I posted the lyrics to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” a few weeks ago. Fran, one of my blog readers, reminded me of another one of his songs, “Suzanne”. Lyrics below and a youtube video from 1976 with both Leonard Cohen and Judy collins singing it. Judy Collins was my introduction to Leonard Cohen. Her earlier recordings contained many Leonard Cohen songs . You may know Leonard Cohen as a brilliant lyricist, singer, musician. I think of him as a great poet also.
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.
Thank you, Beth! What a great way to start my day. This has always been one of my favorite Judy Collin’s songs. In fact, it immediately started playing in my head as soon as I read the title of your post. However, I hadn’t known that it was written by Leonard Cohen before this. I have to agree; I think he’s a marvelous poet! The lyrics to this song are absolutely magical. I’m always transported to a place by the river where I have tea and oranges with Suzanne. I really can hear the boats go by! :)
Thank you for posting these lyrics. I love Leonard Cohen! I recently watched a documentary about him called, “I’m Your Man.” He comes across as a man of great warmth, spirituality and humility. He seems flattered, and surprised, that people think of him as a poet. But every time I read or hear his lyrics, that’s the best title I can think of.
I know Colleen, this song has been running in my head for a few weeks now, several favorite lines including and the sun pours down like honey…
I will have to see if that show comes back in reruns Marie. I would love to see it.
This is wonderful. Can I borrow this song for my poem section on my site?
Warm regards,
Patrick
certainly Patrick, you can do that
Thank you.
Patrick
What a treat to hear this! I missed the “Hallelujah” post– was there a YouTube link there as well.
thanks for this
Love the lyrics! And I just HAVE to share this: I live in Montréal, where Leonard Cohen is from, and my fiancé’s co-worker KNOWS the Suzanne in this song! She’s the mother of a friend of his. Neat, eh?
Talk about a few degrees of separation!
Paula there is a search box on the blog, type in Hallelujah and it will take you to that post. Yes, as I recall, it does have a youtube video with it.
Wow, Renee, thank you for sharing it! I have had this sense of him that he loves women and I was sure it was a real someone and wondered who it was. How cool is that, that you actually know of her!
I often find myself mumbling these lyrics at work. The children often look at me funny. When I say Leonard Cohen, they get even more confused.
That’s funny Greg … thanks for visiting my blog.
Thanks for posting these, I loved listening to them. I’m a big Leonard Cohen fan, I love all of his songs, and yes, the man is a major poet.
Wonderful Theresa. There were 3 LC posts in the last few weeks, hope you caught them all. Many knew his Suzanne and Hallelujah, Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye is maybe lesser known song of his.