Τα καλύτερα μουσικά γιουτιουμπάκια: Λέοναρντ Κοέν

[nickel]

Ξέρω, Λέναρντ Κόεν κανονικά, αλλά εγώ είμαι με τον Μήτσο. Λατρεύω τον Κοέν από τότε που τον άκουσα να τραγουδάει τη Σουζάνα. Έχουμε περάσει μαζί πάνω από σαράντα χρόνια καλή παρέα. Ποτέ δεν με ενόχλησε να ακούσω και να ξανακούσω ένα δίσκο του — το αντίθετο.

Τον τελευταίο καιρό ακούω και ξανακούω τραγούδια του από πρόσφατες ζωντανές εμφανίσεις του: του Λονδίνου (2008) στο Live in London και άλλες στο Songs from the Road.

Η φωνή του, στα εβδομήντα κάτι του, καλύτερη από ποτέ. Οι ζωντανές εκτελέσεις του χάρμα, όχι σαν τις περισσότερες άλλες των διάφορων γερόλυκων, που τις ακούς με συγκατάβαση και σπεύδεις να ξαναβάλεις το πρωτότυπο για να μη σου μείνει το κακό άκουσμα. Το νήμα το άνοιξα για να σας ταράξω στην κοενιάδα. Να ένα από τα λιγότερο γνωστά τραγούδια του, όπως το εκτέλεσε στο Λονδίνο (17/7/2008).

My friends are gone and my hair is grey.
I ache in the places where I used to play.
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on.
I'm just paying my rent every day in the tower of song.

I said to Hank Williams: “How lonely does it get?”
Hank Williams hasn't answered me yet,
But I hear him coughing all night long,
A hundred floors above me in the tower of song.

I was born like this, I had no choice.
I was born with the gift of a golden voice,
And twenty-seven angels from the great beyond,
They tied me to this table right here in the tower of song.

So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll
I'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at all.
I'm standing by the window where the light is strong.
They don't let a woman kill you, not in the tower of song.

Now you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sure:
The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor,
There's a mighty judgement coming, but I may be wrong.
You see, you hear these funny voices in the tower of song.

I see you standing on the other side.
I don't know how the river got this wide.
I loved you, baby, way back when -
And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed,
But I feel so damn close to everything we lost-
We'll never, we’ll never have to lose it again.

So I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back.
They’re moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track.
But you'll be hearing from me, darling, long after I'm gone.
I'll be speaking to you sweetly from my window in the tower of song.

My friends are gone and my hair is grey.
I ache in the places where I used to play.
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on.
I'm just paying my rent every day in the tower of song.

 

[crystal]

 

[nickel]

Στίχοι για το I'm Your Man και το ποίημα A Thousand Kisses Deep που απαγγέλλει μετά το τέλος του τραγουδιού (κάπου στο 5:50):

I'm Your Man

If you want a lover
I’ll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I’ll wear this old mask :) for you
If you want a partner
Take my hand
Or if you want to strike me down in anger
Here I stand
I’m your man

If you want a boxer
I will step into the ring for you
And if you want a doctor
I’ll examine every inch of you
If you want a driver
Climb inside
Or if you want to take me for a ride
You know you can
I’m your man

But the moon’s too bright
The chain’s too tight
The beast just won’t go to sleep
I’ve been running through these promises to you
That I made and I could not keep
Ah but a man never got a woman back
Not by begging on his knees
Or I’d crawl to you, baby
And I’d fall at your feet
And I’d howl at your beauty
Like a dog in heat
And I’d claw at your heart
And I’d tear at your sheet
I’d say please, please
I’m your man

And if you want to sleep
For a minute on the road
I will steer for you
And if you want to work the street alone
I’ll disappear for you
If you want a father for your child
Or only want to walk with me another mile
Across the sand
I’m your man

If you want a lover
I’ll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I'll wear a mask for you


Spoken word version of A Thousand Kisses Deep

You came to me this morning
And you handled me like meat.
You’d have to live alone to know
How good that feels, how sweet.
My mirror twin, my next of kin,
I’d know you in my sleep.
And who but you would take me in
A thousand kisses deep?

I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat.
You see, I’m just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet,
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second-hand physique,
With all he is, and all he was
A thousand kisses deep.

