Hello all,
I'm writing a BIG assignment on Leonard Cohen and the album "The Future". For this I have to analyze both music and lyrics on "Democracy" and "The Future" (song), and the lyrics on "Waiting for a Miracle". After having analyzed "The Future", I'm now stuck with the second stanza on "Democracy". The one that starts with "It's coming through a crack in the wall, on a visionary flood of alcohol;". If any of you has an idea on the meaning of this stanza, perhaps line for line, I'd love it if you shared it with me. Also if you've analyzed any of the other stanzas, or the other songs.
And if anyone has already analyzed music and/or lyrics on the songs I mentioned, I'd be more than happy if you would send it to my mail: frede-rls@hotmail.com
Frederik
Denmark
"Democracy" - Meaning?
Re: "Democracy" - Meaning?
Fredrick,
I think the line means nothing more then that excited rush we all feel (felt) as young adults when you're having a beer with friends while talking about solving the worlds problems, and you get a rush as your collective conversation leads you all to . .. "the truth!" -- which, after you sober up, or grow older, you realize may not really be "the truth."
Cohen echoes Talmudic tradition (so I'm told -- I'm no Talmudic scholar!) when he refers (often) to "cracks" in walls or "in everything" as in Anthem's line "There is a crack . . a crack . . in everything/ That's how the light gets in." Perfection can only come through imperfection (thats another theme which runs through a lot of Cohen's thought.)
Have fun. I got to write a paper on Bob Dylan in my senior English class. The act of writing a paper helps one to come to arguments and thoughts one could never reach without the discipline of writing. To my (then) unmitigated astonishment, as I poured through Dylan, lyric after lyric I came to the conclusion that (whether he admitted it or not) Dylan was a Buddhist! (I got an A) (Tamborine Man only makes sense from a Zen perspective, as the Tamporine Man is calling you to hear your own melody and reject the superficial lies which fill all our lives.
I think the line means nothing more then that excited rush we all feel (felt) as young adults when you're having a beer with friends while talking about solving the worlds problems, and you get a rush as your collective conversation leads you all to . .. "the truth!" -- which, after you sober up, or grow older, you realize may not really be "the truth."
Cohen echoes Talmudic tradition (so I'm told -- I'm no Talmudic scholar!) when he refers (often) to "cracks" in walls or "in everything" as in Anthem's line "There is a crack . . a crack . . in everything/ That's how the light gets in." Perfection can only come through imperfection (thats another theme which runs through a lot of Cohen's thought.)
Have fun. I got to write a paper on Bob Dylan in my senior English class. The act of writing a paper helps one to come to arguments and thoughts one could never reach without the discipline of writing. To my (then) unmitigated astonishment, as I poured through Dylan, lyric after lyric I came to the conclusion that (whether he admitted it or not) Dylan was a Buddhist! (I got an A) (Tamborine Man only makes sense from a Zen perspective, as the Tamporine Man is calling you to hear your own melody and reject the superficial lies which fill all our lives.
Re: "Democracy" - Meaning?
Thanks you very much for taking your time to help me. Hope I'll do as good as you did with your Dylan Paper 
I'm now analyzing "Waiting for a Miracle", and I'm a bit confused about the main theme. It is love right? The waiting for the perfect love and so.. I've just seen a lot of different interpretations, and I'd like to be certain about the main theme, before I start writing. Anyone?
Frederik
I'm now analyzing "Waiting for a Miracle", and I'm a bit confused about the main theme. It is love right? The waiting for the perfect love and so.. I've just seen a lot of different interpretations, and I'd like to be certain about the main theme, before I start writing. Anyone?
Frederik
Re: "Democracy" - Meaning?
Fredrik,
I had the great pleasure of meeting 2 of your compatriots 2 summers ago while hiking the West HIghland Way. It was the last day of the walk, which is, as you may know, a long 17 mile day. My friends were looking for a lunch spot and we met a couple of charming Danes who had built a fire and had tea, but alas , no water. We had water -- so we had a wonderful lunch with wonderful hot tea. And a wonderful conversation as we compared notes about our hikes, and details of our respective countries.
