It was four years ago, during my stay in Yangshuo. One day, when I was drinking a cup of Latte in a roadside café , as the CD player switched on, a hoarse voice abruptly broke the morning’s silence and bore in my mind. That was Leonard Cohen and his “In My Secret Life”.
He became one of my favorite singers since , but I started to take him seriously only after I watched a musical documentary of Cohen’s life and his music.
Leonard Cohen is more than a singer. He is also a poet and a philosopher who owns a pure heart and loves wisdom. Because of this, there were always some serious themes in his songs about our lives, like religion and love, and they were expressed in a way both provocative and poetic.
One of his most popular songs,“Suzanne”, was about a romance of Leonard and a woman named Suzanne who was an artist herself. Facing the video camera, Leonard spoke of this woman frankly. She was the wife of one of his friends and Leonard had been visiting with her for a long time. He was attracted deeply by her and so was she by him. Apparently, Suzanne played the role of Muse in the poet’s life,inspiring a beautiful and sentimental song we now hear.
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.
---------Suzanne
To live is to love and to love is something that can be likened to drowning. Only with this dreadful experience, are you led to God’s light and then you are shared with the brightness. It came up to me when I was watching that shy man remembering the past love in a humble but elegant manner in the documentary.
Leonard is very humble, and elegant also. “The less what I was, the better I felt” told Leonard to describe what he has learnt from staying for years with a Japanese illuminati who was a Zen Buddhist. They lived together in a way of monks. Leonard wore long robes and ate vegetables everyday during that time.
As a result, he became more modest than ever and at the same time he found himself agreeable to oriental values naturally. When his newest english-written book was about to publish in Chinese in Taiwan, Leonard wrote a preface himself for the Chinese version. Within the lines, he showed his fondness of Chinese culture and his unpretentiousness as being talented and multifaceted
In the last part of the video, Leonard said that, with a reluctant smile,“I hate everyone but acted generously and no one found me out. My reputation as a lady’s man was a joke. It cast me to laugh bitterly through the ten thousands nights. Nights alone.”
For most of his life time so far, Leonard has been lonely because he has loved someone and will probably love her forever.
That is Leonard Cohen, a man one can hardly resist.
- posted on 12/29/2007
小曼 wrote:“I hate everyone but acted generously and no one found me out. My reputation as a lady’s man was a joke. It cast me to laugh bitterly through the ten thousands nights. Nights alone.”
thanks for sharing, though I beg to differ a little considering this quotation. It seems to me that here he's more than "humble and elegant" in the lovable, amiable sense, but rather being deeply,poignantly self-depreciating, and his generosity /kindness to the mass should thus actually be embedded in this nihilistic view.
also,expression like"eating only vegetables" or "natural agreement"to oriental values" may be too INNOCUOUS that somehow should be "misleading"--misleading one to the conclusion that he's but another characterlessly political-correct, peace-loving 友邦人士, mentally too-HEALTHY.
that nihilistic view i referred to should not be an equivalent of indifference, though, and i guess it's something very similar to Buddha's core, the compassion, something contradictorily sounds Camus's tune,"There's no love of life without despair of life."
This compassion may ultimiately result in that"natural" inclination to Zen.(it might be a logic loophole here, to directly link it to Zen.)
"No great souls are modest",so who said that?
- posted on 12/29/2007
He is quite Zen type a Christian? I had a poem book of his.
Leonard Cohen, Selected poems/1956-1968
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.
---------Suzanne
Here, Suzanne with two versions of mp3:
http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1133230172
One of my favorite Rock'n'Roll titles.
In My Secret Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meBNeNwiagw
raw!
and Here I type one of his poem -- MY MENTORS
My rabbi has a silver buddha,
my priest has a jade talisman.
My doctor sees a marvellous omen
in our prolonged Indian summer.
My rabbi, my priest stole their trinkets
from shelves in the holy of holies.
The trinkets cannot be eaten.
They wonder what to do with them.
My doctor is happy as a pig
although he is dying of exposure.
He has finished his big book
on the phallus as a phallic symbol.
My zen master is a grand old fool.
I caught him worshipping me yesterday,
so I made him stand in a foul corner
with my rabbi, my priest, and my doctor.
&&&
Hope those can help the discussion line.
