| Leonard Cohen – Closing Time Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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There are heavvy double meanings in this song, and you can listen to it like the one, the other, or both meanings at the same time. Cohen wrote this song at 60 years of age, and its basicly about "getting older" - About things starting to come to an end. The barscene is asimple but really really effective metafor for "life" - You meet people, have fun, feel sad, make friends and enemies there, but eventually all must come to an end - Closing Time. Trying to squeeze in hidden meanings in every scentense here, is just overkill. Think more of the lovely festive feeling of the song. There is no bitternes in the tone of the melody even though the text sometimes brings up serius matters ("And I lift my glass to the Awful Truth") Cohen is getting to be old here, but he`s happy that he has been here. It is coming to an end, like all good things do but he feels no bitterness over that. Just like when you go out for an evening of fun at the bar... |
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| Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This is my combined thoughts about the incredible Leonard Cohen song "Famous Blue Raincoat" This song has allways had a enigmatic pull in me, since the first time i heard it. And from time to time over the years i have thought that i had the interpretation fixed, only to discard my theories the next day. (I work a lot with my hands as a craftsman, so i have lots of time to listen to music and let my thought wander *s*) I have searshed the web for explanations and intervievs with Cohen, to help me understand the meaning of the lyrics, but have allways come up short. But pice by pice the puzzle has fallen into place, and this is my interpretation...... (and sorry for any eventual grammar misshaps - I`m Swedish) ;-) First of all - lets hear the good L.Cohens own words about the song... -Frankfurt, May 6, 1970 "...this is one of those songs that I really mean. And it's against the greatest tyranny that I myself experience. I feel many kinds of tyrannies from every... Almost every time men group themselves together, I flash on their tyranny. But this is not a government, this is a tyranny I feel myself which is the possession of women, and woman's possession of man. And I know those chains have to be broken before anything happens. All the manifestos and all the demonstrations will change nothing until we stop enslaving each other, especially within the sexual embrace." from 1972 (broadcast on TV in Sweden in Sept., 1973): "Here's a song that was written for two people, for a woman and a man, and especially for a woman that I had to share with another man. But, you know, it's true what they say, that there won't be any free men until there are free women." There are many more quotes about this song out there, but I think these two are really on the spot. Keep them in mind in the back of your head as we move on to define the characters of the lyric........ There are three main characters in the song. Cohen himself, Jane, and the one refered to as brother/my killer/thin gypsy thief. In this text however I will refer to him as "The Brother". So... Cohen is the first one. Nothing special there.. we all know and love the guy ;-) This "brother" should`t be taken litterary.. We are talking about a different era in time here... An era where everyone were eashothers "brother" and "sister". Surely he was a dear friend, but not a blood relative. Jane - Since Cohen never has been married but refers to her as "my wife", I think we can safely assume she is someone he was having a serius relationship with. We mustnt forget the concept of artistic freedom here... I can imagine that it was a hole lot easier to compose a lyric containing the word Wife, than trying to squeeze in The Girl I Was Living With At The moment And Really Really Like ;-) There is also a 4:th character mentioned. One not to be overlooked - Lilly Marlene Now Lili Marlene isn`t one of Cohens own characters - It originally comes from the poem "The Song of a Young Sentry". The theme of the song is "dreaming for one's lover" and were immensly popular during WW2 on both sides of the border. With no doubt Cohen heard the song many many times in his youth, and the symbol Lilly Marlene stuch to hes mind at one of "missing love". http://ingeb.org/garb/lmarleen.html So... Through piecing together the characters and the quotes I have come up with this explanation, here presented in a chronological order of events... Cohen and Jane are a couple. Not married, but living as such for the moment, being faithfull towards each other. Cohen however is troubled by the concept of "owning another person" by demanding faithfullnes. The naturally ocuring jealousy in the realationship (between 2 people "going steady") is eating at not only him but Jane to, and Cohen can clearly see that. His jealously is hurting (limiting) Jane, but he is unable to brake free from he`s own feelings. He is unable to stop hurting/limiting the one he loves... becuse he loves her! Then into this scene comes "The Brother". A person allready troubled himself, being in love with someone that probably doesen`t return he`s feelings, and/or is abcent. He comes home to Cohen and Jane, resignated to his fate (that he will never see his loved one again), and Jane comforts him. He then decides to brake free, and move on