2008 LEONARD COHEN LIVE IN LONDON | Democracy |

Leonard Cohen Democracy is coming to USA

 
Leonard Cohen has already left us. But what a wonderful elder he was, and through his poetry, remains.  Covid-19 is said to specialize in sending elders along; some of us will no doubt be ok with having to go. And for the rest of us:  Well, good luck. I have been listening to Leonard Cohen because he is fabulous, and because he remained so , apparently, for as long as he could.  That sly smile, those surprising thoughts, that confident relationship to the feminine, though the song about Janis Joplin made me uneasy.  Anyway, elders may be leaving us in droves in this pandemic.  I’ve always adored old people and am now amazed to be one myself.  Elders make good teachers, and Cohen is excellent.  Burrow into Life, he teaches us.  Snuggle up. Then sing.

My favorites of his songs are: Well, Anthem, of course, but also the magnificent Hallelujah, and Everybody Knows.  Like Bob Dylan, whose early songs were a revolution in themselves, he has left us a soulful landscape of poetry and song. While the Masters of War have left ruin and devastation.

[posted to Alice Walkers Garden March 24, 2020]