Leonard Cohen’s Poem: It Was Almost Like The Blues

I saw some people starving. There was murder, there was rape. Their villages were burning. They were trying to escape. I couldn’t meet their glances. I was staring at my shoes. It was acid, it was tragic. It was almost like the blues.

I have to die a little between each murderous thought. And when I’m finished thinking I have to die a lot. There’s torture and there’s killing. There’s all my bad reviews. The war, the children missing. Lord, it’s almost like the blues.

I let my heart get frozen to keep away the rot. My father said I’m chosen. My mother said I’m not. I listened to their story of the Gypsies and the Jews. It was good, it wasn’t boring. It was almost like the blues

There is no G-d in heaven. And there is no Hell below. So says the great professor of all there is to know. But I’ve had the invitation that a sinner can’t refuse. And it’s almost like salvation. It’s almost like the blues.

See below to hear Cohen perform the poem/song in concert.

The Ghost of Poetry

In 1968, Roger Waters of the rock band Pink Floyd borrowed lines from the poetry of Li Ho as lyrics for the song “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” from the band’s second album A Saucerful of Secrets. Li Ho died at 26. His mother said, “This boy will spit out his heart.” One of the “crazy poets” of the T’ang era, his poetry avoided the traditional Chinese metaphors, opting for lines which jumped from his tongue. More of his poems are here. For a good article on T’ang poetry, Li Ho, and others, see Eliot Weinberger’s article here.

The Southern hills, how mournful!

A ghostly rain sprinkles the empty grass.

In Ch’ang-an, on an autumn midnight,

How many men grow old before the wind?

Dim, dim, the path in the twilight,

Branches curl on the black oaks by the road.

The trees cast upright shadows and the moon at the zenith

Covers the hills with a white dawn.

Darkened torches welcome a new kinsman:

In the most secret tomb these fireflies swarm.