- Re: A Humble and Elegant Heartposted on 12/29/2007
Thank you,dropin,for sharing your thoughts.:))
- Re: A Humble and Elegant Heartposted on 12/29/2007
小曼的英文写得好,赞。 - Re: A Humble and Elegant Heartposted on 12/30/2007
谢谢悟空,我对英文一点信心没有。
上次借了朋友的纪录片来看,被他逼着写作业,还说不能欠过年,昨晚硬着头皮写了一个。大家多多包涵和指点。
谢谢八爷,收到你的信,我都改过来了。:))) - posted on 12/30/2007
xiaoman wrote:
谢谢悟空,我对英文一点信心没有。
上次借了朋友的纪录片来看,被他逼着写作业,还说不能欠过年,昨晚硬着头皮写了一个。大家多多包涵和指点。
谢谢八爷,收到你的信,我都改过来了。:)))
表扬完了,下面是批评。:-) 仔细看看,也并非没有可改进增色之处。但这些属于白璧微瑕,不影响理解。
provokative => provocative
his one friend’s wife => wife of a friend of his (or: wife of one of his friends)
visiting her => visiting with her
so was she him => so was she by him
poet’s life => the poet's life
likeened => likened
with brightness => with the brightness.
found himself agrees to => found himself agreeable to
Hope you don't mind me pointing them out. :-) - posted on 12/30/2007
小曼:
你是学英文出身吗?你不必答。
有八爷和悟空这两位好英文老师,是你(以及我们)的福气,不是每个留洋的人英文即会自然而然地好的--真的。:)
悟空 wrote:
xiaoman wrote:表扬完了,下面是批评。:-) 仔细看看,也并非没有可改进增色之处。但这些属于白璧微瑕,不影响理解。
谢谢悟空,我对英文一点信心没有。
上次借了朋友的纪录片来看,被他逼着写作业,还说不能欠过年,昨晚硬着头皮写了一个。大家多多包涵和指点。
谢谢八爷,收到你的信,我都改过来了。:)))
provokative => provocative
his one friend’s wife => wife of a friend of his (or: wife of one of his friends)
visiting her => visiting with her
so was she him => so was she by him
poet’s life => the poet's life
likeened => likened
with brightness => with the brightness.
found himself agrees to => found himself agreeable to
Hope you don't mind me pointing them out. :-) - Re: A Humble and Elegant Heartposted on 12/30/2007
老尚,我不是学英文的,英文基本自学的,靠读外文书籍来提高。
有老师的指点,小曼以后也就不介意多写了,现在知道可以请教谁了,确实很幸福。:))
谢谢悟空老师的建议,改了。:)))
- posted on 12/30/2007
xiaoman wrote:
老尚,我不是学英文的,英文基本自学的,靠读外文书籍来提高。
有老师的指点,小曼以后也就不介意多写了,现在知道可以请教谁了,确实很幸福。:))
谢谢悟空老师的建议,改了。:)))
Wow, I'm immensely impressed, Xiaoman!
As Wukong pointed it out earlier, your English is very good. You told me it's self-taught, and my immediate reaction was that you are very smart indeed.:)
Do write more of your post in English, and here you'll find that English lessons are free and readily available, teachers enthusiastic and invariably demanding, and quality of service is first rate!:):):) - posted on 12/30/2007
xiaoman wrote:
thank you xiaoman, for the kind words;)actually i was just a bit worrying my groundlessly 假正经-words might spoil the fun。
honestly speaking i virtually know nothing about Mr Cohen(forgive my 无知者无畏)before,and his charm in your text appears first a “timeless“ sort, until the quotation strikes me like a brand that recalls much of those anticulturalists in the 60s。 Allen Ginsberg,for instance,who also practiced zen。So i simply make a blunt guess there.
i googled Mr Cohen just now and find my guess bears some legitmacy;) thouh there's subtlety to be differentiated. As to xw's suggestion, (thanks indeed also) it should be interesting to know more about the broader context that makes Zen(specifically, i see it's more tantric)a common resort among these---this knowledge may hopefully add richer dimension toward interpreting the Prince Charming‘s charm。But first, I shall take a shortcut by trying his song;)
thank you!
- posted on 12/30/2007
咱也好为人师一把,只是一点建议,供小曼参考。:-)
小曼 wrote:
It was four years ago, during my stay at Yangshuo.
If it is 阳朔, a city, you may want to use "in", instead of "at".
