Go No More A Roving

Leonard Cohen's recent albums - share your views with others!
jurica
Posts: 626
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2002 2:31 pm
Location: Croatia

Post by jurica »

i think it's about generation. like, me and my friends will go no more...
User avatar
icecreamtruck
Posts: 151
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 6:33 pm

Post by icecreamtruck »

Yes....but it is also a personal song....
User avatar
linda_lakeside
Posts: 3857
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:08 pm
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea..

Post by linda_lakeside »

Hi there,

Don't you think that practically all of Leonard's material is what one would call 'personal'? We all seem to relate in a very personal way to his material. Everyday we see testimonials to the power of Leonard's lyrics/poems.

In this particular song, he chose Byron's poem very carefully, I would think, and turned it into something that people of Byron's 'future' are still talking about.

And re: Tom's quote, he isn't/wasn't blind to what this particular poem might mean to others. This is the kind of artist/writer who will be 'in the books' when future historians read about our culture.

Linda.
User avatar
Rob
Posts: 1131
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:07 pm
Location: Wales

Post by Rob »

I have just recieved an e-mail from UK radio 4's "Poetry Please" to tell me that Byrons "We'll go no more a roving" will feature on the programme when it returns on May 15th. They also told me that Leonards "Now of sleeping" will remain on file and they will "let you know if/when it is to feature in a future programme".

Rob.
User avatar
linda_lakeside
Posts: 3857
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:08 pm
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea..

Post by linda_lakeside »

You in the UK seem to be getting a lot of Leonard these days. Our CBC (your BBC) has been letting us down. In a normal year we see/hear quite a bit about Leonard, old and new, but lately, not much.

Linda.
User avatar
linda_lakeside
Posts: 3857
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:08 pm
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea..

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by linda_lakeside »

Funny thing. I rec'd a topic notification for this thread, after such a very long, long time. So, I may as well go on record by saying that Leonard's so called 'tribute' to Irving Layton (great poet that he was), was a lazy rip off (of Byron's poem of course), set to muzak at a the very last minute to squeeze it onto Dear Heather (along with the tortuous On That Day). Leonard knew Layton was dying - so why the last minute 'tribute'? Surely to god he could have whipped up something original.

I've recently read Layton' s Droppings from Heaven, and ... I 'could' be wrong, but it sounded as if Layton took a few swipes at Leonard in the forward. But hey, this post is my opinion only.
~ The smell of perfume in the air, bits of beauty everywhere ~ Leonard Cohen.
User avatar
Goldin
Posts: 2480
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:57 pm
Contact:

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by Goldin »

linda_lakeside wrote:set to muzak at a the very last minute to squeeze it onto Dear Heather (along with the tortuous On That Day)
Three years between 9/11 and the release (Oct 2004). Is it really a "very last minute" (even for measured life of LC)?
User avatar
linda_lakeside
Posts: 3857
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:08 pm
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea..

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by linda_lakeside »

OK, you're right. So why did he even bother? Most of LC's fans (by remarks made in this very forum) could have lived without On That Day. Given the time from 9/11 to the actual 'release' of Dear Heather, On That Day disappoints even more than it did when I first thought about it. Mind you, the song was included in the album's material either long before the release, or was squeezed in at the last minute. I suppose Tom Sakic would know more about the order of things than I do.

I just think, as Leonard and Layton were such long-time friends, and Layton was sick for a long while, that Leonard could have given Layton a better send-off. If you get a chance, read the forward to Layton's Droppings from Heaven. It may be my imagination. but it sounded like there may have been a bit of a fall-out there. But, all I have is an opinion.
~ The smell of perfume in the air, bits of beauty everywhere ~ Leonard Cohen.
User avatar
leonardmtl
Posts: 368
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:57 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by leonardmtl »

linda_lakeside wrote:OK, you're right. So why did he even bother? Most of LC's fans (by remarks made in this very forum) could have lived without On That Day. Given the time from 9/11 to the actual 'release' of Dear Heather, On That Day disappoints even more than it did when I first thought about it. Mind you, the song was included in the album's material either long before the release, or was squeezed in at the last minute. I suppose Tom Sakic would know more about the order of things than I do.

I just think, as Leonard and Layton were such long-time friends, and Layton was sick for a long while, that Leonard could have given Layton a better send-off. If you get a chance, read the forward to Layton's Droppings from Heaven. It may be my imagination. but it sounded like there may have been a bit of a fall-out there. But, all I have is an opinion.

