If you’re searching for a soulful reflection of love this coming Valentine’s, look no further than Songs of Leonard Cohen. An album that launched Leonard Cohen into notoriety, It is packed full of shrewd but devoting and sacred reflections on love, that remains both timeless and profound.
Cohen’s meditations originate from his quiet beginnings in poetry and writing. He seemingly sprang out of nowhere in the folk scene; one already packed with notorious icons. Something of a modern minstrel, Cohen quickly made a name for himself, sewing his gift of wordplay with the simplicity of his acoustics. Cohen is slow and thoughtful in this record, and with a runtime of 41 minutes and 10 songs, it needs no theatrics. While relatively uncomplicated, Cohen’ songs about love and passion are remarkably intense and enchanting.
With some songs like Suzanne taking four-five months to write, and the album being recorded “in a church-like atmosphere,” Cohen demonstrates his careful attention to detail in his depiction of love. Throughout he weaves spirituality and romance, presenting love as both a transformative and deeply sacred experience.
The writing really makes this album what it is. Suzanne, carries a celestial theme, with Cohen being drawn into a dreamlike world, writing how “She gets you on her wavelength, and she lets the river answer, that you’ve always been her lover….” and that “You’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.”
But my favourite lyrics come with Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye, with “I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm, your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm.” There is a certain tenderness here that captures the intimacy of a quiet fleeting moment. Cohen captures these moments with such an attentive brevity. It goes to show, you don’t need to be grandiose when it comes to making music about love. All you need is a careful simplicity when it comes to the music, and lyrics that are deep and passionate.
Wherever you are this Valentine’s, I urge you to take a quiet moment and listen to this record. It’s an album that is about the tender quieter moments of love, rather than the grand gestures. Afterall, in the end, it’s those moments that often carry the most weight.
