THE SIMPLE LIFE

INDULGING THE "ARTSY" SIDE

It all started with watching the season premiere of House M.D. (great show btw, it's so much fun when you can actually apply stuff you learned in class). I heard a song at the end of the show that sounded familiar. Turns out it's a song originally by Leonard Cohen called "Hallelujah". So decided to check out his site to see if I could find a sample...ended up reading his chat transcript. A lot of his work seems to stem from various religious sources.

When asked about what Christ meant to him, his answer:
"Was looking at the crucifix. Got something in my eye.
A Light that doesn't need to live and doesn't need to die.
What's written in the Book of Love is strangely incomplete, 'til witnessed here in time and blood a thousand kisses deep."

Isn't that pretty? He's not Christian, at least not to my knowledge and some of his works seem the complete opposite, but regardless...I find it fascinating. Apparently he's a Canadian singer-songwriter-poet. I'm reading his stuff now and suddenly, I want to read more works of poets I liked in high school.

Here's are 2 of his poems: (I like them cuz they're easy-reads)

NEVERMIND

The war was lost
The treaty signed
I was not caught
I crossed the line

I had to leave
My life behind
I had a name
But never mind

Your victory
Was so complete
That some among you
Thought to keep

A record of
Our little lives
The clothes we wore
Our pots our knives

The games of luck
Our soldiers played
The stones we cut
The songs we made

Our law of peace
Which understands
A husband leads
A wife commands

And all of this
Expressions of
The High Indifference
Some call Love

The High Indifference
Some call Fate
But we had Names
More intimate

Names so deep
and Names so true
They're lost to me
And dead to you

There is no need
That this surviveT
here's truth that lives
And truth that dies

There's truth that lives
And truth that dies
I don't know which
So never mind

I could not kill
The way you kill
I could not hate
I tried I failed

No man can see
The vast design
Or who will be
Last of his kind

The story's told
With facts and lies
You own the world
So never mind

WHEN I WENT OUT

When I went out to tell her
The love that can't be told
She hid in themes of marble
And deep reliefs of gold

When I caught her in the flesh
And floated on her hips
Her bosom was a fishing net
To harvest infant lips

A soft dismissal in her gaze
And I was more than free
But took a while to undertake
My full transparency

Ages since I went to look
Or she would think to hide
Torn the cover torn the book
The stories all untied

But someone made of thread and mist
Attends her every grace
Sees more beauty than I did
When I was in his place


Why have I never heard of this man before?? Where have I been? Come to think of it, I don't think I know a lot of Canadian artists in general...now I feel ignorant.

for more of his works, check out http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/

*edit: I just found out that the song was from Shrek...so THAT'S why it sounded so familiar!*