He became one of my favorite singers since , but I started to take him seriously only after I watched a musical documentary of Cohen’s life and his musics.
better to say "his music".
Leonard Cohen is more than a singer. He is a poet and a philosopher who owns a pure heart and loves wisdom. Because of this, there were always some serious themes in his songs about our lives, like religion and love, and they were expressed in a way both provocative and poetic.
He is ALSO a poet...
"there were ... , and they were... ", why use past tense if you are talking about his music in general?
Leonard spoke of this woman frankly. She was wife of one of his friends and Leonard had been visiting with her for a long time.
She was THE wife of...
He was attracted deeply by her and so was she by him. Apparently, Suzanne played a role of Muse in the poet’s life,inspiring a beautiful and sentimental song we now hear.
play the role of Muse,
(a specific role of inspiring the artist)
To live is to love and to love is something that can be likened to drowning. Only with this dreadful experience, you are led to God’s light ...
Only with this dreadful experience ARE you let to God's light...
and then you are shared with the brightness
to share the brightness
(I don't suppose you mean "you are shared", I assume you mean "you share the brightness..."
Leonard is very humble, but elegant also.
Leonard is very humble, and elegant as well.
(why "but"? Or you want to use "not only... but also..."?)
...he has learnt from for years staying with a Japanese illuminati who was a Zen Buddhist.
he has learnt from staying for years with...
As a result, he became more modest than ever and at the same time he found himself agreeable to oriental values naturally.
"agreeable" is too weak a word here, compared to "fondness" used in the next sentence.
When his newest book was about to publish in Chinese in Taiwan,
the Chinese version of his newest book...
(When I read the first time, I thought he wrote the book in Chinese)
That’s Leonard Cohen, the man one can hardly resist.
That is Leonard Cohen, A man one can hardly resist.
- posted on 12/31/2007
老尚,你们几个是不是看出来小曼最喜欢听表扬的话,怎么话都说得如此动听,让我心花怒放呢?:)))
心花虽怒放,也仅仅是偶尔的宠爱自己的表现,我一直很努力地修炼这门功夫,就是不被表扬冲昏头脑。呵呵。咖啡馆里论聪明绝对轮不上小曼,阿珊,七月,浮生,笨笨......都给我感觉很聪明,真的聪明哦,嗯,所有学理科的女生都是聪明的,更何况还拿PH.D。
不过,真得很谢谢你,就像dropin所说的,就是谢谢你的这番美意。:)以后,再有文字,依然会厚着脸皮拿出来给大家看的。
dropin,你的联想是很准确的,cohen曾经去过纽约,也和那伙垮掉的一代的精神领袖们关系密切,包括和金斯堡的女儿关系都很好。
但他后来还是不喜欢美国,他含蓄的指出,美国人的狂妄自大,不符合他们加拿大的风格,后来,他还是离开了。
看过那个录像后,我感觉他真的是一个很谦和的人,修养很好,很真诚。最后引用的那段话,让我和我的朋友都很感动,能够如此坦然地面对自己内心里并不光明的一面和生活里尴尬的处境而将它们公诸于世。
在我看来,他算是真的超然物外了。
- posted on 12/31/2007
谢谢guangzhong老师,已经修改了大部分,唉,都是低级错误。:(
有几个地方想向你讨教。
1、"there were ... , and they were... ", why use past tense if you are talking about his music in general?
这里我写的时候都有考虑是否该用过去时态,但cohen好象现在不怎么创作了,已经过了他的创作旺盛期,纪录片里的作品都是他年轻的时候作品。
不知道我的想法有没有一点建设性?
2、and then you are shared with the brightness
to share the brightness
(I don't suppose you mean "you are shared", I assume you mean "you share the brightness..."
这里我想表述的,可能没有正确表述出来。我的brightness换成中文,类似于开窍,获得对世事的通透洞明,是一个人“获得”了智慧。
你觉得呢?
3、>When his newest book was about to publish in Chinese in Taiwan,
the Chinese version of his newest book...
(When I read the first time, I thought he wrote the book in Chinese)
这个地方我做出了自己的修改,可否?请老师批示。
- Re: A Humble and Elegant Heartposted on 03/07/2009
顶,给exiula看。 - Re: A Humble and Elegant Heartposted on 03/08/2009
谢谢小曼,
欣赏了并也学习了一把英文知识。
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