Hi My Friends

There is an email which Michael, Maggi & Vance sent to me.

We were discussing about the lyrics of "Famous blue raincoat" written by Leonard Cohen.

I don't really understand the lyrics.

I want to listen to more ideas about it.

Thank you very much for your help.

Ying Lan

***purple words written by yinglan

***lyrics

***black words written by Micael

***maroon words written by Maggi

*Maggi*I started this 3 times now and accidently hit a key and whoosh...gone. I just thought I would give my opinion as a woman. :-) I enjoy Leonard Cohen and think perhaps some may see his songs as depressing, but I feel he just brings people maybe into a deeper level of  thought and feeling. We can never really know what was happening to someone when they wrote a song or poem...but the good ones let us feel...they speak to us. I don`t think it is so important to know exactly what they mean literally...just enjoy them.

"Famous Blue Raincoat"

It's four in the morning

The end of December

I am writing you now just to see if you're better

New York is cold

But I like where I'm living

There is music on Clinton Street all through the evening

<<Michael>> Up till now the lyrics are straightforward. But what about this line?

*A street where music plays late...let me look at my map...could be an area with lots of little clubs...like living in Paris around all the Cabarets...hard to tell what it was like when he wrote the song...but that is the drift I get.

#Vance: I believe Clinton Street is one of the streets in Greenwich Village in New York City. Lots of famous music artists have mentioned this area in their songs, such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.

I hear that you're building your house deep in the desert

<<Michale>> What does he mean by desert? Desert is a word that is often used as an image of something, especially desolation. Is this person really going to live in a desert or is he asking about her mental or emotional state?

*Maggi*Maybe this person just wants a break from the rat race and to retreat to a place where they can relax and think. I have some land in the desert where Cochise (a famous American Indian) lived and it is beautiful. I think I would still have a computer though if I lived there. :-)

*Sometimes people need space alone to find themselves. After New York City the desert could be a nice place to be. I`ve lived in both and the contrast is interesting. Remember Michael...there are almost as many people living in the greater New York City area than in all of Australia. And Australia is bigger than the 48 States on the continent.

Are you living for nothing now?

<<Michael>> This is an interesting line. We don't use this phrase in spoken English. We would say "she has nothing to live for." So I think this is another reference to someone who is depressed. (Someone in an  'emotional desert'.)

*Maggi*Or someone who has no major goals in life...:-) Take each day as it comes kind of thing...sounds appealing in a way. Many people think your life has no purpose if you are just living and not living for something. Or working for something.

#Vance: This line is ambiguous. It could mean you are living for no reason, no purpose, but it could also mean you are living without paying anything, like you are living with someone who is paying all the bills. I think it means the former.

Hope you're keeping some kind of record

<<Michael>> Record of what? music? written record? This is left unclear and is typical example of how cryptic poems and lyrics can be.

*Maggi*Maybe just means a diary where you write down your thoughts...others might one day be interested to hear what happened. Some people would like to escape but can`t...and they are interested to hear from those that do.

Jane came by with a lock of your hair

She said that you gave it to her

<<Michale>> This is very strange. Do people do this in real life? Children might. So maybe the person he's singing about is childlike.

*Maggi*Some people might...a very personal and sentimental gift to someone. A real part of you. Actually, we save locks of our children`s hair...why? Sentimental value...the kids could care less until they become adults.

The night that you planned to go clear

<<Michael>> Go clear? What does this mean? Go clear from alcohol or drugs maybe?

*Maggi*Or confess a secret maybe? Or to do something finally that they always wanted to do...

Did you ever go clear?

The last time we saw you

You looked so much older

Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder

<<Michael>> This is a sad image. (I said Cohen can be depressing!) Why torn? By whom? Or is it just an image to tell us the person was miserable?

*Maggi*If it is old it could have a hole. I had a coat for a long time and it had holes. It took a long time to throw it away. He could have caught it on anything and torn it. We feel comfortable in these old things and have a hard time to throw them away. Means he has been around...a coat can have memories too.

You'd been to the station

To meet every train

But she never turned up,

<<Michael>> Again, how depressing!

*Maggi*There may have been a perfectly good reason why she didn`t show up...disappointing yes....but not the end of the world.