It seems to me that the dedication was less a "send-off" and more like a conversation between old friends, ...almost like they were in summer camp again ( which was Camp Pripsteins in the 50's), sitting around a campfire late at night together.......but now, fifty years later, musing, as the embers slowly burn out, about the past and the evolution of their sexual experiences .......mirroring a universal commentary on the cycle of a life . Simple, poignant and unvarnished, just like Leonard's work in general.
Last edited by leonardmtl on Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
We're all on one road....we're only passing through....

1967 Montreal / 2008 Toronto/ 2009 New York Beacon /Boston 2x /New York MSG / Chelsea Hotel Plaque Celebration /San Jose / 2010 Las Vegas 2x / 2012 Montreal 2x /Boston 2x
User avatar
linda_lakeside
Posts: 3857
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:08 pm
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea..

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by linda_lakeside »

Send off/conversation...who knows. I came to a different conclusion after reading the forward to Layton's Droppings from Heaven. But, that was published in the late '70s - and is so much water under the bridge.

Once again, we can only guess how everything came together. The writing and release of Dear Heather was a pivotal time in Leonard's life/career, also Leonard has been known to be disingenuous from time to time, as have we all. Time changes our circumstances and how we feel about those around us. An ever so slight shift of the fates and we're looking at the world from an entirely different perspective.

I wasn't trying to push my opinion - I merely posted in the wake of reading Layton's old poetry.
~ The smell of perfume in the air, bits of beauty everywhere ~ Leonard Cohen.
User avatar
apple
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:53 am

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by apple »

i love it. (I've learned so much about recording and music here.. a different genre I guess. I am familiar with studio recording.)

I hope you record far into the future. Leonard.
AlexandraLaughing
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:45 pm

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by AlexandraLaughing »

I disliked Go No More the first time I heard it- I also thought it was pretty much
linda_lakeside wrote:a lazy rip off (of Byron's poem of course), set to muzak ...
and that if you're going to reuse a folksong, you should at least make sure the tune is as good as the original. But I grew to like it over several playings.

However, I don't think it's only (sort of) tribute to Layton on that album. But that is just a guess. I would agree that there clearly was some bad blood between the two at some stage.
Alishibaz
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2016 6:12 pm
Location: Upper U.S.

Re:

Post by Alishibaz »

jurica wrote:i think Tom Sakic has the point:
Byron did use 'we', but Leonard could have chosen some other song which is about 'me' if he wanted. i think he chose this one BECAUSE this 'we', and 'going a-roving' just in the way the interview applies.

icecreamtruck, you shouldn't get offended EVER on this or any other forum. things that are written down have greater impact, and there's no smiling, well meaning face behind them, and therefore we all feel more offended than we would in real life. hell, even this what i'm writting may offend you, since it sounds so 'i'm smart, you stupid, i'll teach you', but if i told you this in person - it would sound completely different.

i'm on this forum quite some time, and i've seen many people leave it because they felt they were offended, when in truth (looking form my perspective) they had no real reason.
Wise words indeed, Jurica.
John Etherington
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:17 pm

Re: Go No More A Roving

Post by John Etherington »

Something that doesn't seem to have been discussed here is the history of "So We'll Go No More a Roving" as a contemporary song. Looking on youtube, these are the earliest versions that I can find:

Richard Dyer-Benett, 1955. He put the song into a musical setting of his own, which has been adapted by others:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJqigdfR0e0

Joan Baez on her 5th album, 1964. Similar melody but in her own distinctive style:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFNu47XR2KE

Shusha (Guppy), the Persian singer, on her album "Durable Fire - Songs of the English Poets, 1983 (only available on vinyl, secondhand). Shusha was a friend of mine (she died nine years ago) and this was the first version of the song that I heard. It's also my favourite; a beautiful adaption using a similar melody to Dyer-Bennett and Joan Baez. Shusha knew Joan as a friend and met Leonard in the late 70s or early 80s. I know that she would have sent him a copy of her album, so this may well be where he first heard the song. It's worth checking-out Shusha's version of Kate & Anna McGarrigle's "Heart Like a Wheel" on youtube, to hear what a lovely singer she was.

Leonard Cohen "Dear Heather". This loosely uses the same melody as the others, but is semi-spoken, and put into Leonard's own unique musical setting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDNfYWvh-HQ

Eric Andersen on "Mingle With the Universe - The Worlds of Lord Byron". Eric was a friend of Leonard, but his interpretation of the song is more up-tempo and different to he other versions I've mentioned. Incidentally, his album is excellent and highly recommended (I've reviewed it on Amazon and shared my review here, before).

Sample on https://soundcloud.com/eric-andersen-of ... e-a-roving

Finally, I see that there are some very different classical musical versions of the song, for which I have no dates.
Post Reply

Return to “Live in London, Dear Heather, The Essential Leonard Cohen, Ten New Songs”