I know you had to lie to me,
I know you had to cheat.
To pose all hot and high
Behind the veils of sheer deceit
Our perfect porn aristocrat
So elegant and cheap
I’m old but I’m still into that
A thousand kisses deep

I’m good at love, I’m good at hate
It’s in between I freeze
Been working out but it’s too late
(It’s been too late for years)
But you look good, you really do
They love you on the street
If you were here, I’d kneel for you
A thousand kisses deep

The autumn moved across your skin
Got something in my eye
A light that doesn’t need to live
And doesn’t need to die
A riddle in the book of love
Obscure and obsolete
Till witnessed here in time and blood
A thousand kisses deep

And I’m still working with the wine,
Still dancing cheek to cheek.
The band is playing Auld Lang Syne,
But the heart will not retreat.
I ran with Dis
I sang with Ray
I never had their sweep
But once or twice they let me play
A thousand kisses deep

I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat
You see, I'm just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second-hand physique
With all he is and all he was
A thousand kisses deep

But you don't need to hear me now
And every word I speak
It counts against me anyhow
A thousand kisses deep.​

 

[Isiliel]

Διάβαζα πρόσφατα για το Ξενοδοχείο Τσέλσι στη Νέα Υόρκη και τους εκλεκτούς καλλιτέχνες που έχουν περάσει από εκεί.

Ένας απ' αυτούς και ο Leonard Cohen, λέγεται πως έγραψε το κομμάτι που ακολουθεί, για την Janis Joplin:

Chelsea Hotel # 2
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
you were talking so brave and so sweet,
giving me head on the unmade bed,
while the limousines wait in the street.

Those were the reasons and that was New York,
we were running for the money and the flesh.
And that was called love for the workers in song
probably still is for those of them left.

Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,
you just turned your back on the crowd,
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you,
I need you, I don't need you
and all of that jiving around.

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
you were famous, your heart was a legend.
You told me again you preferred handsome men
but for me you would make an exception.
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have the music."

Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,
you just turned your back on the crowd,
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you,
I need you, I don't need you
and all of that jiving around.

I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best,
I can't keep track of each fallen robin.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
that's all, I don't even think of you that often.

 

[nickel]

Επειδή έγινε σχετική ερώτηση ιδιωτικά, θα ήθελα να πω ότι το ποίημα Thousand Kisses Deep βρίσκεται στο βιβλίο Book of Longing του Κοέν, που κυκλοφόρησε το 2006, και μεταφράστηκε εδώ από την Ιωάννα Αβραμίδου για τις εκδόσεις Ιανός. Αν κάποιος έχει το βιβλίο, θα κάναμε μεγάλη χαρά να δούμε εδώ τη μετάφραση του ποιήματος. Παραπάνω κατέγραψα τα λόγια της απαγγελίας του Κοέν. Το ποίημα, όπως είναι στο αγγλικό βιβλίο, μπορείτε να το δείτε εδώ.

http://www.leonardcohencroatia.com/bookoflonging/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Longing
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EvlT4hJFq9kC
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Longing-Leonard-Cohen/dp/006112558X
http://www.biblionet.gr/main.asp?page=showbook&bookid=132410
http://www.mic.gr/books.asp?id=15636

 

[SBE]

Και φυσικά, μην ξεχνάμε ότι στις συναυλίες του στην Ελλάδα παλιά συστηνόταν ως Λεονάρδος Κοέν, οπότε μην αισθάνεσαι ότι υποκύπτεις στο Μήτσο, Νίκελ, είχε υποκύψει στο Μήτσο κι ο ίδιος ο καλλιτέχνης.

 

[nickel]

Ε, ναι, στην Ύδρα θα τον είχαν εξελληνίσει. Ας τον ακούσουμε να βάζει ο ίδιος την υπογραφή του (αν είχε χρηστώνυμο εδώ, μπορεί να το έκανε «ελκόν» :) ). Κολλάω από πίσω και αγαπημένη μου δεύτερη εκτέλεση, που υπάρχει στο δίσκο Tower of Song (ο οποίος δεν περιέχει το ομώνυμο τραγούδι). Ο αναρτητής της πρωτότυπης εκτέλεσης την εμπλούτισε με φωτογραφίες του Andi Popescu και στίχους. Ανήκει στα τραγούδια που έχουν συζητηθεί για το είδος της σχέσης που περιγράφει: εν συντομία στη Wikipedia, εξαντλητικά εδώ. Γράφει στο δεύτερο: «Even Cohen is not sure, or not sure anymore, about the exact nature of the relationships in Famous Blue Raincoat; or he is just not willing to resolve an atmosphere of ambiguity that he might have created intentionally».

