Old Ideas - Memorable lines

[TineDoes]

another way by which Leonard intertwines mundane & cosmic/spiritual realities.

We find ourselves on different sides
Of a line that nobody drew

Thought it all may be one in the higher eye
Down here where we live it is two

[TipperaryAnn]

"And none of us deserving the cruelty or the grace... " from "Come Healing".

That just about sums it up, I think.

[imaginary friend]

'But crazy has places to hide in,
that are deeper than any goodbye'

(that's what the Man sings... different to lyrics in the booklet.)

ALL the lyrics in Crazy to Love You are wonderful to me – same with Anyhow.

[friscogrl]

"And none of us deserving the cruelty or the grace... " from "Come Healing".

That just about sums it up, I think.

I find this line very powerful. It"s one of my favorites too, along with "Yeah, but frankly I don"t like your tone".

M

[TipperaryAnn]

"Yeah, but frankly I don't like your tone".

M

Yes, I love that too, it's definitely a memorable line! ( The one most often chosen here, I see. ) Wonder what makes it so attractive - maybe the echo of "Gone with the wind" and "Frankly...I don't give a damn" has something to do with its being so catchy?

[holydove]

'But crazy has places to hide in,
that are deeper than any goodbye'

(that's what the Man sings... different to lyrics in the booklet.)

ALL the lyrics in Crazy to Love You are wonderful to me – same with Anyhow.

imaginaryfriend, I totally love that line too!! I didn't realize that the lyric in the booklet was different - now that you pointed it out, I see that it is. And IMO, what the Man sings is even more beautiful & brilliant than what was printed in the booklet. I also love:

Had to do time in the tower
Begging my crazy to quit

and:

Had to be people I hated
Had to be noone at all

[somewhat_nifty]

There are a few that have stuck with me:

We find ourselves on different sides / Of a line that nobody drew

as mentioned already. And 'frankly I don't like your tone' always raises a smile. Reminds me of something my mother would say!

Had to go crazy to love you / You who were never the one

Just classic Leonard.

and finally...

I'm naked and I'm filthy / and both of us are guilty

maybe just cos he makes it sound filthy

[Maarten]

Had to go crazy to love you / You who were never the one

Just classic Leonard.

This line always reminds me of the contradiction in Bird On The Wire where mr Cohen used to sing "Don't cry, you were always the one"...

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ5d_bWwQcI

I'm sure he used this line for a reason...

Maarten

[somewhat_nifty]

Ah yes, 'it was you that the loving was made for...'

[holydove]

I think every single line on this album is infintely memorable, but right now I want to mention:

Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space

(Shawn Colvin changed "arbitrary space" to something else when she sang at the award ceremony! I know she was very nervous, so I can forgive her, but it was kind of shocking that she changed THAT ONE - one of the most brilliant images ever conceived of. . .)

& this one's been cited before, but I loved it instantly, so forgive me for citing it again:

O troubled dust concealing
An undivided love
The Heart beneath is teaching
To the broken Heart above

And this whole verse, parts of which have already been cited, but I feel compelled to quote the whole thing:

Had to go crazy to love you
Had to go down to the pit
Had to do time in the tower
Begging my crazy to quit

[LisaLCFan]

In Amen, I love the lines

Tell me again
When the day has been ransomed
And the night has no right to begin

I love not only the lyrics (the words themselves, that fabulous internal rhyme in the third line, and the overall rhythm throughout, ahhh, nobody does that as well as Leonard!), but I also adore the way that Leonard sings it, when he pauses for a beat between "When the"... and "day has been ransomed." That is one of the best moments ever!

[holydove]

when he pauses for a beat between "When the"... and "day has been ransomed." That is one of the best moments ever!

Yes, Lisa, I love Amen immensely too, & there's another pause that I love: When Leonard sings, "tell me that you need me then", right before he sings the word "need", there's a little pause, & it sounds like he might be starting to sing "love", because I hear the "l" sound, & then you can hear him breathing for a moment, & then he changes it to "need". I love that!!

[Cheshire gal]

From 'Going Home' I love these lines:-

"But he does say what I tell him even though it isn't welcome.
He just doesn't have the freedom to refuse"

Very few people can turn a phrase like Leonard Cohen.

[mnkyface]

Yes! yes! I hear it too...and was about to post about it myself!

When Leonard sings, "tell me that you need me then", right before he sings the word "need", there's a little pause, & it sounds like he might be starting to sing "love", because I hear the "l" sound, & then you can hear him breathing for a moment, & then he changes it to "need". I love that!!

[Jonnie Falafel]

"And none of us deserving the cruelty or the grace... " from "Come Healing".

That just about sums it up, I think.

Spot on ~ we usually think only of a grace as something we don't deserve... LC emphasises detachment... even the "gates of mercy" are in "arbitrary space"