New poem "Steer Your Way"
New poem "Steer Your Way"
Since nobody has posted it yet, I think:
"Steer Your Way" by Leonard Cohen
The New Yorker, Poems, June 20, 2016 Issue
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/ ... nard-cohen
"Steer Your Way" by Leonard Cohen
The New Yorker, Poems, June 20, 2016 Issue
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/ ... nard-cohen
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
Lyrics to a new song is my guess? I recall that the magazine published the lyrics to one of the songs on Popular Problems before the album was released - I forget which song.
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
Let's hope so.yentek wrote:Lyrics to a new song is my guess?
I remember "A Street".yentek wrote:I recall that the magazine published the lyrics to one of the songs on Popular Problems before the album was released - I forget which song.
But there was more:
http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/leonard-cohen/all
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
Very mediocre for LC.
Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
I was trying to translate this new poem into Chinese to post on my site.
I guess 'As he died to make men holy, let us die to make things cheap' is an update on The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe.
Mark Twain wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated" to comment Philippine–American War. What about Leonard's update? on specific war or just general struggle against life? I vote for life.
and anyone can tell me the biblical reference about 'The the Altar and the Mall', 'the fables of Creation and the Fall' and 'the Palaces that rise above the rot' in the first three lines? Thanks a lot.
I guess 'As he died to make men holy, let us die to make things cheap' is an update on The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe.
Mark Twain wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated" to comment Philippine–American War. What about Leonard's update? on specific war or just general struggle against life? I vote for life.
and anyone can tell me the biblical reference about 'The the Altar and the Mall', 'the fables of Creation and the Fall' and 'the Palaces that rise above the rot' in the first three lines? Thanks a lot.
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2008-06-29 Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury Festival; 2008-07-17 O2 Arena, London
Leonard Cohen Chinese Fansite since 2008 http://site.douban.com/137869/
Search LeonardCohenCHINA on WeChat and subscribe for the latest Leonard Cohen news
2008-06-29 Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury Festival; 2008-07-17 O2 Arena, London
Leonard Cohen Chinese Fansite since 2008 http://site.douban.com/137869/
Search LeonardCohenCHINA on WeChat and subscribe for the latest Leonard Cohen news
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
I love it thanks for posting
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
So pretty good for anybody else?jerry wrote:Very mediocre for LC.
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
"let us die to make things cheap"WiTS wrote: I guess 'As he died to make men holy, let us die to make things cheap' is an update on The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe.
Mark Twain wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated" to comment Philippine–American War. What about Leonard's update? on specific war or just general struggle against life? I vote for life.
I think he's talking not about a war, but about using cheap labor under health-threatening circumstances to produce cheap consumer goods.
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Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
Good lyrics — and thanks for sharing!
Biblical references, to my very limited understanding of such matters, seem to be the destruction of the Temple and of the Golden Calf in line 1, and God's creation of the world and Adam's and Eve's expulsion from Eden in line 2.
In line 3 I'd say it's just any palaces built throughout history — by, and on, the suffering in the slums.
And there might be another meaning to "let us die to make things cheap", too: let us insist that things be made more easily available for those in need. (Copyrighted medicaments and seeds, for example.)
Anyway, I hope it's on the next album...
Biblical references, to my very limited understanding of such matters, seem to be the destruction of the Temple and of the Golden Calf in line 1, and God's creation of the world and Adam's and Eve's expulsion from Eden in line 2.
In line 3 I'd say it's just any palaces built throughout history — by, and on, the suffering in the slums.
And there might be another meaning to "let us die to make things cheap", too: let us insist that things be made more easily available for those in need. (Copyrighted medicaments and seeds, for example.)
Anyway, I hope it's on the next album...
___________________________________________________
Therefore know that you must become one with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the target —
to say nothing of the horse.
♪... for a while ♪
♪... for a little while... ♪
(Just a filthy beggar blessing / What happens to the heart)
Therefore know that you must become one with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the target —
to say nothing of the horse.
♪... for a while ♪
♪... for a little while... ♪
(Just a filthy beggar blessing / What happens to the heart)
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
I'm moved to tears by this beautiful poem.... Even if I do not get the meaning of every line, every word.
I do realize how much I miss this man, his magical concerts, his wisdom..............ulla
I do realize how much I miss this man, his magical concerts, his wisdom..............ulla
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
"Let us die to make things cheap"
My first thought was that this was about war, though though it could just be me as it reminded me of something I wrote in a song a while ago called Have I got News For You...
