Hallelujah and Happy Heavenly Birthday, Leonard Cohen

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Today is the birthday of an excellent and extraordinary man (he would be ninety today).
He was a specialist in the philosophy of love and hate, in patience and passion, expressing it through poetry and songs. He had profound insights into society, and with his poems, he dug deeply into the human psychological mind and narrated it through his verses.

Although he is well known, I add it as the custom introduction: Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work commonly explores themes such as faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss.

I’ve been listening to all the dissension…
I’ve been listening to all the pain…
And I feel that no matter what I do for you…
It’s going to come back again.
But I think that I can heal it…
But I think that I can heal it…
I’m a fool, but I think I can heal it…
With this song…

To be honest, I’ve intended to write an article about Cohen and the film “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song” for a long time, since I saw this movie last year in the cinema), but time failed, and then I thought, well, his ninetieth birthday is also a good pretext.

And honestly, again, I am not a great fan of this song! I just went to see this film because it was Leonard Cohen, which was enough rationale. But what caught my attention was that: first, this song is much older than I assumed, and second, many famous musicians had performed it before Cohen did it himself!

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (The Movie)

Poster design by Callan Advertising

Cohen wrote “Hallelujah” in 1983, using “an old Casio keyboard”, as someone reported. Cohen once said, “To find that song, that urgent song, takes a lot of versions, work, and sweat.” He recalled being in his underwear, banging his head on the floor of New York City’s Royalton Hotel until he finally thought the song was up to snuff.

“Hallelujah” was initially influenced by religion, reflecting Cohen’s Jewish background and making allusions to King David and Bathsheba (“The secret chord that David played”) and Samson and Delilah. As different versions emerged, the song became more spiritual and sometimes included sexual references. For instance, lines such as “When David played, his fingers bled” were omitted in some versions. Cohen noted his first meeting with Dominique Issermann in his notebooks. She recalled, “We used to have coffee together in the morning before he began working on ‘Hallelujah.’ He would play various versions for me. But it’s such a puzzle, such a symbolic poem. It’s obscure – like a bird flying around the room.

Here is a link to see some of Cohen’s pictures by Dominique Issermann: https://www.dominiqueissermann.com/leonard-cohen-tour

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic ’til I’m gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love…

He was a great friend of Al and me in our youth in Iran; he helped us to endure injustice and protected us as a good companion. I still appreciate it.

Finally, as his songs always carry a message, I chose the most beautiful and relevant one for our lives today: “Passing Through!” Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.💖🙏🤗🌹

I saw Jesus on the cross on a hill called Calvary
“Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?”
He said, “Talk of love not hate, things to do, it’s getting late
I’ve so little time and I’m only passin’ through.”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
(Come a little closer, friend)
I saw Adam leave the garden with an apple in his hand
I said “Now you’re out, what are you gonna do?”
“Plant some crops and pray for rain, maybe raise a little Cain
I’m an orphan now, and I’m only passin’ through, so are you”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
I was with Washington at Valley Forge, shivering in the snow
I said, “How come the men here suffer like they do?”
“Men will suffer, men will fight, even die for what is right
Even though they know they’re only passin’ through”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
I was at Franklin Roosevelt’s side on the night before he died
He said, “One world must come out of World War Two” (ah, the fool)
“Yankee, Russian, white or tan,” he said, “a man is still a man
We’re all on one road, and we’re only passin’ through”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
Let’s do it one more time
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through

41 thoughts on “Hallelujah and Happy Heavenly Birthday, Leonard Cohen”

  2. Leonard Cohen. It seems we both respect the man and his works. I was 16 years old when I found him. I have all his work, be it music, poetry, writings and most of the books others wrote about him. In short, the man was the one person I followed over all others. A fine blog is this. I see ‘Dance Me to the End of Love’ is with you. A classic; a song of evil death wherein the Nazi’s killed millions of Jews and the Gypsies. The lyric says it all. May I thank you for this blog. I loved every piece. Regards, Mike

    Liked by 3 people

    • Master speaks! Honestly, when I wrote this, I thought of you all the time because I know your acknowledgement of him. It was the luckiest moment in my life to get to know you, my appreciated friend.
      I was about twenty when I got his LP, ” Songs of Love And Hate,” in hand, though getting more information in Iran those days was rarely possible. However, I know him now better through you, my forever friend. Thank you so much for being with me. Always yours, Aladin.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Thank you so much Aladin for sharing this wonderful heavenly birthday tribute you’ve created for Leonard Cohen! It was great to listen to his songs during breakfast!

    To me, he’s what I call a ‘poet’s poet’, one who inspires the muse within myself to pick up her pen. I feel the same way about David Bowie and a few other great musicians.

    It’s more than their music, it’s more than their words, it’s something about them and how their divine soul speaks to mine which I love most of all. Love and gratitude, Deborah.

    Liked by 4 people

  13. elainemansfield's avatar elainemansfield

    Leonard Cohen was a star in my love affair with Vic. We’d lie together on the floor in front of an open fireplace and listen to his first album (1967) over and over again. We loved it when Leonard became a monk, but felt happy when he returned to music. I heard lots of Leonard Cohen at Marion Woodman workshops where Marion and the two other leaders were Canadian. My favorite song is still “Dance Me To the End of Love” and I hear it in my head and remember the tragedy behind it. Thanks for this piece, Aladin. Remembering that song brings tears.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Oh yes! I can imagine how wonderful it was to be in Marion’s workshop and listen to Cohen. The “Dance Me to the End of Love” is also one of my favourites. It tells about one of the most tragic occurrences in human history. Thank you, Elaine. Blessing.

      Liked by 1 person

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