So, as you a citizen of a most enlightened, rational country you may have no idea how many crazies inhabit the US.
I read "Waiting for the Miracle" as a piece describing how many of us put off living today because we expect some miraculous event to come and transform our lives. But you might want to troll about the web, if you have time, and look for some of the cult-like religions and the kinds of people who are attracted to them. (Though don't let the specific obscure your view of the general!)
Good luck! I know your immediate objective is getting the paper done, but I shall claim the heightened seat of age to pontificate that when you learn how to mine meaning out of poetry and art to a high degree the rest of your life will be enriched beyond measure.
I had the great pleasure of meeting 2 of your compatriots 2 summers ago while hiking the West HIghland Way. It was the last day of the walk, which is, as you may know, a long 17 mile day. My friends were looking for a lunch spot and we met a couple of charming Danes who had built a fire and had tea, but alas , no water. We had water -- so we had a wonderful lunch with wonderful hot tea. And a wonderful conversation as we compared notes about our hikes, and details of our respective countries.
So, as you a citizen of a most enlightened, rational country you may have no idea how many crazies inhabit the US.
I read "Waiting for the Miracle" as a piece describing how many of us put off living today because we expect some miraculous event to come and transform our lives. But you might want to troll about the web, if you have time, and look for some of the cult-like religions and the kinds of people who are attracted to them. (Though don't let the specific obscure your view of the general!)
Good luck! I know your immediate objective is getting the paper done, but I shall claim the heightened seat of age to pontificate that when you learn how to mine meaning out of poetry and art to a high degree the rest of your life will be enriched beyond measure.
Re: "Democracy" - Meaning?
Thank you very much, it's very kind of you to help me!!
Funny story about the danes you met - there is a couple of reasonable people over here after all
Well, yes the main object right now is to finish the paper quickly, but I'd also like to be as good as possible, cause I chose the subject myself. I've always been fascinated be Leonard Cohen's work, and he's one of my biggest idols, and I don't believe there's any one more intelligent than him. So I wanted to really get into his world of poems and lyrics. And that's a scary and very complex place to be, so I really appreciate your help.
Maybe you could help me again? My music teacher said it would be very good, if I shortly compared Leonard's lyrics and music in general, to the music and lyrics of Bob Dylan. Since you've written a paper on him, you could perhaps just tell me what they have in common. I don't have enough time to do the research, since I still need to analyze the music.
Funny story about the danes you met - there is a couple of reasonable people over here after all
Well, yes the main object right now is to finish the paper quickly, but I'd also like to be as good as possible, cause I chose the subject myself. I've always been fascinated be Leonard Cohen's work, and he's one of my biggest idols, and I don't believe there's any one more intelligent than him. So I wanted to really get into his world of poems and lyrics. And that's a scary and very complex place to be, so I really appreciate your help.
Maybe you could help me again? My music teacher said it would be very good, if I shortly compared Leonard's lyrics and music in general, to the music and lyrics of Bob Dylan. Since you've written a paper on him, you could perhaps just tell me what they have in common. I don't have enough time to do the research, since I still need to analyze the music.
Re: "Democracy" - Meaning?
I sent you a private message, but if you're like me, you may not realize you have it. So, here's "the gist of what I wrote:"
Well, the surface similarities -- they are both from Jewish families in the northern part of North America -- Cohen from Montreal, Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman) from Hibbing, Minnessota.
Their life trajectories were similar, except Cohen had more academic chops and accolades - but they both travelled about as folk musicians for a while, and then broke into the commercial folk scene at nearly the same time. They both hung with the same people -- Joan Baez, Judy Collins, etc.
And, looking more deeply into their works, they both have a strong affinity for Zen Buddhism. Cohen, as you may know, spent many years at Mt. Baldy Zen Center in California -- the financial treachery of his then-manager forced him to leave the monestery and begin recording and touring again.
