Wow, that was a surprise. I forget that others might be reading our posts. I nearly choked on my coffee this morning as it was a little jarring to see us mentioned under the familiar Cohencentric webpage heading. How very nice of Allan... Thank you.
B4- Do you still have a copy of the picture you drew of Leonard and the Ovation and the leather jacket? I’d like to see it.
Thank you also for the links regarding Ovations on the website and on FB. I like the look on Leonard's face in the photo with the equally handsome guitar on the Ovation FB page, although a few words from them would have added to their short tribute and kept it from appearing self-serving, which I doubt it was intended to be.
I do hope to increase my guitar playing with The Little Black Songbook! And yes, I do know A, E, and D, so I look forward to learning The Ballad of the Absent Mare! Since I had been wanting to pick it up again, I had taken my guitar to our music teacher at work before school let out this year to ask about getting nylon strings (if it’s good enough for Mr. Cohen…). He said that my guitar is best with the metal ones. What does he know—he is the one who only knew ONE Leonard song, and he calls himself a music teacher for Pete’s sake.
Alan- I loved the description of Raffi Hakopian caressing his violin. It must have been a noticeably touching gesture, as I think I remember B4 also saying something about this when we first discussed Recent Songs. I tried to search for more info about Raffi because I wondered why he stopped playing with Leonard.
I liked what you said about the rose in The Window. I have always loved the line “lay your rose on the fire”. I had thought of it as an offering more than a symbol of getting rid of something. But I can see what you are saying, in that he is turning from self-centered pride to a better way. Either way, roses have never been a favorite flower of mine as flowers go, but their use as a symbol especially by Leonard has redeemed them!
AlanM post wrote:...a friend was someone who would come round and help you move, but a good friend would come round and help you move a body.
That quote made me almost lose my coffee for the second time this morning! Funny stuff!
I liked what you said about friends who you might not talk to for weeks or months and then when you do, it's like you saw them yesterday. That is so very true! I have at least one friend and a couple family members that I click like that with.
You are right about my donkeys. Their companionship can indeed be better than some people I know. As for your quote from The Absent Mare it reminded me of a picture I will try to post below. As silly as they look, donkeys are the most sincere creatures. People often think of them as stubborn, dowdy, and dull as compared to a horse, but since I have begun this journey, I have often thought that the difference between a horse and a donkey is like the difference between Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Only someone who understands donkeys would understand what a compliment that is to Leonard Cohen.
Vickie (below are are 2 of my donkeys, Sam and Cha-Cha)