actor....He is 72 now .During these 72 years there is practically nothing he has NOT done.Living in a Greek island without elecrticity and modern amenities for years together, becoming a Buddhist monk , having a frontline stint with the Israeli Airforce......
Born in Canada, He is one of the most celebrated singer/poets of the twentieth century.Cohens songs mostly depict deep emotionsand are lyrically very complex.His themes are always love, sex, spirituality and music.I would compare his songs with the Ghazals of Ghalib, faiz, Mir , Bahdursha Zafar etc.The language may be different but the themes are so similar.Having suffered from depression during some stages in his life Cohen has written many songs on melancholic themes like depression and suicide.
’suzanne ’is one of the most admired songs of Cohen.The song is featured in a malayalam movie made a few years back..Perhaps Suzanne was the inspiration for the director to make the offbeat film which attracted lot of adverse comments from the conservative mallus.
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 she is half crazy
and thats why you want to be there
and she feeds you oranges and tea
......................................................................
and you want to travel with her
and you want to travel blind
and you know that she will trust you
For you have touched her perfect body with your mind
i dont think I have the power to explain the beauty of this song. I just want to travel blind with suzanne.
So who was Suzanne? was she for real?
Cohen says there was a friend suzanne who lived near the river and who used to seve him oranges and tea.The significance of the last line is often discussed".For you have touched her perfect body with your mind".She was a married woman .The relationship was rather platonic.He didnot touch her perfect body with his body.
I should be writing about the album ’Iam you man".But idid not want to confine to the album.My purpose was just to introduce Cohen to those who are not familiar with him.As for the album it has eight songs among which the tower of song is perhaps the most discussed.I think "first we take Man hattan" is about terrorism.
’There aint no cure for love features the lines
"I need to see you naked
in your body and your thoughts
In the song ’iam your man’ Cohen declare that he is a man for all seasons’.
’and if you want another kind of love
i will wear a mask for you’
Take this waltz is a song full of imagery.
’And who is it climbs your picture
with a garland of freshly cut tears"
In the ’Tower of song ’ he laments
Yeah my friends are gone and my hair has turned grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
and iam crazy for love but iam not coming on
iam just paying my rent everyday
in the tower of song"
This song reminds me of a Bahadur Sha Zafar ghazal .Will any ghazal lover from MS come up with that one?
Again in the tower of song
"I was born like this, I had no choice
i was born with the gift of a golden voice’
The unusual quality of Cohen’s lyrics is that he allows lot of room for the individual listener to imagin and interpret the poem in terms of ones personal experiences.A satisfying poem is one that enters your mind and turns the key to your imagination. And Cohen never fails to enter your imagination naked in body and soul. And you never fail to travel with him, you travel blind!