The Flame

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The Flame Page 15

by Leonard Cohen


  Leonard was deeply appreciative during the last months of his life of the many people who assisted him during his remarkable late-career renaissance. He thanked his band and crew every night during his iconic world tour, and he would want me to thank each of you again by name. Leonard also deeply appreciated the work of all the webmasters who supported his work around the world; they were among the very few who had the privilege to visit backstage. He certainly gained a new appreciation of Sony Music over the last eight years of his career, and would want me to thank all the managing directors who gave generous attention to his last three albums. He would want me to give special mention to Rob Stringer, Shane Carter, Greg Linn, Caryn Hanlon, and JoAnn Kaeding.

  In each of his last three albums, Leonard expressed his appreciation for his creative collaborators. He would want me to mention, and thank again, his son, Adam, who produced You Want It Darker, producer and co-writer Patrick Leonard for work on Old Ideas and Popular Problems, and co-writer Sharon Robinson.

  He would insist that I give special thanks to Michelle Rice, his lawyer since 2005, who rescued him from the attack and malfeasance of his prior manager. He would be particularly grateful for Michelle’s swift and effective intervention to stop his former manager’s renewed harassment in the summer of 2016, just when Leonard most needed peace to complete this manuscript.

  Finally, he would express his deep love and appreciation to his daughter, Lorca, his son, Adam, and Adam’s partner, Jessica, for their care and understanding, which enabled him to have the solitude required to complete the book, and the joy they brought him with visits from his grandchildren, Viva, Cassius, and Lyon. He would also offer a special thanks to Anjani.

  —Robert Kory

  Trustee, Leonard Cohen Family Trust

  June 2018

  INDEX OF TITLES / DRAWINGS, FIRST LINES

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Acceptance Address for the Prince of Asturias Award

  All He Knows

  Almost Like the Blues

  almost like the blues grey hat

  Amen

  and yet there was a certain light

  Antique Song

  Anyhow

  Apparent Turbulence, The

  background at last, a

  background singers

  Banjo

  beautiful are the nights in canaan

  Blue Alert

  bodhidharma brought zen to the west

  Born in Chains

  boy can’t breathe, the

  burning bush

  broken tablets

  careless is the way to go

  Come and See

  Come Healing

  copenhagen

  Crazy to Love You (Blue Alert)

  Crazy to Love You (Old Ideas)

  Creature, The

  Darkness

  dazed middle self, the

  dear steve

  Deprived

  Did I Ever Love You

  Different Sides

  Dimensions of Love

  Doesn’t Matter

  door

  Drank a Lot

  dreadful night, a

  easy chair, the

  eight candles

  elegy for kenneth koch

  Elevator Mirrors

  end of the day-guitar-hat-chair, the

  everything will come back in the wrong light

  failed portrait

  Flowers Hate Us, The

  Flying Over Iceland

  formal man

  Full Employment

  full moon

  G-d Wants His Song

  getting there at last

  Going Home

  gold halo woman

  Golden Gate, The

  goodbye that night

  Grateful

  grim days, the

  Half the Perfect World

  hands on unified heart

  Happens to the Heart

  he has found his way

  he refused to ask a single question

  He Says He Wants to Kill Us

  Homage to Morente

  Homage to Rosengarten

  hopeless trees

  how the pearls are made

  how to get out of what

  i am a living statue

  I Can’t Break the Code

  I Can’t Take It Anymore

  I Didn’t Know

  I Do

  I Hear the Traffic

  i must go down to the sea again

  I Pray for Courage

  i spoke to you yesterday

  I Think I’ll Blame

  i think we’re going to see some action here

  if i catch you making fun of me

  If I Didn’t Have Your Love

  If I Took a Pill

  if only she hadn’t

  If There Were No Paintings

  if there were no paintings bianca

  if, this morning, you even dare to speak

  Ikkyu

  I’m Always Thinking of a Song

  I’m Looking at the Flag

  importance of a previous existence as a fish, the

  indian embroider girl

  Indian Girl, The

  Innermost Door

  It Seemed the Better Way

  it will be worse than war

  Jan 15, 2007 Sicily Café

  just because we can’t see straight

  Kanye West Is Not Picasso

  Lambchops

  Leaving the Table

  Leonard and Peter

  let us be a little merciful

  like david bent down

  Listen to the Hummingbird

  listening carefully

  look down look down that lonesome road

  looking for a good time, sailor?

