Dance me to the end of love — Leonard Cohen (Sam's contribution)

 

Lyrics

[Instrumental Intro]

 

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

 

Oh, let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone
Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon
Show me slowly what I only know the limits of
Oh, dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the wedding now, oh, dance me on and on
Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long
We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the children who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love

 
[Instrumental]
 

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Touch me with your naked hand, touch me with your glove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

 

Background

"Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Leonard Cohen and first recorded by him for his 1984 album Various Positions. [1]

Although structured as a love song, "Dance Me to the End Of Love" was in fact inspired by the Holocaust. In a 1995 radio interview, Cohen said of the song:

It's curious how songs begin because the origin of the song, every song, has a kind of grain or seed that somebody hands you or the world hands you and that's why the process is so mysterious about writing a song. But that came from just hearing or reading or knowing that in the death camps, beside the crematoria, in certain of the death camps, a string quartet was pressed into performance while this horror was going on, those were the people whose fate was this horror also. And they would be playing classical music while their fellow prisoners were being killed and burnt. So, that music, "Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin," meaning the beauty thereof being the consummation of life, the end of this existence and of the passionate element in that consummation. But, it is the same language that we use for surrender to the beloved, so that the song — it’s not important that anybody knows the genesis of it, because if the language comes from that passionate resource, it will be able to embrace all passionate activity.

 

Meaning 

The song may be about the Holocaust, or may be about love between lovers, but I would like to interpret the song to be about love in the broadest sense, or as Cohen puts it, about embracing all passionate activity.

All lives come to an end and many experience great difficulties; but there can be beauty in life even in difficult circumstances, thus "dance me to your beauty with a burning violin" and "dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in".

In the second verse, "witnesses" may be present in court, at a wedding or a crime scene; we can see the beauty in things without others being present.  "Babylon" refers to a supposed place of evil as depicted in the Bible [2].  "Limits" refers to rules and restrictions.

In the third verse, the "wedding" does not have to be limited to traditional weddings; It may be about friendship, a hobby, a love of life, or love of one's belief.  "Beneath and above our love" refers to the ways people conduct themselves, possibly fraudulently (beneath our love) and possibly idealistically (above our love).

The fourth verse appears to be talking about people in refugee camps.  The "touch me with your glove" in the fifth verse may refer to people in hospital in their final days.

Notes:

1. Wikipedia — Dance me to the end of love  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance Me to the End of Love
2. Wikipedia — Whore of Babylon.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whore of Babylon

Who by Fire — Leonard Cohen (Sam's contribution)

 

Lyrics

And who by fire, who by water

Who in the sunshine, who in the night time

Who by high ordeal, who by common trial

Who in your merry merry month of May

Who by very slow decay

And who shall I say is calling?

And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate

Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt

Who by avalanche, who by powder

Who for his greed, who for his hunger

And who shall I say is calling?

And who by brave assent, who by accident

Who in solitude, who in this mirror

Who by his lady's command, who by his own hand

Who in mortal chains, who in power

And who shall I say is calling?

 

Meaning

The song is inspired by a piyyut or a Jewish liturgical poem called Untanneh Tokef ("Let us speak of the awesomeness "), that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy in some traditions of rabbinical Judaism for centuries. [1]

A section from Untanneh Tokef is as follows: "On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed – how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die after a long life and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by upheaval and who by plague, who by strangling and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquility and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted. But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity mitigate the severity of the Decree." [1]

A song of Death, a song of Life

“Who By Fire” is a song of death, but each death has its life.  So more importantly, it's a song of life as well.

"Who by fire" and "who by water" may be references to the ancient judicial practices of trial by fire and trial by water, or alternatively to natural disasters.   

“Who by high ordeal” clearly refers to a form of trial in the medieval period such as trial by combat; which contrasts with "who by common trial".

The "merry merry month of May" refers to May day, the European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.

In the next stanza, Cohen switched to modern parlance: 

“Who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate?” are likely references to Marilyn Monroe.

"Who by avalanche, who by powder" could refer to people who do mountain climbing and other adventures.  Powder possibly refer to gunpowder.  "Brave assent" refers to people who volunteer to fight for their causes.  

"Who in this mirror" probably refers to people who copy others.  "Who in mortal chains, who in power" refers to people enslaved by power, ambitions or other illusions.

Blending these methods indicates the timelessness and ubiquity of death throughout history.

The line “Who shall I say is calling?” punctuates each verse as if the messenger is asking who they should say is deciding the way people would die. 

This song was officially released on 11 August 1974. The year prior, Cohen spent some time in Israel, experiencing war first hand, which could be one of the inspirations behind this track. [2]

Furthermore, there is a book about that entire experience which is named after this song, i.e. Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai (2022) by Matti Friedman.[3][4]

Note: 

1. Unetanneh Tokef, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unetanneh_Tokef
   
2. Song meaning+facts/Leonard Cohen: https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/leonard-cohens-who-by-fire-lyrics-meaning/
3. City Journal: https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-dark-night-of-leonard-cohen
4. Matti Friedman: https://mattifriedman.com/who-by-fire/

Freedom in Pop Culture

 

We have been discussing Free Will and Freedom in the last few weeks.   We will continue that discussion this week but, instead of serious philosophy, we will use some pop art for our discussion.  

The song above "Raindrops keep falling on my head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.   The song won an Oscar for Best Original Song, and Bacharach won Best Original Score.   

Part of the lyrics says:

Raindrops keep falling on my head

But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red

Crying's not for me

'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining

Because I'm free

Nothing's worrying me

It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me

Some questions:

• Do you agree with the theme of the song that one can overcome one's troubles and worries by realising one is actually free to see things differently?
• Were Butch Cassidy and the gang free when they were fleeing from police?

This is another version of the song: Raindrops keep falling on my head

The following song also talk about freedom.

Lyrics

Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey

I ache in the places where I used to play

And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on

I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song

 

I said to Hank Williams, how lonely does it get?

Hank Williams hasn't answered yet

But I hear him coughing all night long

Oh, a hundred floors above me in the Tower of Song

 

I was born like this, I had no choice

I was born with the gift of a golden voice

And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond

They tied me to this table right here in the Tower of Song

 

So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll

I'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at all

I'm standing by the window where the light is strong

Ah, they don't let a woman kill you, not in the Tower of Song

 

Now, you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sure

The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor

And there's a mighty judgment coming, but I may be wrong

You see, you hear these funny voices in the Tower of Song

 

I see you standing on the other side

I don't know how the river got so wide

I loved you baby, way back when

And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed

But I feel so close to everything that we lost

We'll never, we'll never have to lose it again

 

Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back

They're moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track

But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone

I'll be speaking to you sweetly from a window in the Tower of Song

An analysis of the lyrics of the song is posted on this website: 

https://twentysevenangels-blog.tumblr.com/

Some questions:

• Assuming Leonard Cohen was talking himself in the song, do you think he thought he was free?
• Did Leonard Cohen think he had free will?
• Why did he felt he was trapped in the tower of song?