OK - I'm a long-time cohen fan, but this song has always occupied a lot on the periphery of his classic songs - perhaps because I find it almost unapproachably personal.
Anyway, I've had some time recently (singing along in the car) to try and analyse what he might have attempted here, and I was blown away by the implications - but maybe you can tell me if I'm on the right track or not ...
here goes:
The rain falls down on last year's man,
that's a jew's harp on the table,
that's a crayon in his hand.
this is cohen at work - his tools are that of a (primitive) folk musician and a (primitive) architect.
His work is in the process of being ruined/blessed.
And the corners of the blueprint are ruined since they rolled
far past the stems of thumbtacks
that still throw shadows on the wood.
his plans, too far-reaching as they turned out, have obscured the view of forest (wood) for the trees (stems).
And the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend
and all the rain falls down amen
on the works of last year's man.
This is the covering before of the source of light, the source of song, that has become ragged, letting the rain fall in, at once a blessing and a curse.
I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark
oh one by one she had to tell them
that her name was Joan of Arc.
Now we have a strong, powerful woman who plays with warriors and then reveals that her loyalty is with the kingdom and not with them or their feelings of love. She has a higher calling - to be a warrior herself.
I was in that army, yes I stayed a little while;
I want to thank you, Joan of Arc,
for treating me so well.
Well, look at this - cohen was one of these warriors! One of many, that is ...
And though I wear a uniform I was not born to fight;
all these wounded boys you lie beside,
goodnight, my friends, goodnight.
whom he calls "wounded" - by their lover, maybe? anyway, cohen bids farewell to all that ...
I came upon a wedding that old families had contrived;
Bethlehem the bridegroom,
Babylon the bride.
OK - now we get to the forementioned religious imagery - notice cohen wasn't invited as a guest, but he takes part - the question is: in which role? Now, I've been reading Robert Graves' King Jesus, which is gonna inform my take on this, but I would take "Bethlehem" to be the house of Joseph, of the Edomites (descended directly from Adam), hereditary royalty of the tribes of Israel. Babylon could refer to the house that the high priestesses of the G-ddess belong - they would naturally be identified with sin, since Jehovah's followers needed to demonize the older religion. So, by extension what we may have here is a marriage between Adam and Eve, between the G-d and the G-ddes ...
Great Babylon was naked, oh she stood there trembling for me,
and Bethlehem inflamed us both
like the shy one at some orgy.
And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil
that I had to draw aside to see
the serpent eat its tail.
Now Eve presents herself to cohen, suggested that he may be Adam and the third party at once. She is unashamed of her nakedness, while Adam (cohen) is shy. The consummation of marriage is equated with the original fall from grace, and as he draws aside the bridal veil, the principle of eternal fall and resurrection, of renewal, is revealed.
Some women wait for Jesus, and some women wait for Cain
so I hang upon my altar
and I hoist my axe again.
These lines may be the key - some women wait for the redeemer-king and some for his killer; cohen will play both roles.
And I take the one who finds me back to where it all began
when Jesus was the honeymoon
and Cain was just the man.
It began with the conception of Jesus, or maybe the bodily union after the appointment of the new king, and it began with Cain as a man, not yet a regicide (soon to be the next king).
And we read from pleasant Bibles that are bound in blood and skin
that the wilderness is gathering
all its children back again.
Here I like to think of the Jewish tradition of wrapping the Torah around your arm and shoulder with a system of leather straps (but please correct me if I'm wrong here). On the other hand, these Bibles bound in blood and skin are of course us and our bodies, so that what's written in our bodies is to the effect that we are being drawn back to nature (and therefore to the G-ddess).
The rain falls down on last year's man,
an hour has gone by
and he has not moved his hand.
But everything will happen if he only gives the word;
the lovers will rise up
and the mountains touch the ground.
So now we see that the rain may bring more fruitful crops than any plans cohen the architect can draft. In fact, he is frozen in inaction at this realisation. Now he is likened to G-d: his word holds the power to redeem mankind or reverse physical hierarchies.
But the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend
and all the rain falls down amen
on the works of last year's man.
