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Happens to the Heart Lyrics
I was always working steady
But I never called it art
I got my shit together
Meeting Christ and reading Marx
It failed my little fire
But it's bright the dying spark
Go tell the young messiah
What happens to the heart
There's a mist of summer kisses
Where I tried to double-park
The rivalry was vicious
The women were in charge
It was nothing, it was business
But it left an ugly mark
I've come here to revisit
What happens to the heart
I was selling holy trinkets
I was dressing kind of sharp
Had a pussy in the kitchen
And a panther in the yard
In the prison of the gifted
I was friendly with the guards
So I never had to witness
What happens to the heart
I should have seen it coming
After all I knew the chart
Just to look at her was trouble
It was trouble from the start
Sure we played a stunning couple
But I never liked the part
It ain't pretty, it ain't subtle
What happens to the heart
Now the angel's got a fiddle
The devil's got a harp
Every soul is like a minnow
Every mind is like a shark
I've broken every window
But the house, the house is dark
I care but very little
What happens to the heart
Then I studied with this beggar
He was filthy, he was scarred
By the claws of many women
He had failed to disregard
No fable here no lesson
No singing meadowlark
Just a filthy beggar guessing
What happens to the heart
I was always working steady
But I never called it art
It was just some old convention
Like the horse before the cart
I had no trouble betting
On the flood, against the ark
You see, I knew about the ending
What happens to the heart
I was handy with a rifle
My father's .303
I fought for something final
Not the right to disagree
But I never called it art
I got my shit together
Meeting Christ and reading Marx
It failed my little fire
But it's bright the dying spark
Go tell the young messiah
What happens to the heart
There's a mist of summer kisses
Where I tried to double-park
The rivalry was vicious
The women were in charge
It was nothing, it was business
But it left an ugly mark
I've come here to revisit
What happens to the heart
I was selling holy trinkets
I was dressing kind of sharp
Had a pussy in the kitchen
And a panther in the yard
In the prison of the gifted
I was friendly with the guards
So I never had to witness
What happens to the heart
I should have seen it coming
After all I knew the chart
Just to look at her was trouble
It was trouble from the start
Sure we played a stunning couple
But I never liked the part
It ain't pretty, it ain't subtle
What happens to the heart
Now the angel's got a fiddle
The devil's got a harp
Every soul is like a minnow
Every mind is like a shark
I've broken every window
But the house, the house is dark
I care but very little
What happens to the heart
Then I studied with this beggar
He was filthy, he was scarred
By the claws of many women
He had failed to disregard
No fable here no lesson
No singing meadowlark
Just a filthy beggar guessing
What happens to the heart
I was always working steady
But I never called it art
It was just some old convention
Like the horse before the cart
I had no trouble betting
On the flood, against the ark
You see, I knew about the ending
What happens to the heart
I was handy with a rifle
My father's .303
I fought for something final
Not the right to disagree
Song Info
Submitted by
seekerof On Nov 15, 2019
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I find this to be one of the most intriguing texts published by Cohen in a long time. It re-connects very well with his first album “Songs of Leonard Cohen” from 1967. There is a slightly different version of the text published in “The Flame”, but most of it is the same.
This song is about the price that the heart must pay for acting against your ideals, truth or God. Leonard Cohen is looking back at his life’s work and accomplishments in his usual self-deprecating style. A fallen fighter trying to convey a few lessons to younger generations about what happens to the heart.
The eternal conflict that arises as Leonard Cohen is forced to choose between his love for women and satisfying a higher power, pursuing his quest for truth. This “double-parking” is a recurring theme going back to poems by Lorca, a key inspiration for Cohen.
There is also a political aspect involved, however this is more apparent in “The Flame” version. I find the fifth passage to be a critical stance on the state of the debating climate, clever political tactics and the “dark house”. Where “every soul is like a minnow, every mind is like a shark”. Cohen himself claims to have fought for “something final, not the right to disagree”.
“I was handy with a rifle, my father’s .303”. With a little imagination and an eye to previous songs of Cohen, this phrase may refer to the book of Genesis, chapter 3, verse 03, where it says that you should not eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, or you will die. Does Cohen finally give himself some credit for his ability as a seeker of knowledge and truth?
Of course, If you are no fan of complex interpretations, you can also just lean back and enjoy this song and beautiful composition of words crafted by Cohen!
In my opinion this song carries more than one meaning to the verse "happens to the heart" ..it could be looked at as the heart in it's romantic form, that feels the pain and the suffering ...or it could be looked at as the heart in the form of the soul that learns through its experience on Earth. The part I particularly like the most is when he speaks about the prison of the gifted (a sign of those who KNOW about life and have higher awareness ) , he was friendly with the guards, as in he didn't say what he shouldn't say (or what people were not ready to hear ) , so he didn't have to be labeled crazy or insane by the rest of the world! (As other mystics, Sufies or people of higher awareness were labeled)
I thought I knew until the last verse.