"We bombed some place we've never heard of before
It teaches us all new geography
You can only stand back in shock and awe
At just how brazen our puppet masters can be
The oil stocks they started runnin' low
The jets took off for strange exotic seas
Blowin' up dark skinned foreign kids to keep
The price of petrol down for you and me"
My first thought was that this was about war, though though it could just be me as it reminded me of something I wrote in a song a while ago called Have I got News For You...
"We bombed some place we've never heard of before
It teaches us all new geography
You can only stand back in shock and awe
At just how brazen our puppet masters can be
The oil stocks they started runnin' low
The jets took off for strange exotic seas
Blowin' up dark skinned foreign kids to keep
The price of petrol down for you and me"
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
Beautiful piece....with this and the new song popping up, me thinks the wheels on the LC new album train are beginning to turn
Jake.........Durham, NC 11-3-09; Brooklyn, NY 12-20-12
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
Thanks for posting this, Hartmut!
I was trying to make sense of the final stanza, when I noticed the repetition of the word, 'never':
Steer your way, O my heart, though I have no right to ask
To the one who was never never equal to the task
Who knows he’s been convicted, who knows he will be shot
Year by year
Month by month
Day by day
Thought by thought
"To the one who was never never equal to the task", offers two possible, and opposite, interpretations:
1. To the one was was NEVER equal to the task.
2. To the one (One?) who was always equal to the task.
Delicious.
I was trying to make sense of the final stanza, when I noticed the repetition of the word, 'never':
Steer your way, O my heart, though I have no right to ask
To the one who was never never equal to the task
Who knows he’s been convicted, who knows he will be shot
Year by year
Month by month
Day by day
Thought by thought
"To the one who was never never equal to the task", offers two possible, and opposite, interpretations:
1. To the one was was NEVER equal to the task.
2. To the one (One?) who was always equal to the task.
Delicious.
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
My guess is that Leonard is referring to Judeo/Christian Belief systems and the materialism of the modern days in your first query (altar mall creation fall). His reference to "As he died to make men holy" sounds like Jesus Christ taking on the sins of the world and sacrificing his ego/self/I for the benefit of others. "Let us die to make things cheap" is an analogy for destroying our ego/I/self thereby removing the grasping at the 'things' which destroys their value and makes them cheap. Palaces that rise above the rot is the modern day castles or multi-million dollar houses manifesting like mushrooms in the manure of the world. He is quite the poet! I have been wrong before when guessing Leonard's meanings though. He is a Buddhist and so am I, so we share a general view of existence (samsara) and I believe this is the framework for much of his work.WiTS wrote:I was trying to translate this new poem into Chinese to post on my site.
I guess 'As he died to make men holy, let us die to make things cheap' is an update on The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe.
Mark Twain wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated" to comment Philippine–American War. What about Leonard's update? on specific war or just general struggle against life? I vote for life.
and anyone can tell me the biblical reference about 'The the Altar and the Mall', 'the fables of Creation and the Fall' and 'the Palaces that rise above the rot' in the first three lines? Thanks a lot.
Last edited by daka on Sat Jun 18, 2016 3:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If you become the ocean you will not become seasick....Jikan (aka Leonard Cohen)
It's comin' from the feel that this ain't exactly real, or it's real, but it ain't exactly there! . Jikan
It's comin' from the feel that this ain't exactly real, or it's real, but it ain't exactly there! . Jikan
Re: New poem "Steer Your Way"
"let us die to make things cheap"
My take on this line is that things only have a value if there is grasping at them. If there is no 'I' no Ego, no 'self' to grasp, there is nothing to be grasped at, therefore it becomes cheap, because it is nor 'desired' . My view of Leonard's journey through life, which has been very spiritual, in spite of his self-deprecating commentaries of denial, has been a successful campaign to dismantle this Ego/I/Self. Would that I could say the same!
My take on this line is that things only have a value if there is grasping at them. If there is no 'I' no Ego, no 'self' to grasp, there is nothing to be grasped at, therefore it becomes cheap, because it is nor 'desired' . My view of Leonard's journey through life, which has been very spiritual, in spite of his self-deprecating commentaries of denial, has been a successful campaign to dismantle this Ego/I/Self. Would that I could say the same!
If you become the ocean you will not become seasick....Jikan (aka Leonard Cohen)
It's comin' from the feel that this ain't exactly real, or it's real, but it ain't exactly there! . Jikan
It's comin' from the feel that this ain't exactly real, or it's real, but it ain't exactly there! . Jikan