Chelsea Hotel is a hotel in New York City often frequented by musicians, artist and writers (also the place where Nancy Spungen was allegedly murdered by Sid Vicious). The lyrics are about Leonard's sexual encounter with Janis Joplin at the hotel.
I don't think its about Janis. Apparently he had a love affair with Janis and Nico from the Velvet Underground, and in a poem from the book of longing titled "Something from the early seventies," Cohen says "the Black Photograph has ever meant a fig to me, except of course, for Nico. She could read them. She knew what I was doing. She knew what I was. And I long for her still [...] My work among other things is a monument to Nico's eyes. That there was such a pair in my own time, and that I met them,...
I don't think its about Janis. Apparently he had a love affair with Janis and Nico from the Velvet Underground, and in a poem from the book of longing titled "Something from the early seventies," Cohen says "the Black Photograph has ever meant a fig to me, except of course, for Nico. She could read them. She knew what I was doing. She knew what I was. And I long for her still [...] My work among other things is a monument to Nico's eyes. That there was such a pair in my own time, and that I met them, forehead to forehead; that the Black Photograph sang to other irises, and yes, corneas, retinas and optic nerves, all the way down the foul leather bag to Nico's restless hear, another human heart; that this actually happened constitutes the sole assault on my loneliness that the eternal has ever made, and it was her.
Therefor I was in New York at a curtain time, in a certain place; actually it was The Chelsea Hotel."
Chelsea Hotel is a hotel in New York City often frequented by musicians, artist and writers (also the place where Nancy Spungen was allegedly murdered by Sid Vicious). The lyrics are about Leonard's sexual encounter with Janis Joplin at the hotel.
I don't think its about Janis. Apparently he had a love affair with Janis and Nico from the Velvet Underground, and in a poem from the book of longing titled "Something from the early seventies," Cohen says "the Black Photograph has ever meant a fig to me, except of course, for Nico. She could read them. She knew what I was doing. She knew what I was. And I long for her still [...] My work among other things is a monument to Nico's eyes. That there was such a pair in my own time, and that I met them,...
I don't think its about Janis. Apparently he had a love affair with Janis and Nico from the Velvet Underground, and in a poem from the book of longing titled "Something from the early seventies," Cohen says "the Black Photograph has ever meant a fig to me, except of course, for Nico. She could read them. She knew what I was doing. She knew what I was. And I long for her still [...] My work among other things is a monument to Nico's eyes. That there was such a pair in my own time, and that I met them, forehead to forehead; that the Black Photograph sang to other irises, and yes, corneas, retinas and optic nerves, all the way down the foul leather bag to Nico's restless hear, another human heart; that this actually happened constitutes the sole assault on my loneliness that the eternal has ever made, and it was her.
Therefor I was in New York at a curtain time, in a certain place; actually it was The Chelsea Hotel."