Sredinom travnja ugledna popularna biblioteka klasika Everyman's Library objavila je nove izabrane pjesme Leonarda Cohena Poems and Songs, čime je Cohen ušao u popularnu kanonsku biblioteku. Knjiga je kod nas dostupna u Algoritmu po 90 kuna. Osim odabira iz svih zbirki poezije i s albuma, knjiga donosi i šest novih pjesama s idućega albuma (Amen, Darkness, Lullaby, Feels So Good, Born In Chains, A Street) koje prenosimo u nastavku teksta.

Scottish Review of Books (Vol. VII, Issue 1) donio je stihove svih pet novih pjesama, koje ovdje prenosimo. Četiri pjesme izvođene su na svjetskoj turneji tijekom 2009. i 2010. godine, neke i u više verzija. Više o sljedećem albumu pročitajte na stranici leonardcohenforum.com. Šestu pjesmu, A Street, Cohen je recitirao na javnim nastupima 2006, a tiskana je u magazinu The New Yorker 2. III. 2009, odakle je preuzimamo.

A STREET

I used to be your favorite drunk
Good for one more laugh
Then we both ran out of luck
And luck was all we had

You put on a uniform
To fight the Civil War
I tried to join but no one liked
The side I’m fighting for

So let’s drink to when it’s over
And let’s drink to when we meet
I’ll be standing on this corner
Where there used to be a street

You left me with the dishes
And a baby in the bath
And you’re tight with the militias
You wear their camouflage

I guess that makes us equal
But I want to march with you
An extra in the sequel
To the old red-white-and-blue

So let’s drink to when it’s over
And let’s drink to when we meet
I’ll be standing on this corner
Where there used to be a street

I cried for you this morning
And I’ll cry for you again
But I’m not in charge of sorrow
So please don’t ask me when

I know the burden’s heavy
As you bear it through the night
Some people say it’s empty
But that doesn’t mean it’s light

So let’s drink to when it’s over
And let’s drink to when we meet
I’ll be standing on this corner
Where there used to be a street

It’s going to be September now
For many years to come
Every heart adjusting
To that strict September drum

I see the Ghost of Culture
With numbers on his wrist
Salute some new conclusion
Which all of us have missed

So let’s drink to when it’s over
And let’s drink to when we meet
I’ll be standing on this corner
Where there used to be a street


AMEN

Tell me again when I’ve been to the river
And I’ve taken the edge off my thirst
Tell me again when we’re alone and I’m listening
Listening so hard that it hurts
Tell me again when I’m clean and sober
Tell me again when I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again, tell me over and over
Tell me that you want me then
Amen, Amen, Amen… Amen

Tell me again when the victims are singing
And the laws of remorse are restored
Tell me again that you know what I’m thinking
But vengeance belongs to the lord
Tell me again when I’m clean and I’m sober
Tell me again when I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again, tell me over and over
Tell me that you love me then
Amen, Amen, Amen… Amen

Tell me again when the day has been ransomed
And the night has no right to begin
Try me again when the angels are panting
And scratching at the door to come in
Tell me again when I’m clean and I’m sober
Tell me again when I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again, tell me over and over
Tell me again that you need me then
Amen, Amen, Amen… Amen

Tell me again when the filth of the butcher
Is washed in the blood of the lamb
Tell me again when the rest of the culture
Has passed through the eye of the cam
Tell me again when I’m clean and I’m sober
Tell me again when I’ve seen through the horror
Tell me again, tell me over and over
Tell me that you love me then
Amen, Amen, Amen… Amen


DARKNESS

Izvedba u Sligou, 31. VII. 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8CVlLa-sMI



I caught the darkness
It was drinking from your cup
I got the darkness
From your little golden cup
I said is this contagious?
You said “Just drink it up”

I’ve got no future
I know my days are few
The present’s not so pleasant
Just a lot of things to do
I thought the past would last me
But the darkness got that too

I should have seen it coming
It was right behind your eyes
You were young and it was summer
I just had to take a dive
Winning you was easy
But the darkness was the prize

I don’t smoke no cigarette
I don’t drink no alcohol
I ain’t had no loving yet
But that’s always been your call
And nothing but the darkness
Makes any sense to me at all

I used to love the rainbow
And I used to love the view
I love the early morning
I pretend that it was new
But I caught the darkness
And I got it worse than you

I caught the darkness
I caught the darkness
It was drinking from your cup
I said is this contagious?
You said “Just drink it up”


LULLABY

Izvedba u Dublinu, 22. VII. 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InQ69VP182s



I can’t break the code
of our frozen love.
It’s too late to know
What the password was.
If your heart is torn,
I don’t wonder why.
If the night is long,
here’s my lullaby.
Here’s my lullaby.