The early works of both are similiar -- you may have noticed it already that their early works are thickly layered with image and metaphor. In fact, the metaphor in Dylan's work is in places so deep that you can only make sense of the lyrics by reading it symbolically. "When I Paint My Masterpiece" for example, makes little literal sense until you let you mind wander into the landscape of the symbolism: it's a history of Western art. ("I left Rome and landed in Brussels/ With a picture of a tall oak tree by my side" -- remember when the cutting edge of Western art left Rome and moved to Belgium and the low countries? And these northern European artists were much more likely to paint scenes from nature?)
I know you're working with later Cohen, but if you wish to get a handle on early Cohen just put the headphones on, close your eyes and see the images which present themselves as you listen to the lyrics (if your English is good enough to enter your mind quickly.) It sounds all too new-agey and weird, but it works for me.
Thematically, IMHO, these 2 went in opposite directions: Dylan began all zen-like ("Mr. Tamborine Man IS Zen -- albeit with super dense imagery) and moved toward more literal lyrics . Cohen began with super dense imagery about spiritualism and sex and moved toward Zen -- zen presented with spartan, simple, beautifully crafted words and images. (You can't get much more zen then 10 New Songs.)
Hope this helps.
I do suggest that doing some internet research on some Talmudic images will help with "Waiting for the Miracle" -- particularly the Talmudic image of "light."
Well, the surface similarities -- they are both from Jewish families in the northern part of North America -- Cohen from Montreal, Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman) from Hibbing, Minnessota.
Their life trajectories were similar, except Cohen had more academic chops and accolades - but they both travelled about as folk musicians for a while, and then broke into the commercial folk scene at nearly the same time. They both hung with the same people -- Joan Baez, Judy Collins, etc.
And, looking more deeply into their works, they both have a strong affinity for Zen Buddhism. Cohen, as you may know, spent many years at Mt. Baldy Zen Center in California -- the financial treachery of his then-manager forced him to leave the monestery and begin recording and touring again.
The early works of both are similiar -- you may have noticed it already that their early works are thickly layered with image and metaphor. In fact, the metaphor in Dylan's work is in places so deep that you can only make sense of the lyrics by reading it symbolically. "When I Paint My Masterpiece" for example, makes little literal sense until you let you mind wander into the landscape of the symbolism: it's a history of Western art. ("I left Rome and landed in Brussels/ With a picture of a tall oak tree by my side" -- remember when the cutting edge of Western art left Rome and moved to Belgium and the low countries? And these northern European artists were much more likely to paint scenes from nature?)
I know you're working with later Cohen, but if you wish to get a handle on early Cohen just put the headphones on, close your eyes and see the images which present themselves as you listen to the lyrics (if your English is good enough to enter your mind quickly.) It sounds all too new-agey and weird, but it works for me.
Thematically, IMHO, these 2 went in opposite directions: Dylan began all zen-like ("Mr. Tamborine Man IS Zen -- albeit with super dense imagery) and moved toward more literal lyrics . Cohen began with super dense imagery about spiritualism and sex and moved toward Zen -- zen presented with spartan, simple, beautifully crafted words and images. (You can't get much more zen then 10 New Songs.)
Hope this helps.
I do suggest that doing some internet research on some Talmudic images will help with "Waiting for the Miracle" -- particularly the Talmudic image of "light."
Re: "Democracy" - Meaning?
Here is one thing which you might consider. Leonard was lucky enough to be born into a country 'founded' by a drunk.Frls wrote:I'm now stuck with the second stanza on "Democracy". The one that starts with "It's coming through a crack in the wall, on a visionary flood of alcohol".
There is a little known, and not much discussed, bit of Canadian history regarding what is usually considered the 'founding father' of Canada.
Sir John A. Macdonald was known to lock the doors of the Prime Minister's office and go on 3-day benders while railing at the walls of the office. He is reported to have emerged from these sessions refreshed and with new ideas.
chugga-chugga chugga-chugga
The sound effect above this line might be a train (or maybe just Molson these days).