I thought I was alone!
Re: I thought I was alone!
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Last edited by ladydi on Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Womanfromaroom
- Posts: 1024
- Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:25 pm
- Location: Germany
Re: I thought I was alone!
Although, as I have mentioned somewhere else on the forum, I have been properly introduced to Leonard by a male fellow-student whom I really liked a lot almost ten years ago, my parents are (and always have been) keen Leonard-Cohen-listeners, which might have helped... 
Anyway, in Germany, I still know the feeling of being alone as to my L.C. appreciation... For example, most of my friends (all around the age of thirty-something) will say that they don't listen to the CDs I have compiled exclusively for them because they find them "too depressing". Once, when several of us were going to Munich by car (a long drive from my part of Germany!) and everyone was taking turns in having their favourite music played, I handed over my Leonard-Cohen-CD as well - and almost instantly wished I would not have! I mean, no one was listening properly, of course, and only the driver said she thought it was music calm enough to make her drive safely... WHAT a misunderstanding, although you can probably not expect anything like a devote audience paying attention to the lyrics within a group of five girls in these particular circumstances; still, it was a real failure,me expecting the songs (i.e. "The Songs of Leonard Cohen") to speak for themselves then and there, and instead, I ended up virtually JUSTIFYING my choice of music, which I thoroughly detested! Not even on my behalf so much but on Leonard's...
But, anyway, what I wanted to say: I know very well what it feels like to be (almost) the only Cohen fan your own age in your own microcosm and I am, therefore, all the more thankful that the leonardcohenforum.com - site exists!
Anyway, in Germany, I still know the feeling of being alone as to my L.C. appreciation... For example, most of my friends (all around the age of thirty-something) will say that they don't listen to the CDs I have compiled exclusively for them because they find them "too depressing". Once, when several of us were going to Munich by car (a long drive from my part of Germany!) and everyone was taking turns in having their favourite music played, I handed over my Leonard-Cohen-CD as well - and almost instantly wished I would not have! I mean, no one was listening properly, of course, and only the driver said she thought it was music calm enough to make her drive safely... WHAT a misunderstanding, although you can probably not expect anything like a devote audience paying attention to the lyrics within a group of five girls in these particular circumstances; still, it was a real failure,me expecting the songs (i.e. "The Songs of Leonard Cohen") to speak for themselves then and there, and instead, I ended up virtually JUSTIFYING my choice of music, which I thoroughly detested! Not even on my behalf so much but on Leonard's...
But, anyway, what I wanted to say: I know very well what it feels like to be (almost) the only Cohen fan your own age in your own microcosm and I am, therefore, all the more thankful that the leonardcohenforum.com - site exists!
Last edited by Womanfromaroom on Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:12 am, edited 2 times in total.
"You thought that it could never happen / to all the people that you became"...
Love Calls You By Your Name
Love Calls You By Your Name
Re: I thought I was alone!
Womanfromaroom, this has been my experience too ... and I believe it is common for most of us. When I strummed Leonard's songs on my guitar years ago, on Hydra no less, my mother was so irritated that she named my guitar "Grumpy" and banished me to the top floor.
For many years I puzzled over why other people find Leonard depressing while I find him uplifting. I have come to the conclusion that it is similar to the half-full or half-empty cup. To them, Leonard sings of a half-empty cup, whereas to me he sings of a half-full cup.
The ability to feel great pain is the same ability as to feel great joy. As I have grown older and more aware of the people around me, I have been amazed how subdued their feelings are. Huge numbers of people on this planet go through their entire lives feeling very little, positive or negative.
Those who admire Leonard's work can be summed up in one word: passionate.
For many years I puzzled over why other people find Leonard depressing while I find him uplifting. I have come to the conclusion that it is similar to the half-full or half-empty cup. To them, Leonard sings of a half-empty cup, whereas to me he sings of a half-full cup.
The ability to feel great pain is the same ability as to feel great joy. As I have grown older and more aware of the people around me, I have been amazed how subdued their feelings are. Huge numbers of people on this planet go through their entire lives feeling very little, positive or negative.
Those who admire Leonard's work can be summed up in one word: passionate.
“If you do have love it's a kind of wound, and if you don't have it it's worse.” - Leonard, July 1988
Re: I thought I was alone!
I agree with you. His songs deal with themes which most people, quite understandably, would rather not confront. The age old human concerns over politics, religion and sex. He asks his listeners to remove the mask of conformity.