With all the buzz about Cohen week in Montreal these days, I have been listening to all the songs again. I am especially drawn to “Lenny on the Radio”, a CD of rarities and live tracks very graciously given to me by Ken Forsyth at the Hydra meetup in 2009.
I realized not everyone has heard the Book of Longing outtake “Can’t Make the Hills”. I love this poem and this version. I read it last year at my brother Johnny’s funeral. He loved it too but he preferred the Philip Glass version.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard it- it seemed to float magically out of the air and water as I gazed at the sea at Castillo on a perfect evening, surrounded by newfound friends.
Thanks, Ken!
I have attached a video of the song with photos of Cohen’s first Holy Heart Theatre concert way back in the heady excitement of the eastern Canada pretour...
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
I am glad I spent a couple of days in Montreal in July to prepare me for November. I was completely swept away by a flood of grief as soon as I set foot on the corner of Sherbrooke and Saint Laurent, grief for Leonard, which I was expecting, but also for my brother who loved Montreal and lived there years ago. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fygksj6swwyr7 ... 9.png?dl=0
