leonardcohenforum.com

Leonard and Adam have sent me the complete lyrics to the songs on the album.
The document shows the original poems and the changes made to the song version.
I have posted the lyrics in the way he sings them.
The lyrics are on The LC Files at http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/darker.html

The copyright note: Copyright 2016 by Old Ideas, LLC. All rights reserved. Used by permission

Thanks to Leonard and Adam for sharing the texts with us,
and to Robert and Caryn for solving the copyright issues.

Thanks you all for sharing this with us.

Wybe

This has likely been discussed elsewhere, but I just noticed the written lyric for Treaty in the CD booklet:

I seen you change the water into wine
I seen you change it back to water too

Wow, that is poor grammar.

I guess I'd been hearing it as:

I've seen you change the water into wine
I see you change it back to water too

But now I'm not so certain. Comments?

Steve Wilcox wrote:This has likely been discussed elsewhere, but I just noticed the written lyric for Treaty in the CD booklet:

I seen you change the water into wine
I seen you change it back to water too

Wow, that is poor grammar.

Hi Steve,

Thank you for pointing this out - very interesting! I'd been hearing it as "I've seen..." in both lines, but that's probably because it's what I expected to hear; I hadn't looked at the printed lyrics, but I now see that you are quite right about what is printed in the booklet.

It would seem like bad grammar to many English speakers, & it is not standard or academic English, but in fact, this use of "I seen" is a feature of a dialect known as Appalachian English, which is a Southern dialect; so it is not exactly incorrect grammar, but a form of non-standard English. Many people who speak this dialect would live in what's known as the "Bible Belt", in the southern & southeastern states of the U.S., where Christianity, & esp. Evangelical Protestantism is a very strong influence. I don't know much about all the Christian sects, but I imagine if one went to a Revivalist or Pentecostal gathering, one might hear an Evangelist speaking such words ("I seen Him/Jesus turn the water into wine...") with very intense passion. So I don't know, but I would guess that perhaps, by employing this form of English in those lines, Leonard could be evoking the mindset of one who truly & passionately believed in the power of the Lord, of the faith, & of the miracle.

Thank you again for mentioning this - it opens up a new perspective on these fascinating lines, which would not have otherwise occurred to me. It also makes me smile...

Holydove - that is great insight. Obviously I wasn't implying that Leonard didn't know better, and considering the topic of the two sentences, your theory is certainly plausible. That's one interpretation I would have never saw coming, I mean - seen.