"There But For Fortune"

[Kush]

As for almost disturbing, yes. "There but for the grace of God go I." -- Skill, hard work, self-determination and all of that don't mean squat if circumstances are overriding.

Steven - It is one of a handful or a couple more songs that give me a queasy feeling. Sometimes I juxtapose the words with images of emaciated kids in various parts of the world. Or even if not that extreme, people whose futures are limited and closed due to the circumstances of their birth.

[Kush]

I don't know what "shakedown in the shower" is a rewrite of.

Lightning - it is LCs rewrite of Always.

[Steven]

Hi Kush,

There are varieties of music I'm careful to limit my listening to and some I try to avoid altogether.
So far, "There But For Fortune" hasn't had any negative affects on me that I'm aware of. To me,
the "almost disturbing" aspect of the song flows from the empathy/insecurity that the song stimulates.

[DrHGuy]

I've often heard songwriters feel violated when cover artists change their lyrics. I wonder how Leonard felt about what Joan Baez did to "Suzanne.""--""she's touched you and she's moved you and she's kind." I never liked that re-write, but Leonard may be too polite to complain.

I have a post at Heck Of A Guy about Leonard's thoughts on Joan Baez's adaptation. A pertinent excerpt follows:
I don’t give my songs any instructions when they are presented to the public. They are completely on their own. I really feel they can take care of themselves – even when they are brutally violated as Joan Baez did to the song “Suzanne.” [emphasis mine]

For more of his response and a link to the video interview in which he said it, see Leonard Cohen Claims Joan Baez Brutally Violated His Song “Suzanne” at http://1heckofaguy.com/2011/03/08/leona ... g-suzanne/