The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I met a woman long ago
Her hair, the black that black can go
Are you a teacher of the heart?
Soft she answered, no
I met a girl across the sea
Her hair, the gold that gold could be
Are you a teacher of the heart?
Yes, but not for thee
I met a man who lost his mind
In some lost place I had to find
Follow me, the wise man said
But he walked behind
I walked into a hospital
Where none was sick and none was well
When at night the nurses left
I could not walk at all
Morning came and then came noon
Dinner time a scalpel blade
Lay beside my silver spoon
Some girls wander by mistake
Into the mess that scalpels make
Are you the teachers of my heart
We teach old hearts to break
One morning, I woke up alone
The hospital and the nurses gone
Have I carved enough, my Lord?
Child, you are a bone
I ate and ate and ate
No, I did not miss a plate, well
How much do these suppers cost?
We'll take it out in hate
I spent my hatred every place
On every work, on every face
Someone gave me wishes
And I wished for an embrace
Several girls embraced me, then
I was embraced by men
Is my passion perfect?
No, do it once again
I was handsome, I was strong
I knew the words of every song
Did my singing please you?
No, the words you sang were wrong
Who is it whom I address
Who takes down what I confess?
Are you the teachers of my heart?
We teach old hearts to rest
Oh, teachers are my lessons done?
I cannot do another one
They laughed and laughed and said
Well, child
Are your lessons done?
Are your lessons done?
Are your lessons done?
Her hair, the black that black can go
Are you a teacher of the heart?
Soft she answered, no
I met a girl across the sea
Her hair, the gold that gold could be
Are you a teacher of the heart?
Yes, but not for thee
I met a man who lost his mind
In some lost place I had to find
Follow me, the wise man said
But he walked behind
I walked into a hospital
Where none was sick and none was well
When at night the nurses left
I could not walk at all
Morning came and then came noon
Dinner time a scalpel blade
Lay beside my silver spoon
Some girls wander by mistake
Into the mess that scalpels make
Are you the teachers of my heart
We teach old hearts to break
One morning, I woke up alone
The hospital and the nurses gone
Have I carved enough, my Lord?
Child, you are a bone
I ate and ate and ate
No, I did not miss a plate, well
How much do these suppers cost?
We'll take it out in hate
I spent my hatred every place
On every work, on every face
Someone gave me wishes
And I wished for an embrace
Several girls embraced me, then
I was embraced by men
Is my passion perfect?
No, do it once again
I was handsome, I was strong
I knew the words of every song
Did my singing please you?
No, the words you sang were wrong
Who is it whom I address
Who takes down what I confess?
Are you the teachers of my heart?
We teach old hearts to rest
Oh, teachers are my lessons done?
I cannot do another one
They laughed and laughed and said
Well, child
Are your lessons done?
Are your lessons done?
Are your lessons done?
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he's searching for someone to teach him how to use his heart (cohen has battled depression throughout his life, so i take this as him seeking out some sort of cure to his chronic illness)
the first two verses shows that he looked for the answer in women, to me symbolizing relationships or maybe just flings...
neither worked out so he continues asking 'are you the teacher of my heart?'
if you've read most cohen's work, the comforts of women is his weakness when bad, and his strengths when good... therefore i think these failed attempts with women leaves him to running into that 'lost man'
in my opinion i believe the lost man is himself, i would think this would be the point of coming face to face with who he was becoming. he states 'had yet to find', therefore at that point he has yet to be completely wreck and looking for something else to cure himself for himself, he enters a mental hospital.
"no one was sick" (physically) "but no one was well" (emotionally)
but instead of helping him, it seemed to have dragged him more over the edge, and still seeking his cure, or just some sort of relief.. he beings self cutting.. and one of my favorite Cohen lines 'some girls wander by mistake, into the mess that scalpels make'.. the nurses walk in on him. the last lines always gave me a feeling of these places being so cold, and lonely... it's not what he's seeking, and if anything broke his spirit even more.
after that i think when he says 'carve' it's more symbolic then literal. it seems that all else failed.. he begins just with negativity scraping away at himself..