I mean Lili Marlene

<<Michael>> She was waiting for Lili Marlene? Lili Marlene has been dead for 40 years and was a very famous German singer. Is he writing about the past? Or is the person a little crazy - waiting for someone who is dead and that they never knew?

*Maggi *Hmmm...I think I lost the thread here. This person was waiting for Lili Marlene at the station? No wonder she didn`t come. This could just be a comment on waiting for something you know will never happen.

So you treated some woman to a flake of your life

And when she got home she was nobody`s wife

I see you there with a rose in your teeth

One more thin gypsy thief

<<Michale>> 'a flake of your life' 'nobody's wife' 'thin' ' thief' - all words to convey an image of despair.

*Maggi * Gee Michael, lighten up on the despair here. A flake of your life is not much to give and the poor woman didn`t belong to anyone anyway...and we should stop thinking all gypsies are thieves...strikes up a rather comic figure actually...:-)

Well, I see Jane's awake

She sends her regards

What can I tell you

What can I tell you

What can I possibly say

I guess that I miss you

I guess that I forgive you

And if you ever come by here

Be it for Jane or for me

I want you to know your enemy is sleeping

I want you to know your woman is free

Thanks for the trouble you took from her eyes

I thought it was there for good

So I never really tried

And Jane came by with a lock of your hair

She said that you gave it to her

The night that you planned to go clear Sincerely

*Maggi *Interesting...sounds like he did this guy a favor and he forgives him.Michael is right when he says we all interpret these things differently and that is the beauty of a good song or poem...everyone can enjoy it as they please. It isn`t important to know exactly what the person means for themselves.

<<Michale>>So Ying i don't know the answers! For me it is typical of what I remember of Leonard Cohen. Probably very nice to listen to but a depressing story (even though I don't understand it!) There are some positive ideas in it ("I guess I miss you/forgive you"; "your woman is free") but overall for me the mood is sombre and heavy. Precisely why I didn't listen to Cohen very much!

Sorry I can't be of more help. if I sat down and listened to the song many times perhaps I could work out the meaning but you would still never be sure what Cohen himself thought. But that's OK. Good lyrics/poetry in my opinion should always have some room for interpretation. Three people will read these lyrics and maybe have 3 different interpretations. And everyone will be right! I think the singer is singing about someone he used to love who has gone a little crazy and although her misses her it's better to be apart from her. What do you think?

*Maggi :-) Funny, I thought it was a man singing about another man and they had a woman in common...this woman had some problems that thefriend seemed to help. And this friend is now gone off to the desert...hmmmm

#Vance: That IS interesting. I have always thought the song was from the point of view of a man singing to another woman. This is because the color of the raincoat is blue. I think that a man would notice this only if the blue was a memorable color, like a bright blue. This kind of raincoat would only be worn by a woman. If it were the blue that a man would wear, it would not be a noticable blue. This is probably why I took it for granted that the song was sung to a woman.

But Maggi's interpretation is possible. Especially, considering the following lyrics. Note that there is a mistake (I think) in the lyrics that Ying Lan found, which I've corrected below (from memory).

>Well, I see Jane's awake

>She sends her regards

>What can I tell you

>What can I tell you XX my brother, my killer

>What can I possibly say

>I guess that I miss you

>I guess that I forgive you

>I!|m glad that you stood in my way

>And if you ever come by here

>Be it for Jane or for me

>I want you to know your enemy is sleeping

>I want you to know your woman is free

So considering these lyrics, it appears that the song is sung to a man. I hadn't really thought about it before. My impression was that the song was to a woman. And interestingly also, I used to play this song on my guitar, and I knew the lyrics by heart, and sang them over and over, always thinking it was sung to a woman.

But probably, I thought it was to a woman because when I sang the song, it was from me to an imaginary woman. So I superimposed this on the intended meaning of the song.

Leonard Cohen's songs often have allusions that are repeated in his songs and have psychological meaning to him, but perhaps don't have a literal meaning in that particular song. I had assumed this was one of these verses.

The great thing about good poetry is that our minds paint different pictures from the same words. This illustrates and releases our own inner freedom and creativity. Maybe someone else has a different interpretation.