| Leonard Cohen – Is This What You Wanted Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I don't think the man nor the woman in this song is at fault. I think the song describes how men and women often "feel" the same but are completely different. They can be talking about the same things but using completely different sets of reference. In the song, she is "the promise at dawn", basically looking into the bright future, while he's "the morning after", the memory of the past, yesterday's mistakes. I imagine them both in bed, talking about the morning, not knowing they are not really understood by the other. Funny how things happen sometimes: I discovered this song after I got dumped, and I ended up sitting alone in my ("our") appartment with Cohen screaming "Is this what you wanted? To live in a house that is haunted by the ghost of you and me?". The question is still open... but the ghosts didn't stay very long. |
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| Leonard Cohen – So Long, Marianne Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The most beautiful thing in this song, to me, is the absence of bitterness, even if the relationship has ended. In fact, he's asking that they should "laugh and cry" about all of it, like two old friends would over childhood memories. The song begins with how they were at the beginning; reading palms by the window, growing out of his Gypsy boy phase... Their love was perhaps a bit naive ('almost' young), the kind where one takes the role of a savior (like a crucifix), where one 'forgets' things that are dear to him/her... In this song, it feels like he was the first to realize what was missing ('why do I feel alone?') but he couldn't leave, feeling tied down by her. The actual reason for their breakup is that he was 'curious'. That, to me, doesn't say much, but that's probably the point. It sounds vague and lacks commitment. Imagine asking "Will you always love me?" and being answered "I'm curious to see if I will"... this is typically where women's sirens go off ;) He then excuses himself with "I never said that I was brave". Not brave enough to leave, not brave enough to keep her. In the end, it had to be her that leaves him. I think it's possible to truly love someone knowing that you're not made for each other. Hence, the lack of bitterness I find in this song. So long, Marianne! I still think you're pretty, I still care about you. So long! Washing my eyelids in the rain. I've done this. Rain is often a metaphor for sadness (in books, movies, etc). Nothing feels better than to cry in the rain with your nose pointing at the stars (looking *up*, not down). Feels like the whole world is crying with you and at the same time, it washes your own tears away... |
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