| Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I agree with you Anniepaints. Very well articulated. The hurt and infidelity suggested in this song is definitely not as technicolor as sidebeard suggests. Its a lot more subtle...Cohen and Jane are definitely still a pair it seems...he stops in the middle of the letter when Jane wakes up, suggesting she's in the room, lying in the bed while he's writing his letter. He talks in parts as if a couple referring to an old friend that they mutually care about ("the last time we saw you"), but some kind of uniquely strong bond developed at some point between Jane and "famous blue raincoat" that took her pain away, something that Cohen appreciates in spite of the fact that it "killed" him. But in the same phrase he still refers to him as his brother. The other thing sidebeard left out is that "famous blue raincoat" is gone. Hence, the letter. He left, to "go clear." Cohen wonders if he ever actually did that as he intended. The imagery suggests "raincoat" is somewhere out there in the world living like an ascetic vagabond (Cohen hopes he's keeping a record of living such a life - "living for nothing"). I always feel like this is a letter he can't or won't actually send because he doesn't know the whereabouts of "famous blue raincoat" or whatever became of him, but he regrets any bitterness he's harbored towards the old friend and wishes to express that anyway. He sings, records, and releases on an album the contents of a letter that he has no way of mailing to him wherever he is. I have no basis for that other than that's just the sense I get from the meandering way that he sings it. I love all of Cohen's songs and believe him to be one of the most brilliant songwriters to ever live. This one I love particularly because of the mystery it evokes and the tension between people who love one another...how like life. Cohen is a genius. |
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