The new insight here is that the light and the song are better broken than mended, since that way the wild G-dess inspiration can fertilise last year's (failed) seed.
I've probably gone a bit far with this, but I'm sure some of you will forgive me.
This is such a mysterious song, I would love to figure it out but that's quite difficult because it is so personal. Snydal, I really do like your interpretation, looks like you've put a lot of thought in it! Here's mine:
This is such a mysterious song, I would love to figure it out but that's quite difficult because it is so personal. Snydal, I really do like your interpretation, looks like you've put a lot of thought in it! Here's mine:
The rain falls down on last year's man,
that's a jew's harp on the table,
that's a crayon in his hand.
The rain falls down on last year's man,
that's a jew's harp on the table,
that's a crayon in his hand.
I also think that last year's man refers to God, the jew's harp being an image for Judaism (king David) and the crayon for Christianity (Jesus). Now the rain falls down upon him, he is forgotten.
I also think that last year's man refers to God, the jew's harp being an image for Judaism (king David) and the crayon for Christianity (Jesus). Now the rain falls down upon him, he is forgotten.
And the corners of the blueprint are ruined since they rolled
far past the stems of thumbtacks
that still throw shadows on the wood.
I agree with Snydal here, God's creation has grown out of his control.
And the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend
and all the rain falls down amen
on the works of last year's man.
The 'I' person speaking here is God, the imaginary skin of the drum that covers
God's creation is broken, but he won't mend it, so the rain falls through the holes
on his creation.
I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark
oh one by one she had to tell them
that her name was Joan of Arc.
I was in that army, yes I stayed a little while;
I want to thank you, Joan of Arc,
for treating me so well.
Cohen stills speaks with the voice of God here, he was present when
Joan of Arc was fighting in his name and he thanks her for that.
And though I wear a uniform I was not born to fight;
all these wounded boys you lie beside,
goodnight, my friends, goodnight.
I do not think the 'you' refers to Joan of Arc, since was a virgin and never
died on the battlefield. I assume that it's a 'generic you'. The first sentence presents God as one who wears a uniform, he has got a certain task, but it is not fighting.
I came upon a wedding that old families had contrived;
Bethlehem the bridegroom,
Babylon the bride.
Great Babylon was naked, oh she stood there trembling for me,
and Bethlehem inflamed us both
like the shy one at some orgy.
And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil
that I had to draw aside to see
the serpent eat its tail.
This is a hard verse to interpret, but, in the Bible Bethlehem is seen as
the city of God, the place where David and Jesus were born. Babylon on the other hand
is viewed as the Devil's city hence the orgy and Bethlehem being the shy one. The image of the serpent that eats its own tail symbolizes continuality and rebirth. So we've got a marriage of the spiritual and the physical, which represents and constitutes life itself.
Some women wait for Jesus, and some women wait for Cain
so I hang upon my altar
and I hoist my axe again.
And I take the one who finds me back to where it all began
when Jesus was the honeymoon
and Cain was just the man.
And we read from pleasant Bibles that are bound in blood and skin
that the wilderness is gathering
all its children back again.
The women who wait for Jesus are pure and spiritual, the ones that wait for Cain are physical. Cain being the first murderer and thus the prototype of evil. God hangs upon his altar and he hoists his axe for his judgement. The one who finds him is the spiritual religious person, He will take him back to a time where the deeds of Jesus and Cain where unknown, when there was no segregation between good and evil and the physical love was also spiritual hence Jesus being the honeymoon. The bibles that are bound in blood and skin might literally refer to the parchment on which they were written but they also symbolically refer to the terrible deeds that are described in the Bible. These deeds allude to the wilderness that is mentioned.
The rain falls down on last year's man,
an hour has gone by
and he has not moved his hand.
But everything will happen if he only gives the word;
the lovers will rise up
and the mountains touch the ground.
But the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend
and all the rain falls down amen
on the works of last year's man.
God is able to change the fate of mankind, by his word 'everything will happen'.
But he chooses not to.
I think this is one of the deepest songs Cohen ever wrote, if not the deepest.
