leonardcohenforum.com

Hello Olavsdatter,

Do you happen to be from Iceland? I went there on a holiday last summer, and it seems like an Icelandic name to me...

Anyway, I don't really know what this song is about, but I can give you what I found about it:

During his concert in Frankfurt on 06/05/70, Leonard Cohen said:

"This is a song about a man and a woman.It's called "Let's sing another song boys".And an example... I can go and give this like a german doctoral thesis.The song pertains to dissect the intimate connections in the ordinary relationship.Coming to no satisfactory conclusions the author of the melody abandons it and begins another song. hence the title "Let's sing another song Boys".At which point,in the author's mind he invisits the audience, rising to its feet, then throat burning and singing the new song which speaks of the end of all the tyrannies that we place upon each other in the living room.And the song is completed in a triumphal march on the Bastille."

Check out this website:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pilgraeme/
(Leonard Cohen in his own words)

Best regards,
Maarten

Hei Maarten.

Thank you for answering. I appreciate that.

About your question, no, I'm not from Iceland. I am from Norway. We have a shared history though, guess there are some words or maybe many that resembles each other. I would like to go to Iceland too one day.

~

Tchocolatl ~ Thanks for expressing my immediate thought to YDF. Wishes are not commands. A cat would never have coined the phrase, "Your wish is my command."

Olavsdatter ~ Yes, getting to know your cat would teach many people about cats. I'm glad to know I was right about your name, and to know that it's actually Norwegian. I'm glad that Maarten answered you seriously, and gave you a helpful link, as well. A great song.

I was surprized by Tom's answer to you. I can only think that he did not believe you were a new, real person when he wrote that.

Thanks for writing your question here. Your questions are welcome.

~ Lizzy

lizzytysh wrote:I was surprized by Tom's answer to you. I can only think that he did not believe you were a new, real person when he wrote that.

Indeed I must have been influenced by YDF's first response. Sorry for that.

Tom

My dear deluded Patients,

Olafsdatter's cat may be "sincere". But Olafsdatter is not. The sentence structure of "her" posts give the game away. "Sincere this is." I very much doubt it. Or rather, It doubt very much I.


Now I must hush away.


YdF

Regarding the song (I'm afraid I scrolled down most of the chit-chat) I'm starting to think its a satire of some of the singer/songwriters/troubadours/intellectials/whatever they were trying to be people of the 60's. If you listen to the lyrics there's something very funny and satirical (is that even a word?) about the song. Nowadays everything I hear LC saying "Lets sing another song boys this one has growin' old and bitter" I want to giggle.

Thank you, lizzytysh, for welcoming me. And thank you, Floater, for answering. Send a smile over to you.

I especially like the line "his hands on his leather belt now, like it was the wheel of a big ocean liner". Conjures up a terrific collage of two images that is more than the sum of the parts.

Wow, a lot of talk around a point that was never made.

So I thought I'd post my thoughts on this song's meaning - it does seem pretty straight forward. A song about a girl and a guy who pine for one another: "His fingernails, they are broken/she's eaten with desire." She tries to get his attention and lean on him, but his interest is fleeting. The lines where he says to leave the future open, and his belt like the wheel of an ocean liner - followed by her learning to touch herself suggests that he leaves her. Or if that's not right, then they're something else keeping them apart, like her father. But whatever it is, they'll never reach the moon - they'll never find unity in that love. So Cohen could have spent more time discussing it but you know, let's leave these lovers wondering why they can't have eachother. It is the same song (story-wise) of every couple who's love ended in loss. It's too painful to stay on it, so let's sing another song boys, this one has grown old and bitter.