A wonderful song, and yes the live version on the Field Commander Cohen Tour album is spectactular.
A wonderful song, and yes the live version on the Field Commander Cohen Tour album is spectactular.
My reading (and I think it's the right one!) is that the song is the despair at a partner who is depressed, almost determined to be depressed and not come out of it - abandoned to "beauty and pride", like there is some vanity to her depression. She "stands by the window" refusing to pass through it to a better place - "the new Jerusalem glowing". The image of a rose is used to symbolise the depression - its thorn is "in her...
My reading (and I think it's the right one!) is that the song is the despair at a partner who is depressed, almost determined to be depressed and not come out of it - abandoned to "beauty and pride", like there is some vanity to her depression. She "stands by the window" refusing to pass through it to a better place - "the new Jerusalem glowing". The image of a rose is used to symbolise the depression - its thorn is "in her bosom". The depression takes affect on the brain - "the high silver nerves".
He appeals to love, god or a spirit to "gentle this soul" and make her better. To coax her from the "cloud of unknowing" and make peace with her trouble by "kissing the cheek of the moon" - the symbol of sadness (or possibly the source of light and goodness, but I think the former). She of course doesn't, and in her pride, elevates herself through her tears, she comes to represent the rose - "silent, like a rose on its ladder of thorns" (one of the most elegant lines ever penned).
He tells her to sacrifice the depression - "lay your rose on the fire", this is in turn become the sun - the source of good, the source of splendour. The "letter" part, I don't follow, I'm afraid. This is some higher imagery. Interestingly in "The Favourite Game" Cohen describes a scar as the "word being made into flesh". Perhaps this is the "stuttering" process of scarring and healing.
Hope this makes it clearer for you and increases your enjoyment of this song.
One of my favourites... (especially the live version from the Field Commander Cohen Tour album).
Unfortunately I have almost no idea what this song is about. Some beautiful poetry though, over a wonderful lullaby-melody.
Anyone got any ideas on this song?
A wonderful song, and yes the live version on the Field Commander Cohen Tour album is spectactular.
A wonderful song, and yes the live version on the Field Commander Cohen Tour album is spectactular.
My reading (and I think it's the right one!) is that the song is the despair at a partner who is depressed, almost determined to be depressed and not come out of it - abandoned to "beauty and pride", like there is some vanity to her depression. She "stands by the window" refusing to pass through it to a better place - "the new Jerusalem glowing". The image of a rose is used to symbolise the depression - its thorn is "in her...
My reading (and I think it's the right one!) is that the song is the despair at a partner who is depressed, almost determined to be depressed and not come out of it - abandoned to "beauty and pride", like there is some vanity to her depression. She "stands by the window" refusing to pass through it to a better place - "the new Jerusalem glowing". The image of a rose is used to symbolise the depression - its thorn is "in her bosom". The depression takes affect on the brain - "the high silver nerves".
He appeals to love, god or a spirit to "gentle this soul" and make her better. To coax her from the "cloud of unknowing" and make peace with her trouble by "kissing the cheek of the moon" - the symbol of sadness (or possibly the source of light and goodness, but I think the former). She of course doesn't, and in her pride, elevates herself through her tears, she comes to represent the rose - "silent, like a rose on its ladder of thorns" (one of the most elegant lines ever penned).
He tells her to sacrifice the depression - "lay your rose on the fire", this is in turn become the sun - the source of good, the source of splendour. The "letter" part, I don't follow, I'm afraid. This is some higher imagery. Interestingly in "The Favourite Game" Cohen describes a scar as the "word being made into flesh". Perhaps this is the "stuttering" process of scarring and healing.
Hope this makes it clearer for you and increases your enjoyment of this song.