The Lennie I am referring to in such a cheeky way is Leonard Cohen, and Marmite, in case you don’t know is a savoury yeast spread which is utterly delicious… unless you don’t like it, in which case it is abhorrent!
… back to Lennie. I discovered Leonard Cohen when I was eighteen… and some things you love when you are that age you love for ever… I fell in love with a German boy at the same time, however, our love didn’t last forever, but Leonard was different.
I haven’t played any of his music for quite a while and the other day I came across a CD which I had to stick in the player. It wasn’t the same as when I was young and in love, then, it was an LP, and with the usual crackles and hisses that accompanied any well-loved record. This was pure and clear and I could hear every instrument that was played on every track. Sadly, my husband who is a great musician and rock and roller didn’t share my appreciation, so now listening to Len is a solitary occupation, although it does mean I can have it on full blast and sing at the top of my voice!
I have two of his albums, ‘Songs of Leonard Cohen’, and ‘Songs From A Room’, which I must have played so many times that I know most of the words off by heart; they had a particular resonance for me as a young woman, leaving home to go to University, falling in love, becoming independent… and when I listen to them now, I have a disjointed feeling of being that person but also being me now and appreciating the songs and their lyrics in a different way.
What appealed to me then, and still appeals now, is the narrative quality of his lyrics; listening to ‘Songs From A Room’, the other day brought into focus the importance of being aware of audience… something I’m not good at, I admit. My stories are in my head, as if they are scenes from another world being played out before me and I’m an observer. However, as a writer I’m creating scenes for my audience, I have to be aware of the objective view of what I write…and I know a writer or poet can never do that completely, as everything is open to interpretation based on the reader or audiences own perspective, thoughts, beliefs experiences etc. If I want readers then I have to be aware of them, otherwise I might as well not bother publishing my work! And I do want readers! I want to share my stories, tell my tales, it’s what I’ve always done, and I guess it’s what I’ll always do!
Leonard Cohen’s songs cover everything, love, hate, religion, politics, depression, history… Here is one of Leonard’s most brilliant songs, on so any levels; as relevant now as it was when he first wrote it… and especially having seen the news today about the trial of Radovan Karadzic.
The Partisan.
When they poured across the border
I was cautioned to surrender,
this I could not do;
I took my gun and vanished.
I have changed my name so often,
I’ve lost my wife and children
but I have many friends,
and some of them are with me.An old woman gave us shelter,
kept us hidden in the garret,
then the soldiers came;
she died without a whisper.There were three of us this morning
I’m the only one this evening
but I must go on;
the frontiers are my prison.Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing,
through the graves the wind is blowing,
freedom soon will come;
then we’ll come from the shadows.Les Allemands e’taient chez moi,
ils me dirent, “Signe toi,”
mais je n’ai pas peur;
j’ai repris mon arme.J’ai change’ cent fois de nom,
j’ai perdu femme et enfants
mais j’ai tant d’amis;
j’ai la France entie`re. (Un vieil homme dans un grenier
pour la nuit nous a cache’,
les Allemands l’ont pris;
il est mort sans surprise.Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing,
through the graves the wind is blowing,
freedom soon will come;
then we’ll come from the shadows.
Lois Elsden 
And for me just 16 in south east London it was Suzanne,
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said “All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them”
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.
Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.
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Hang on… you’re older than me… or is there something you’ve not told me all these years?!!
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I love Marmite and have since I was a child. As a (mature!) student in London in the first year of the ’60s I lived on Marmite-laden suet pastry patties cooked under the Baby Belling grill for the weeks at the end of each term after my grant had run out. I discovered Leonard Cohen a few years later, through his first album in the year of its release, which must make me somewhat older too! If I remember rightly Suzanne was on this first album. It all brings back memories of the King’s Road, Chelsea and a bed sit in Fulham, where I remember listening to Cohen having eaten hash-laden chocolate cake. It was also what I consider my best years as a journalist; some would say this was down to the chocolate cake. Everyone else had ‘discovered the meaning of life’ with LSD but I saw too many people really messed up by it so avoided it. So many memories evoked by the man I consider to be the greatest poet of modern times and a pretty good musician too.
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Your comments bring back so many student memories… oh the Baby Belling! Oh the cold… no such thing as central heating in those days and electricity all on a meter to feed the miserable little one bar fire! And a shared bathroom in a house of maybe ten rooms… ugh! But I loved every minute of it… I have a desire to write a novel about those days but it would need quite a bit of research as my memory is fallible! As for hash cakes… I was never that into it, I preferred alcohol but I did have a couple of amazing trips – so amazing that I didn’t want to do it again in case it wasn’t as good… wise move I think in retrospect!
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This is a great post, Lois. I think the Cohen songs that stand out for me are “Sisters of Mercy” and “Traveling Lady.” If you’ve ever seen the movie “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” Robert Altman put them to brilliant effect on the big screen.
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Oh thanks, Jeremy! No, I’ve not seen that film… but now I want to! it’s difficult to pick out a favourite song… I seem to like different ones at different times of my life, but I always do like ‘A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes’ and ‘The Old revolution’… and of course ‘The Story of Isaac’ is so powerful too!
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