It's four in the morning, the end of December
I'm writing you now just to see if you're better
New York is cold, but I like where I'm living
There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening.

I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert
You're living for nothing now, I hope you're keeping some kind of record.

Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear
Did you ever go clear?

Ah, the last time we saw you, you looked so much older
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder
You'd been to the station to meet every train
And you came home without Lili Marlene

And you treated my woman to a flake of your life
And when she came back she was nobody's wife.

Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth
One more thin gypsy thief
Well I see Jane's awake —
She sends her regards.

And what can I tell you, my brother, my killer,
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you
I'm glad you stood in my way.

If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me,
While your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free.

Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
I thought it was there for good so I never tried.

And Jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear
Sincerely, L. Cohen

 

[SBE]

Προσωπικά το αγαπημένο μου κοενικό άσμα είναι το

. Περιέχει κάτι για τον καθένα και το βρίσκω εξαιρετικά χιουμοριστικό.
Δυστυχώς, τα εισιτήρια της συναυλίας στο Λονδίνο ήταν πολύ τσουχτερά (£60 το φτηνότερο, κανά χιλιόμετρο από τη σκηνή), κι αφού κανένας δεν ήθελε να έρθει κλπκλπ.

 

[nickel]

Everybody Knows (από τον γραφειοκράτη του φόρουμ)

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows the boat is leaking
Everybody knows the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long-stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me, baby
Everybody knows you really do
Everybody knows you've been faithful
Give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes, everybody knows

Everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
Everybody knows that you live forever
When you've done a little line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

Everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows…

 

[daeman]

Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone.
They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on.
And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me their song.
Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long.

Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control.
It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul.
Well I've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned:
When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned.

They lay down beside me, I made my confession to them.
They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem.
If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn
they will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.

When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon.
Don't turn on the lights, you can read their address by the moon.
And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night:
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right,
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right.

 

[pidyo]

Μια ωραία διασκευή που δεν γνώριζα:

Η Νίνα Σιμόν τραγουδάει Λεονάρδο

 

[nevergrown]

Ίσως να αρέσει κι αυτή εδώ η ερμηνεία για το Dance Me To The End Of Love

Madeleine Peyroux - Dance Me To The End Of Love

 

[Cadmian]

Πασίγνωστη διασκευή, αλλά καλό είναι ν' ανατρέχει κανείς και σ' αυτές.

 

[nickel]

Καλημέρα και καλή βδομάδα. Άλλη μια διασκευή, με τη φωνή της Γεωργιανής, και Εγγλέζας πια (μιας από τις πλουσιότερες), Katie Melua:

 

[daeman]

Διάβαζα πρόσφατα για το Ξενοδοχείο Τσέλσι στη Νέα Υόρκη και τους εκλεκτούς καλλιτέχνες που έχουν περάσει από εκεί.

Ένας απ' αυτούς και ο Leonard Cohen, λέγεται πως έγραψε το κομμάτι που ακολουθεί, για την Janis Joplin:

[...]

Επειδή η προβολή του βίντεο που ανάρτησε η Isiliel παραπάνω δεν επιτρέπεται πια στην Ελλάδα (Sony και πρασινάλογα, γμτ!) ορίστε μια άλλη εκδοχή, ισπανοϋποτιτλισμένη:

Η αφορμή όμως γι' αυτό το ποστ δεν ήταν αυτή, αλλά το γεγονός (ναι, τετελεσμένο ότι σήμερα ανακάλυψα ότι έχει αποδοθεί και στα ελληνικά από τον αείμνηστο Χρήστο Λεττονό, σε μια εξαιρετική εκτέλεση:

Σε θυμάμαι συχνά σε δωμάτια φτηνά
πώς μιλούσες γλυκά στο σκοτάδι
σώμα ζεστό και το στρώμα απαλό
και στους δρόμους αργούσε το βράδυ.

Έτσι είν’ η πόλη, καλή αφορμή
να γυρέψουμε σάρκα και χρήμα.
Μα η αγάπη αυτή πώς γερνάει στη στιγμή
σε μια γκρίζα και πένθιμη Αθήνα.

