Rest in peace Leonard, a hundred floors above us, in the tower of song.
Leonard dies only few months after his muse Marianne Ihlen, the subject of his song “So Long Marianne” died at the age of 81. Cohen’s farewell letter to Marianne was read at her funeral, stating that “our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine.”
Just last month he told in an interview he was not afraid of death, and the lyrics of the first song on his latest album featured the words “I’m ready, my Lord”
Although Leonard is no longer with us, his music and poetry will always stay in our hearts. We will be speaking to us sweetly from a window in the tower of song. Hallelujah.
One thing struck me when I looked at his astrological chart. His Venus – the planet of love and beauty – is in perfect conjunction with Neptune, the planet of higher love, spirituality, and mysticism, in the humble and service oriented sign of Virgo in his 12th house. He was the ultimate artist.
Leonard Cohen – The Tower of Song
“Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I’m crazy for love but I’m not coming’ on.
I’m just paying’ my rent every day in the Tower of Song
I said to Hank Williams “How lonely does it get?”
Hank Williams hasn’t answered yet
But I hear him coughing all night long
Oh, a hundred floors above me in the Tower of Song
I was born like this, I had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond,
They tied me to this table right here in the Tower of Song
So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll
I’m very sorry, baby, it doesn’t look like me at all
I’m standing’ by the window where the light is strong
Ah, they don’t let a woman kill you, not in the Tower of Song
Now, you can say that I’ve grown bitter but of this you may be sure:
The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor
And there’s a mighty Judgement coming’ but I may be wrong
You see, I hear these funny voices in the Tower of Song
I see you standing’ on the other side
I don’t know how the river got so wide
I loved you, baby, way back when…
And all the bridges are burning’ that we might’ve crossed
But I feel so close to everything that we lost
We’ll never, we’ll never have to lose it again.
Now, I bid you farewell, I don’t know when I’ll be back
They’re moving’ us tomorrow to the tower down the track
But you’ll be hearing’ from me, baby, long after I’m gone
I’ll be speaking’ to you sweetly from a window in the Tower of Song.
Yeah, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I’m crazy for love but I’m not coming’ on.
I’m just paying’ my rent everyday in the Tower of Song”