  looking into the possibility

  looking over my shoulder at you gaining ground

  Los Angeles Times, The

  losing sight of the plan but not letting on

  Lucky Night!!!!!, The

  Lullaby

  madonna variation

  many hummers

  Mary Full of Grace

  mirror in my room, the

  Mist, The

  montreal kitchen

  montreux jazz

  Moving On

  muse of science

  My Career

  my grandfather appeared

  My Guitar Stood Up Today

  My Lawyer

  My Oh My

  my plan forgotten

  Never Gave Nobody Trouble

  Never Got to Love You

  Never Mind

  night i left bombay, the

  Nightingale

  no gifts this morning

  no longer inclined to speak the truth

  No One After You

  No Time to Change

  now we need more time

  Old Friends

  On Rare Occasions

  On the Level

  Ordinary Guy with Problems

  our suntans are not enough

  Roshi Said

  Roshi’s Poem

  Samson in New Orleans

  saturday morning

  School Days

  seas of blood

  Selections from the Notebooks

  she was protected by rays of light

  Show Me the Place

  sleep

  Slow

  so good to wake up with you, beloved

  some call it the sap

  somewhat reluctant to get involved

  Steer Your Way

  Street, A, (lyrics)

  Street, A, (poem)

  sunlight woman

  tango couple

  temptation of the halos resisted, the

  Thanks for the Dance (Blue Alert)

  Thanks for the Dance (poem)

  the
n let our own symbols speak for us

  this is no joke

  this is the end of it

  this isn’t working anymore

  this way is really the best way

  Traveling Light

  Treaty

  troubles followed me, the

  true nature is what you got

  truth feels good, the

  Unbiblical

  Undertow

  waiting for his orders

  war, the

  Was I Alone

  Watching the Nature Channel

  we are beginning to get the idea

  we are going home

  we do not bless we convey the blessings

  What I Do

  what is coming

  What Is Coming 2.16.03

  When Desire Rests

  when she is not calling you

  When You Wake Up

  will he act?

  Winter on Mount Baldy

  with a great sense of relief

  women gone, the

  yes always somewhat off balance

  you can’t emerge

  you gave me a lily but now it’s a field

  You Got Me Singing

  You Want It Darker

  You Want to Strike Back and You Can’t

  Also by Leonard Cohen

  POETRY

  Let Us Compare Mythologies

  The Spice-Box of Earth

  Flowers for Hitler

  Parasites of Heaven

  Selected Poems: 1956–1968

  The Energy of Slaves

  Death of a Lady’s Man

  Book of Mercy

  Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs

  Book of Longing

  FICTION

  The Favourite Game

  Beautiful Losers

  A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Leonard Cohen was born in Montreal in 1934. Soon after graduating from McGill University, he published his first collection of poems, Let Us Compare Mythologies, in 1956. He would go on to publish a dozen more volumes of poetry, including Book of Longing, and two novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers. A hugely influential and critically acclaimed singer and songwriter, Cohen released fourteen studio albums between 1967 and 2016, the last being You Want It Darker, for the title track of which he posthumously won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010, and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Grammys. He won both the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature and the Glenn Gould Prize in 2011, and the first PEN New England Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award in 2012. Cohen died in Los Angeles on November 7, 2016. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Foreword

  Editorial Note

  Poems

  Lyrics

  Blue Alert

  Old Ideas

  Popular Problems

  You Want It Darker

  Leonard and Peter

  Selections from the Notebooks

  Acceptance Address for the Prince of Asturias Award

  Acknowledgements

  Index

  Also by Leonard Cohen

  A Note About the Author

  Copyright

  Farrar, Straus and Giroux

  175 Varick Street, New York 10014

  Copyright © 2018 by Old Ideas, LLC

  All rights reserved

  Published simultaneously in Canada by McClelland & Stewart, a division of Penguin Random House Canada, and in Great Britain by Canongate Books Ltd.

  Published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

  First American edition, 2018

  E-book ISBN: 978-0-374-71870-1

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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