Ναι, μα εσύ είσαι καπνός
χάθηκες, πας, προσπερνάς και στον κόσμο σε χάνω.
Ποτέ πια ξανά δε θ’ ακούσω να λες
«σ’ έχω ανάγκη», «δε σ’ έχω ανάγκη»
«σ’ έχω ανάγκη», «δε σ’ έχω ανάγκη»
ο χρόνος κυλάει και ξεχνάς.

Σε θυμάμαι συχνά σε δωμάτια φτηνά
ήσουν σάρκα, αγάπη και μύθος.
Μου είπες ξανά πως ζητάς ομορφιά
και ότι εγώ απ’ αυτήν ήμουν τζίφος.

Μα ήσουν όλo καρδιά, για παιδιά σαν κι εμάς
που δε μοιάζουμε σαν αγγελούδια.
Γυρνάς ξαφνικά και μου λες
«ε καλά, είσαστ’ άσχημοι, μα λέτε τραγούδια».

Ναι, μα εσύ είσαι καπνός
χάθηκες, πας, προσπερνάς και στον κόσμο σε χάνω.
Ποτέ πια ξανά δε θ’ ακούσω να λες
«σ’ έχω ανάγκη», «δε σ’ έχω ανάγκη»
«σ’ έχω ανάγκη», «δε σ’ έχω ανάγκη»
ο χρόνος κυλάει και ξεχνάς.

Κι ούτε θέλω να πω πως τρελά σ’ αγαπώ
δεν μπορώ πια καημούς να γιατρεύω.
Σε θυμάμαι συχνά, σε δωμάτια φτηνά
μόν’ αυτό, δε σε σκέφτομαι καν, δε σε γυρεύω.

 

[daeman]

...
Ένα από τα πιο πολυτραγουδισμένα του Κοέν, από τον ίδιο και από πάμπολλους άλλους, από τον δίσκο Balaklava των Pearls Before Swine σε μια σπάνια, φολκ ψυχεδελική εκτέλεση του 1968 - σχεδόν σύγχρονη με την πρώτη ηχογράφησή του από την Τζούντι Κόλινς - την οποία ανακάλυψα σήμερα αναζητώντας υλικό για τη φράση pearls before swine.

Suzanne - Pearls Before Swine

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

 

[drsiebenmal]

Και ας μην είναι το καλύτερό του, αυτό το νήμα χωρίς το First we take Manhattan δεν γίνεται, γίνεται;

Disclaimer: Μπορεί να παίξει διαφήμιση στο ξεκίνημα --αλλά τουλάχιστον, παίζει...

 

[drsiebenmal]

Λογοτεχνικό βραβείο για τον Λέοναρντ Κοέν
Ποιητικό ταλέντο και στοχαστικοί στίχοι χάρισαν στον καναδό τραγουδιστή τη διάκριση «Πρίγκιπας των Αστουριών»

Η είδηση στο Βήμα, εδώ

 

[nickel]

Καλημέρα.

Για τις Αστουρίες: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asturias (The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community within the kingdom of Spain. It is situated on the Spanish north coast (Bay of Biscay) facing the Cantabrian Sea)

Για τον πρίγκιπα των Αστουριών: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Asturias (Prince of Asturias is the historical (and under the Spanish Constitution of 1978, the official) title given to the heir to the Spanish throne)

Για το βραβείο Πρίγκιπας των Αστουριών: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Asturias_Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards (Spanish: Premios Príncipe de Asturias) are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs. They are considered to be the second most important prizes after the Nobel Prizes. The prize was established on 24 September 1980 by the Prince of Asturias, heir to the throne of Spain, "to consolidate links between the Principality and the Prince of Asturias, and to contribute to encouraging and promoting scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of mankind's universal heritage." The awards are presented in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias, at a ceremony presided by Felipe, Prince of Asturias. A sculpture, expressly created for the prize by Spanish sculptor Joan Miró, is presented yearly to the recipients of the prize.
http://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/Βραβείο_Πρίγκιπας_της_Αστούριας

 

[nickel]

Και μη μου πείτε ότι δεν έχει ακούσει τα Ριάλια...

The Partisan (Songs from the Road, 2010)