I think this is one of the deepest songs Cohen ever wrote, if not the deepest.
This song is about Cohen's Spirit, his new born life that he confirms with songs like Last Year's man, Hallelujah, Sisters of Mercy, Bird on the Wire and others. It is undoubtley that Cohen is influenced with the Word of God ("there's a baze of light in Every Word") as he says ih Hallelujah. In this song, we also have connections with Cohens fascinantion and passion of Word in Bible.
Prof of that is in this song also: "But everything will happen if he only gives the word" - this verse is of course clear reflection on Mathew 8-8 - every who knows Bible very well will know that.
When Cohen is in love, he describes feeling and stata of love as a highest God's gift - describeing it as most perfect harmony in life, a highest gift from the sky - this stands for words: "and Bethlehem inflamed us both" - describing state of emotions beetween he and that woman that was femme fatale.
This song is a mixture of witer's personal insight voice and reflect his person in deep.
Cohen when speaking, actually writes about his spiritual growth, his connection with Living God. His love life, his falls - because he is very emotional - that is why he writes about Joan of Arc - hero woman, but also about hurted people who fought for heart of that woman which she (maybe not with her will, but because of choices she had in life) hurted because she is femme fatale:
"all these wounded boys you lie beside"
In Bible, "Great Babilon" is described as fallen being (like fallen city). It is also described as female, and as place where everyone should espace form (John's Revelation). Betlehem, on the other hand, is place of goodnes - place of birth of living Word, Way, Truth, and Life.
So, we have a fight beetween of good and evil. I personally think it is fight in Cohen that is also that fight. But Cohen is in good side, and want's to stand in front of evil:
"And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil
that I had to draw aside to see
the serpent eat its tail."
I think that Cohen with this verses proves that he's fought seprent with his mind.. and his spirit defeated evil in, as he actually describes his fight with seprent - his personal spiritual growth is point off his life were he could see and feel more and more clearly serpent's presence. He puts himself in place of good - place of God and Spirit which he strongly believes and lusts for it.
This, as many Cohen songs, is actually about Cohens strong and deep faith in God - which he finds in Bible, in Jeusus - living Word, and in nature.
OK - I'm a long-time cohen fan, but this song has always occupied a lot on the periphery of his classic songs - perhaps because I find it almost unapproachably personal.
Anyway, I've had some time recently (singing along in the car) to try and analyse what he might have attempted here, and I was blown away by the implications - but maybe you can tell me if I'm on the right track or not ...
here goes:
The rain falls down on last year's man, that's a jew's harp on the table, that's a crayon in his hand.
this is cohen at work - his tools are that of a (primitive) folk musician and a (primitive) architect. His work is in the process of being ruined/blessed.
And the corners of the blueprint are ruined since they rolled far past the stems of thumbtacks that still throw shadows on the wood.
his plans, too far-reaching as they turned out, have obscured the view of forest (wood) for the trees (stems).
And the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend and all the rain falls down amen on the works of last year's man.
This is the covering before of the source of light, the source of song, that has become ragged, letting the rain fall in, at once a blessing and a curse.
I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark oh one by one she had to tell them that her name was Joan of Arc.
Now we have a strong, powerful woman who plays with warriors and then reveals that her loyalty is with the kingdom and not with them or their feelings of love. She has a higher calling - to be a warrior herself.
I was in that army, yes I stayed a little while; I want to thank you, Joan of Arc, for treating me so well.
Well, look at this - cohen was one of these warriors! One of many, that is ...
And though I wear a uniform I was not born to fight; all these wounded boys you lie beside, goodnight, my friends, goodnight.
whom he calls "wounded" - by their lover, maybe? anyway, cohen bids farewell to all that ...
I came upon a wedding that old families had contrived; Bethlehem the bridegroom, Babylon the bride.
OK - now we get to the forementioned religious imagery - notice cohen wasn't invited as a guest, but he takes part - the question is: in which role? Now, I've been reading Robert Graves' King Jesus, which is gonna inform my take on this, but I would take "Bethlehem" to be the house of Joseph, of the Edomites (descended directly from Adam), hereditary royalty of the tribes of Israel. Babylon could refer to the house that the high priestesses of the G-ddess belong - they would naturally be identified with sin, since Jehovah's followers needed to demonize the older religion. So, by extension what we may have here is a marriage between Adam and Eve, between the G-d and the G-ddes ...
