leonardcohenforum.com

"
Sometimes I need you naked,
sometimes I need you wild,
I need you to carry my children in
and I need you to kill a child.
"

From "You Know Who I Am".

Very close in my heart to the first verse ("I am the distance..."), but I feel that this one summarizes man/woman relationships pretty well.

My interpretation :
"
I need you for sex
I need you to confront me & be different from me
I need you to give me the children I cannot give birth to
I need you to make a man out of me
"

My two cents... (bow)

Damien

I really like your interpretations of these lines, Damien. As 'right' goes, they could easily be 'right.' Rather than its being an abortion line, I particularly like your slant on "I need you to kill a child" = "I need you to make a man out of me." Innovative way of looking at that line.

Likewise, with:

sometimes I need you wild,
I need you to carry my children in

I need you to confront me & be different from me
I need you to give me the children I cannot give birth to [this with your qualifying phrase/idea]

I just really like what you've done with this 'verse.' Great, finely-tuned thoughts.

~ Lizzy

(low bow) "Gratitude is best and most effective when it doesn't evaporate itself in empty phrases".

Thanks for the praise : it's one of these rare times when a tortured soul can actually produce meaning out of chaos ;o) .

Actually I had not paused long enough on consider on the abortion interpretation. I guess myeducation made me open minded to this question, so I tend to forget how hard it was, is, and will be.

Is there other evidence of such socially-aimed "attacks" in LC's work ? But maybe we should start another topic

Oh, while I'm here, another of my favourites :
"Of course I was very young and I thought that we were winning"
The Old Revolution

Best regards,
Damien

Arno, also from Alexandra Leaving:

And you had the honour of her evening,
And by that honor, had your own restored

(Hi, Lizzy. )

thanks CT,

basically I could copy/paste Alexandra Leaving in whole... funny, I just read your post while I'm listening to Alex


and yet another one that caught my ears a few days ago:

but you stand there so nice
in your blizzard of ice
oh please let me come into the storm

then I went to the doctor (not sure about that line, I quote from memory )
he said I just have to quit
then he wrote himself a prescription
your name was mentioned in it (now this is a rhyme I personally wouldnt have had the guts to use )

take care
Arno

Arno,

I like both of those quotes tremendously!

All of the words of "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong" are excellent. That song always has caught my ear and made me think...

I think the first line of this song is one of Cohen's best:

"I lit a thin green candle, to make you jealous of me."

That line floors me always.

-Sean
http://www.livejournal.com/users/passthrufire

Hi CT ~

From the way you've said "Hi" here, it's as though we met in New York. Did we? If so, you forgot to align yourself with your "CT" moniker here .

I agree, Sean, on lit a thin, green candle ~ that's been flooring me since my former husband and I began singing it together [with significance] that many years ago, and we were former[s] even at the time.....and, Arno, on the prescription line ....and, CT, "...you had the honour of her evening /
And by that honor, had your own restored" ~ how magnificent is that!?!

~ Lizzy

Though not my favourite lines, I think Lenny's humourous lines are pretty cool, whether they're supposed to be funny or not! For example:

'his hand upon his leather belt now/like it was the wheel of some big ocean liner' (always makes me smile, seems to me LC is laughing at the male, and his own, sexual ego)

'there are no letters in your mailbox','there are no chocolates in your boxes anymore,'etc etc (they're much more obvious metaphors than most of LC's, very melodramatic, almost bordering on being corny).

Also, on 'I'm Your Fan,' Nick Cave acknowledges LC's humour on 'Tower of Song,' swinging from Elvis to country and western style verses. I think Nick Cave realises that significant chunks of LC's music are somewhat tongue in cheek.

Anyone else know of funny lines?

if you want another kind of love,
I'll wear my leather mask for you

from Cohen Live

and also (not funny, but always makes me smile):

if you want a driver - climb inside
or if you want to take me for a ride
etc
I'm your man


take care
Arno

No, Lizzy, just a hello. You've been so kind as to respond to all of my little posts.

I didn't make it to New York, and I doubt I'll make it to any of the future events. Life's been pretty busy. However, always nice to have an extra waystation on the net-highway, especially one with LC chorusing in the background.

Oh, okay, CT ~ thanks. That's a relief [of sorts ~ except that it sounds like I wouldn't be meeting you in the future, either ]. In New York, there were so many faces and personaes that I saw, with whom I'd like to have talked and interacted; presumed I would at some point; and then never saw again, or saw only in flashes . My pleasure to at least talk with you here .

~ Lizzy

first of all, hello everyone

i think it's impossible to have ona favourite line, or even a verse, mine are quite a lot actually..

(i had to crop a lot so that it didnt look like i had pasted all of the lyrics)

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.

--

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.

--

...but let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie,
your eyes are soft with sorrow,
hey, that's no way to say goodbye

--

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

well i think i should stop:)

Hi Umnica ~

Welcome to the Forum . You're right, I think, on its being impossible to narrow it down to "Favourite"s. I found myself doing with your choices the same as I've done with those of others. As I read the lyrics and lines you've chosen, the sound of his singing comes into my mind, and I think, "Oh yes, great choice!" I don't really come across ones where I think to myself, "Hmmm....wonder why he/she chose that!?!"

~ Lizzy

Hi all

Long time viewer, first time poster

While i cannot choose a favourite line/verse, this is one that just struck me while listening to TNS:

It is in love that we are made
In love we disappear

Tom

Tom,

Welcome to the forum (I mean posting here, anyways )...

The line that you picked is one of those great Cohen signature lines that gets stuck in your head. When I read what you wrote I immeadiately went, "Oh yeah, I remember that one..." TNS is full of great lines like the one you mentioned.

Cheers,
Sean
http://www.livejournal.com/users/passthrufire