One of my favorite songs is Suzanne by Leonard Cohen. It played often in my home when I was growing up.
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.
I have no idea what Leonard Cohen had in mind when he wrote the song, but I do know Suzanne was a real woman in his life. To me, though, Suzanne represents the divine feminine, which all women represent, as does the physical world we experience.
We are taken to the river, which is the energy inside our own selves, when we get on the right wavelength of consciousness.
My favorite part of the song is the part about heroes in the seaweed because I think there are many, many people just living ordinary lives who are true heroes. They put their families, their friends, or their community before themselves and just give of themselves freely.
And the children in the morning who lean out for love forever, that to me is our own souls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otJY2HvW3Bw
Jennifer
Thank you for reminding me of this song Jennifer.
Beautiful.
Love your interpretation of the lyrics.
nice
since i read this thread all i am thinking is about this song and another song called the killing moon by echo and the bunnymen…post punk band from early 80"s…
amazing music …great guitars 
it is not spiritual but i dont know why i am thinking about those 2 songs back to back…lolll
…but in fact Lenoard Cohen influenced music a lot…even the Gothic music band Sisters of Mercy were influenced by him…just wanted to share…Hope u like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX1PwkgwsG0
I just watched the video and I had never heard of Echo and the Bunnymen before! Nice song, thanks for sharing!
Yes L. Cohen has influenced a lot of musicians and many of them have done covers of his songs. Sisters of Mercy is another one of my favorite songs in the world.
BTW Leonard Cohen has been ordained as a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk. Here is a wonderful interview he gave a couple of years ago.
My favorite quotes from the video: “…one of the goals of the activity is discarding a goal…it’s somehow discerned that keeping a strong goal in these matters, especially in spiritual matters is the very element that will prevent you from making any progress…”
“…If you can establish a condition that is prior to thinking, then you can have some perspective on the thinking mind when it returns, when it is born again…”
http://bezen.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/leonard-cohen-offers-some-insights/
yep he lived few years in seclusion in a monastery…
thx for the link will check it out
thanks for the song and links!
great link jennifer thx again