....when he finally looks up to god for help, god tells him to eat (spiritually) to fatten him up emotionally and mentally. He starts 'spending' his hatred, meaning the further he went down this path the more those thoughts would disappear. For every good act it's as thought it cost him one of his angry thoughts. soon he learned to let others accept him and vice versa
leaving him in the end to ask 'teachers are my lessons done' to what they laugh and reply 'well are your lessons done'..
..he was always looking for the answer in something else that when he ask the same question he asked time before, and redirect the question to him, as to pinpoint out that it was him himself that was his own teacher and he should be asking himself that.
nice interpretation. thanks for posting :)
@xpsychicheartsx
@xpsychicheartsx <br /> <br /> Sorry about the empty comment. An accident. I very much like your interpretation, up until he gets to the hospital, which may be symbolic instead of literal. The scalpel blade may be a reference to suicidal thoughts or mental rather than physical self mutilation. The silver spoon may be a reference to drug (heroin) use, which he was no stranger to at that point in his career, which has an element of self mutilation, especially when you're a very conscious guy and you know what you're doing to yourself. This was about the time he was shooting up with Janis in the Chelsea hotel.<br /> <br /> The idea of spending hatred being a good thing, I'm not sure about. He asks his "teachers' how much the suppers (possibly the fame and money he was just beginning to acquire, or even the women) cost, and the hatred seems to be both price and currency, a suffering he endured which fueled his music and his despair as well. <br /> <br /> "Someone gave me wishes" might refer to his becoming known outside literary circles when Judy Collins etc. started covering things like Suzanne, and he started "running for the money and the flesh" (as per Chelsea Hotel #2 again). For those who believe LC never experimented with homosexuality, I refer you both "and then I was embraced by men" and that element in Beautiful Losers. Except he realizes he wasn't getting quite what he was looking for. And some critic (God, himself, fans) knows he hadn't expressed himself fully yet. "The words you sang were wrong"<br /> <br /> I do agree with your ending. No one else decides when your lessons are done.<br /> <br /> Thanks for liking this song as much as I do.
The wierd vauge dreamlike lyrics are similar to Ballad of a Thin Man.
i cant believe no one has commented on this. one of my favorite cohen songs. beautiful
This song reminds me of Dylan's work. Especially his Highway 61 Revisited album. Am I the only one?
for some reason, it reminded me of self-injury (cutting). .. just because of these reasons: "Some girls wander by mistake into the mess that scalpels make. "
The majority of self-cutters are girls, and scalpels are sharp... And later there's mention of whether or not the narrator has 'carved' enough.
The emotions I can identify with are also proof, because I have this problem.
this song is great.
the line about the cutting kinda scared me the first time i went through the album though
well, in my opinion, except for blood on the tracks, dylan never expressed this amount of pain.
well, in my opinion, except for blood on the tracks, dylan never expressed this amount of pain.
This is the song that introduced me to Leonard Cohen. It hooked and held me. The infinite search for life's lessons and knowledge that will bring us peace and comfort. Instead, we find teachers and lessons that are for others or are not what they seem at all. I met a man who lost his mind, in some lost place I had to find. "Follow me," the wise man said, but he walked behind. A descent into madness, "led" by someone who egged on until ending up in a mental hospital "Where none are sick and none are well.. Some girls wander by mistake into the mess that scalpels make. "Are you the teachers of my heart?" "We teach old hearts to break!" The splatter of heartbreak from love, of being used and tossed aside with callous disregard. He's seeking something definite, while they (the girls) just wander by mistake. The song is just so incredible, so powerful, hitting on so many levels, it's impossible not to find a commonality.
maybe there's too much analysis for your own good, psychic. analysis is good, but i think this is one of cohen's simplest songs. "teachers = women" gets you about 95% of the song's meaning. i like your analysis of the men and hospital parts.
here's where i come in. i don't think the teachers at the end are saying that he had the answers the whole time. i think they're laughing cruelly because they're playing a cruel game with him. they're the authority figures, he's a helpless child, and they're delighting in messing with him. i assume you're a woman from your name (does that make me sexist?), and i feel like there are some things in cohen's songs, specifically the bitter parts, that are clearer to a man.
I agree with xpsychicheartsx. I interpreted his metaphors the same way. Leonard's songs are not very literal, he uses tropes for most of everything he describes. <br /> <br /> Chilling. beautiful. Honest.