| Leonard Cohen – Alexandra Leaving Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is one of my very favorite songs. Thespianphryne has done his/her homework. I studied the same history when I first fell in love with the song. Leonard took a fallen leader's love for his city and made subtle changes in the original poem to remake it into a deep and gorgeous song about a lost lover. There are several lines that are almost identical, lifted from the original poem. I am not suggesting it is plagiarized, but rather it is genious. I believe that the love affair was a long one, however, like Antony with the city of Alexandria, not a short one. Leonard is capable of writing very explicit sex scenes from time to time, and I think if this was about a one night stand there would be more of that. Rather, he says things like: Even though she sleeps upon your satin; Even though she wakes you with a kiss. Do not say the moment was imagined; I interpret this to mean that that it is the simplest mundane scene such as her lying in his bed, or a single kiss, that in her absence has become such a powerful and painful image that he considers anaesthetising himself by forgetting it or even denying that it ever really happened. . I believe the lover is dying or has died. The line "Alexandra leaving with her lord", suggests this to me. In the mind of the singer, she is ascending, rather than leaving with another guy. His constant exhortation to "say good-bye to Alexandra" also suggests to me that this is a final exit. Just out of interest, I'm pretty sure the line is "Your FIRST commitments, tangible again", not "FIRM commitments". I see it written as "firm" everywhere. I am a singer, and had been performing the song with the word "first", when I read "firm" on Cohen's website. I like "first" because it conjures up an image of a guy looking back on the earliest days of this beloved relationship, and recalling the promises they made to each other. Of course I listened to it again to see if my interpretation changed, but it still sounds like "first" to me. That line is another reason why I think the relationship is not a one night stand. I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments. This is my first! |
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