Great Babylon was naked, oh she stood there trembling for me, and Bethlehem inflamed us both like the shy one at some orgy. And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil that I had to draw aside to see the serpent eat its tail.
Now Eve presents herself to cohen, suggested that he may be Adam and the third party at once. She is unashamed of her nakedness, while Adam (cohen) is shy. The consummation of marriage is equated with the original fall from grace, and as he draws aside the bridal veil, the principle of eternal fall and resurrection, of renewal, is revealed.
Some women wait for Jesus, and some women wait for Cain so I hang upon my altar and I hoist my axe again.
These lines may be the key - some women wait for the redeemer-king and some for his killer; cohen will play both roles.
And I take the one who finds me back to where it all began when Jesus was the honeymoon and Cain was just the man.
It began with the conception of Jesus, or maybe the bodily union after the appointment of the new king, and it began with Cain as a man, not yet a regicide (soon to be the next king).
And we read from pleasant Bibles that are bound in blood and skin that the wilderness is gathering all its children back again.
Here I like to think of the Jewish tradition of wrapping the Torah around your arm and shoulder with a system of leather straps (but please correct me if I'm wrong here). On the other hand, these Bibles bound in blood and skin are of course us and our bodies, so that what's written in our bodies is to the effect that we are being drawn back to nature (and therefore to the G-ddess).
The rain falls down on last year's man, an hour has gone by and he has not moved his hand. But everything will happen if he only gives the word; the lovers will rise up and the mountains touch the ground.
So now we see that the rain may bring more fruitful crops than any plans cohen the architect can draft. In fact, he is frozen in inaction at this realisation. Now he is likened to G-d: his word holds the power to redeem mankind or reverse physical hierarchies.
But the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend and all the rain falls down amen on the works of last year's man.
The new insight here is that the light and the song are better broken than mended, since that way the wild G-dess inspiration can fertilise last year's (failed) seed.
I've probably gone a bit far with this, but I'm sure some of you will forgive me.
This is such a mysterious song, I would love to figure it out but that's quite difficult because it is so personal. Snydal, I really do like your interpretation, looks like you've put a lot of thought in it! Here's mine:
This is such a mysterious song, I would love to figure it out but that's quite difficult because it is so personal. Snydal, I really do like your interpretation, looks like you've put a lot of thought in it! Here's mine:
The rain falls down on last year's man, that's a jew's harp on the table, that's a crayon in his hand.
The rain falls down on last year's man, that's a jew's harp on the table, that's a crayon in his hand.
I also think that last year's man refers to God, the jew's harp being an image for Judaism (king David) and the crayon for Christianity (Jesus). Now the rain falls down upon him, he is forgotten.
I also think that last year's man refers to God, the jew's harp being an image for Judaism (king David) and the crayon for Christianity (Jesus). Now the rain falls down upon him, he is forgotten.
And the corners of the blueprint are ruined since they rolled far past the stems of thumbtacks that still throw shadows on the wood.
I agree with Snydal here, God's creation has grown out of his control.
And the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend and all the rain falls down amen on the works of last year's man.
The 'I' person speaking here is God, the imaginary skin of the drum that covers God's creation is broken, but he won't mend it, so the rain falls through the holes on his creation.
I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark oh one by one she had to tell them that her name was Joan of Arc. I was in that army, yes I stayed a little while; I want to thank you, Joan of Arc, for treating me so well.
Cohen stills speaks with the voice of God here, he was present when Joan of Arc was fighting in his name and he thanks her for that.
And though I wear a uniform I was not born to fight; all these wounded boys you lie beside, goodnight, my friends, goodnight.
I do not think the 'you' refers to Joan of Arc, since was a virgin and never died on the battlefield. I assume that it's a 'generic you'. The first sentence presents God as one who wears a uniform, he has got a certain task, but it is not fighting.