with he´s life, and in the heat of the moment Jane feels pity and they end up in bed together. This however is just a 1-time event, and nothing serius. But after coming clean to Cohen about it, his and Janes previously exclusive relationship is never the same again. They still loves each other, but something have changed. He dosent feel the urge to "own" Jane anymore (to be exclusive), and becuse of that. he neither feels owned himself. the letter/lyrics is written some time after these events. Jane is no longer living with Cohen permanently (perhaps they never did?), but they still love each other and sleep togeter from time to time. ***************** It's four in the morning, the end of December I'm writing you now just to see if you're better New York is cold, but I like where I'm living There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening. I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert You're living for nothing now, I hope you're keeping some kind of record. [This is basicly just describing the setting. "See if you're better" however, is probably referring to wether the brother has overcome his depression about the Lilly Marlene-character] Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear Did you ever go clear? [When Jane came over this time she had with her a lock of this Brothers hair. (why? No idea, but probably not that important in the context of the lyrics). Seeing the lock of hair however, trigger memories of the event and questions in Cohen, and it is becuse of this he is writing the letter. This "going clear" has often been interpreted to as drug-rehab or such, something i think is taking teh easy (and wrong) way. "That night that you planned to go clear" is the night that the Brother decided to brake free from he`s love towards the Lilly Marlene-character. Note taht he _planned_ to go clear, and last time Cohen saw/heard from him (presumibly when all these actions took place) he was still unhappily in love. Hence the question "Did you ever go clear?"] Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder You'd been to the station to meet every train And you came home without Lili Marlene And you treated my woman to a flake of your life And when she came back she was nobody's wife. [As stated above, this Brother was unhappily in love, and had aparently hoped to meet his loved one at the train station. When he came back to Jane and Cohen he was in despair, and after comforting him Jane ended up having pity-sex with him ;-) ] Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth One more thin gypsy thief Well I see Jane's awake -- She sends her regards. [Jane wakes up while Cohen is writing, and the topic of The Brother dosen`t seem to be infected since she sends her regards. Jane and Cohen has obviusly talked about it and decided to let it go.] And what can I tell you my brother, my killer What can I possibly say? I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you I'm glad you stood in my way. If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free. ["What can I possibly say?" is to me an indication that Cohen admits that the situation is somewhat absurd... And with all rights! He is actually happy and thanking the man that he`s "wife" was unfaithful with. But i guess the easiest way to explain it is to say that hes not happy about the Brother nad Jane screwing around, but he is happy over the result it brought in the relationship between him and Jane. That the crack in the relationship that occured becuse of this Brother gave Cohen the ability to shake loose his need to _own_ his woman. Cohens and Janes relationship has become better since the event and that is why he says "I'm glad you stood in my way." He allso promises this brother that if he was to come over for a visit, Jane is free to do whatever she pleases, and that the "enemy" (refering to the jealousy he earlier felt) is sleeping.] Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes I thought it was there for good so I never tried. [Now these two scentenses are the key to understanding _why_ Cohen reasons as he does. Why be happy that your girlfriend is being unfaithful? - Becuse She Is Happier. The "trouble you took from her eyes" is trouble brought on by jealousy and the feeling of being "owned" in a relationship. No matter how much Cohen loved her, he could never release Jane from that pain, just becous he loved her and it was that love that brought on the pain!! Through this dramatic turn of events and through the influence of this Brother, hes beloved Jane is no longer troubled. She is free to what she pleases, and in the end that means tha he himself is truly free.] And Jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear -- Sincerely, L. Cohen ***************** There... this is my interpretation of this complexed and enigmatic text. and i actually believe all that i have been typing. With no doubt this will neither be the last or final text written about the Famous Blue Raincoat, but I hope that my analyzis have brought some light to the subject.. Finally i´d like to end this text with a quote not my L.Cohen, but by another gigant from the same era - Richard Bach (L.Cohen born 1934 - R.Bach born 1936) Strangely, but possibly not without reason, this famous quote summorize Cohens lyrics perfecly in my opinion... "If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were." -Richard Bach /Malsum July 2006 |
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