【第四期】【推荐】游吟诗人Leonard Cohen

第一次听到他的歌声，大概是4年前，在电影《最后的猎人》中By the rivers dark。
当他的歌声响起，整个世界似乎也沉浸在寒冷苍凉的冰雪中。


“垮掉一代”　　Cohen是加拿大人，从创作辈分上来看，他算得上是“垮掉一代”（The Beat Generation）的诗人，比迪伦、滚石和披头年长一整个世代－－仔细算下来，他比猫王还大一岁。他比所有摇滚乐手都更早尝试DRUG，并且把那样的经验写进了书里（Beautiful Losers）。在他以歌手身份站上1967年新港民谣节的舞台之前，Cohen已经写了五册诗集、两本小说，并且被誉为“加拿大有史以来最重要的作家之一”。



A Thousand Kisses Deep

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it's done –
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it's real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,
I'm back on Boogie Street.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
Music
And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck.
I blessed our remnant fleet –
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,
I'm back on Boogie Street.
I guess they won't exchange the gifts
That you were meant to keep.
And quiet is the thought of you,
The file on you complete,
Except what we forgot to do,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Leonard Cohen。从他的作品你可以清楚看到，他自怜、愤世、犬儒、沉溺，但从来都不快乐。就像他的一身黑，和嘴边那两道深深的、刀刻一样的法令纹。他很少笑，笑的时候也像是在自嘲，或者讥诮的表情。他穿西装，黑色的。他穿羊毛套头衫，黑色的。他喝大量的咖啡，烟不离手。他的眼神灼灼逼人，像两口深井反射着阳光。

后来他成为一位禅宗信徒，脱下他那永远笔挺的阿曼尼，穿上僧袍。在洛杉矶的禅院静修。

在2005年，他毕生积蓄被助理卷走，他再次登上舞台。进行世界巡演。

有一部向cohen致敬的纪录片Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
以2005年向Leonard Cohen致敬的演唱会为主线，穿插参与演出歌手的采访，与Leonard Cohen本人的回忆访谈，还有旧日的照片、影像。这些歌手包括Nick Cave、U2、Rufus Wainwright与妹妹Martha Wainwright等等。
很多音乐界的标杆人物翻唱cohen的歌，可惜，我觉得除了个别的，其它都唱得很失败。
片中提及了他被翻译成中文的小说beautiful loser：他也在影片中读到他为中文读者写的序：“……在我看来你的兴趣，是颇为鲁莽却相当感人的慷慨。《美丽失败者》是在户外写的，在石头、杂草与雏菊间的桌子上，在爱琴海，海德拉岛上我家后院，多年前我住在那里。那是个炽热的夏天，在那里我从未遮阳，所以在你手中的不是一本书，而是一种中暑的症状。亲爱的读者，如果我浪费了你的时间，请原谅我。”



Suzanne

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.
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said 'All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them'
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
For he's touched your perfect body with his mind.
Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind.
苏珊带你下去/到她河畔的居处/在那里你会听见/船徐徐驶过
　　你会和她共渡今夜/你知道她半颠半狂/正因如此你想到她身边
　　她喂你茶和橙子/来自远远的中国/你正想对她说/你没有爱可以给她
　　她便让你融入她的波长/让河水回答一切/你一直都是她的爱人
　　你想和她一起旅行/你想盲目踏上旅途/你知道她会信任你
　　毕竟你用你的心灵/抚触过她完美的身躯...
　　耶稣是个水手/当他在水面行走/他也花上长长的时间眺望
　　自那座孤悬的木塔/他终于明白/只有溺水的人能看见他
　　他说「那末所有人都是水手/只有海能让他们自由」
　　但他自己却被毁坏/早在天门大开之前/被抛弃，几乎像凡人
　　他在你的智慧中沉没/像颗岩石...
　　你想和他一起旅行/你想盲目踏上旅途/你想或许可以信任他
　　毕竟他用他的心灵/抚触过你完美的身躯...
　　苏珊执起你的手/引领你到河边/她身上拼缀着破布和羽毛
　　来自救世军的柜台/阳光像蜜那样流淌/照耀着港口的守护女神
　　她带引你的视线/穿越垃圾和鲜花/那儿有埋在海草中的英雄/那儿有晨光中的儿童
　　他们探出身躯期待爱情/探出身躯，便永远保持那样的姿势
　　而苏珊手里/握着一面镜子...
　　你想和她一起旅行/你想盲目踏上旅途/你知道可以信任她
　　毕竟她已经用她的心灵/抚触过你完美的身躯...

Suzanne是cohen朋友的妻子。Cohen和她一如歌里所述，始终没有肌肤相亲。那座港市，正是Cohen成长的Montreal。1994年Cohen接受BBC访谈时，甚至还记得歌中桔茶的厂牌。

他与Janis Joplin（我的最爱之一，摇滚中的“咆哮女妖”，死于吸食过量DRUG）
罗曼史发生在纽约著名的Chelsea Hotel－－在旅馆电梯里，Cohen结识Janis Joplin，两人短暂地相恋，旋即分道扬镳。后来这故事被他写进了Chelsea Hotel ：
你说你比较喜欢英俊的男人/但我可以是个例外......
无所谓，你说/我们都是丑陋的/然而我们拥有音乐
然后你便这么走了，不是吗宝贝......



他与妻子suzanne（不是歌中的suzanne）有两个孩子。
他的女儿lorca（摄影师）与“王尔德派”歌手Rufus Wainwright（gay，纪录片Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man 的主唱之一）有一个女儿
儿子也是一位歌手