TineDoes wrote:
From reading Nadel's biography on LC and from different statements made by LC himself I understand that he loves, needs and respects women in his relationships but has/d difficulty in commiting himself fully. (correct me if you know this to be wrong) In this song I hear this illustrated, like before in a totally different context, in So long Marianne: "I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web/is fastening my ankle to a stone."
TineDoes, I believe you are correct about this, & the lyric you quoted is a very good example. I don't remember exactly what Nadel says about why LC has difficulty with commitment (or if he even tries to explain it), but there is a very interesting aspect to this, as illustrated by the lines, also from So Long Marianne: "You know that I love to live with you/ but you make me forget so very much/ I forget to pray for the angels. . . " He forgets to PRAY - this, I think, illustrates a conflict between his love for the woman, & his spiritual work, which is very intertwined with his sacred art; the authors of Leonard Cohen: Prophet of the Heart (a really great biography - the best, in my view) emphasize how it is of utmost importance to Leonard that he get his message (his prohetic message - his "word") to the people - it's really felt as a divine mandate (my words, not theirs, but that's their implication) - & he will do whatever is necessary to make his message(s) accessible to as many people as possible, without compromising the quality/comlexity/honesty of the message, or the beauty of its form. These authors say that when Leonard transitioned from poetry to music, the priest became a prophet. It wasn't enough for him to express life experience and/or describe reality in the form of written poetry; he had to confront the world head-on, & so he brought his poetry into the music, which he would have to perform (confronting the world head-on), & which would make it accessible to more people. (We know that he also performed his poetry in recitals, but music requires more performance, & would produce larger audiences). Anyway, these authors (Rawlins & Dorman) basically say that Marianne made Leonard feel very content - & that put his work at risk. There's also the fact that Leonard's work, especially when he moved into music, made it necessary for him to travel alot, which often put alot of distance ("now it's come to distances") between him & his women - we know this was one of the issues with Suzanne Elrod, the mother of his children, as it was with Marianne. So, I think this is a source of great pain for Leonard - the conflict between his very real love for his women, & his very compelling need to accomplish his work - to fulfill his prophetic role - to get his message to the people. I think there are indications of this conflict in many places in Leonard's work.
I wonder which is actually correct; I seriously would like to know. I secretly think it is "waving" but in my heart I want it to be "waiting". Maybe someone else could clarify which word is the right one.
It's something I've done all my life. I hear something and remember the tiny bit within the whole but have no clue who said it or where or when.