Though they twist the news
and the world believes,
we will live our truth,
be it on our knees.
If your heart is torn,
I don’t wonder why.
If the night is long,
here’s my lullaby.
Here’s my lullaby.

Through a net of lies,
oh, I will come to you.
When our dead arrive,
I will salute them too.
If your heart is torn,
I don’t wonder why.
If the night is long,
here’s my lullaby.
Here’s my lullaby.

Though it’s much too late,
And we’ve taken our stand.
And they call up your name,
we’ll go hand in hand.
If your heart is torn,
I don’t wonder why.
If the night is long,
here’s my lullaby.
Here’s my lullaby.


FEELS SO GOOD

Izvedba u San Joseu, 13. XI. 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GihhK_TyLAI



Feels so good, not to love you like I did
Feels so good, not to love you like I did
It’s like they tore away my blindfold and they said,
we’re gonna let this prisoner live
It’s like they tore away my blindfold and they said,
we’re gonna let this prisoner live

Feels so good to wake up in the morning by myself
Cup of coffee in the kitchen, fire up a little danger to
my health
Ah, they’re selling freedom everywhere, it’s flying off
the shelf,
Yeah, they’re selling freedom everywhere but love,
that’s something else

Ah you drift into my dreams as if you had the right
And you show me how you broke me doing all the
little things I really like
But I let it all go by just so long as you and I don’t
have to fight
Yeah, I let it all go by just so long as you and I don’t
have to fight

Well I don’t know about tomorrow but I know what’s
coming next
I’ve used up all my questions; I have no answers left
In a while I won’t remember what I promised you
I never would forget
In a while I won’t remember what I promised you
I never would forget

Feels so good not to wonder who you’ll get
Who you love, who you touch and who you kiss
Oh baby, who’d ever guess that there’s a side of
loneliness as sweet as this
Would you ever guess that there’s a side of loneliness
as sweet as this

Feels so good, not to love you like I did
Feels so good, not to love you like I did
It’s like they tore away my blindfold and they said,
we’re gonna let this prisoner live
It’s like they tore away my blindfold and they said,
we’re gonna let this prisoner live


BORN IN CHAINS

Izvedba u Sligou, 31. VII. 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f37lh9LqRs



I was born in chains
But I was taken out of Egypt
I was bound to a burden
But the burden it was raised
Lord I can no longer keep this secret
Blessed is the Name
The Name be praised

I fled to the edge
Of the Mighty Sea of Sorrow
Pursued by the riders
Of a cruel and dark regime
The waters parted and my soul crossed over
Out of Egypt
Out of Pharaoh’s dream

Word of Words
And Measure of all Measures
Blessed is the Name
The Name be blessed
Written on my heart
In burning Letters
That’s all I know
I cannot read the rest

There was total unemployment
When I heard that you could use me
Though I followed very closely
My life remained the same
But then you showed me why
The world was wounded
My eyes were opened
Broken is the Name

I was alone on the road
Your Love was so confusing
And all the teachers told me
That I had myself to blame
But in the Grip of Sensual Illusion
The sweet unknowing
Unified the Name

I’ve heard the soul unfolds
In the chambers of its longing
And the bitter liquor sweetens
In the hammered cup
But all the Ladders of the Night have fallen
And darkness now
To lift the Longing up

Word of Words
And Measure of all Measures
Blessed is the Name
The Name be blessed
Written on my heart
In burning Letters
That’s all I know
I cannot read the rest


Izvor: Poems and Songs, by Leonard Cohen. Edited by Robert Faggen, Everyman’s Library £9.99 pp245 ISBN 978-1-84159-787-4
Stranice izdavača: http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/classics/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307595836

Podsjećamo da je 2006. Cohen radio na novom albumu, no rad na njemu obustavljen je zbog turneje. Tijekom promocije Knjige čežnje Cohen je predstavio tri nove pjesme: The Street je recitirao na kanadskom radiju, a dvije pjesme bile su predstavljene u demo verzijama na losangeleskoj radijskoj postaji KCRW: Book of Longing i Puppets, obje temeljene na pjesmama iz knjige.