I came upon a wedding that old families had contrived; Bethlehem the bridegroom, Babylon the bride. Great Babylon was naked, oh she stood there trembling for me, and Bethlehem inflamed us both like the shy one at some orgy. And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil that I had to draw aside to see the serpent eat its tail.
This is a hard verse to interpret, but, in the Bible Bethlehem is seen as the city of God, the place where David and Jesus were born. Babylon on the other hand is viewed as the Devil's city hence the orgy and Bethlehem being the shy one. The image of the serpent that eats its own tail symbolizes continuality and rebirth. So we've got a marriage of the spiritual and the physical, which represents and constitutes life itself.
Some women wait for Jesus, and some women wait for Cain so I hang upon my altar and I hoist my axe again. And I take the one who finds me back to where it all began when Jesus was the honeymoon and Cain was just the man. And we read from pleasant Bibles that are bound in blood and skin that the wilderness is gathering all its children back again.
The women who wait for Jesus are pure and spiritual, the ones that wait for Cain are physical. Cain being the first murderer and thus the prototype of evil. God hangs upon his altar and he hoists his axe for his judgement. The one who finds him is the spiritual religious person, He will take him back to a time where the deeds of Jesus and Cain where unknown, when there was no segregation between good and evil and the physical love was also spiritual hence Jesus being the honeymoon. The bibles that are bound in blood and skin might literally refer to the parchment on which they were written but they also symbolically refer to the terrible deeds that are described in the Bible. These deeds allude to the wilderness that is mentioned.
The rain falls down on last year's man, an hour has gone by and he has not moved his hand. But everything will happen if he only gives the word; the lovers will rise up and the mountains touch the ground. But the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend and all the rain falls down amen on the works of last year's man.
God is able to change the fate of mankind, by his word 'everything will happen'. But he chooses not to.
I think this is one of the deepest songs Cohen ever wrote, if not the deepest.
I think this is one of the deepest songs Cohen ever wrote, if not the deepest.
This song is about Cohen's Spirit, his new born life that he confirms with songs like Last Year's man, Hallelujah, Sisters of Mercy, Bird on the Wire and others. It is undoubtley that Cohen is influenced with the Word of God ("there's a baze of light in Every Word") as he says ih Hallelujah. In this song, we also have connections with Cohens fascinantion and passion of Word in Bible. Prof of that is in this song also: "But everything will happen if he only gives the word" - this verse is of course clear reflection on Mathew 8-8 - every who knows Bible very well will know that.
When Cohen is in love, he describes feeling and stata of love as a highest God's gift - describeing it as most perfect harmony in life, a highest gift from the sky - this stands for words: "and Bethlehem inflamed us both" - describing state of emotions beetween he and that woman that was femme fatale.
This song is a mixture of witer's personal insight voice and reflect his person in deep. Cohen when speaking, actually writes about his spiritual growth, his connection with Living God. His love life, his falls - because he is very emotional - that is why he writes about Joan of Arc - hero woman, but also about hurted people who fought for heart of that woman which she (maybe not with her will, but because of choices she had in life) hurted because she is femme fatale: "all these wounded boys you lie beside"
In Bible, "Great Babilon" is described as fallen being (like fallen city). It is also described as female, and as place where everyone should espace form (John's Revelation). Betlehem, on the other hand, is place of goodnes - place of birth of living Word, Way, Truth, and Life. So, we have a fight beetween of good and evil. I personally think it is fight in Cohen that is also that fight. But Cohen is in good side, and want's to stand in front of evil:
"And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil that I had to draw aside to see the serpent eat its tail."
I think that Cohen with this verses proves that he's fought seprent with his mind.. and his spirit defeated evil in, as he actually describes his fight with seprent - his personal spiritual growth is point off his life were he could see and feel more and more clearly serpent's presence. He puts himself in place of good - place of God and Spirit which he strongly believes and lusts for it.
This, as many Cohen songs, is actually about Cohens strong and deep faith in God - which he finds in Bible, in Jeusus - living Word, and in nature.
Dario, Croatia