Dieser Artikel fasst  ein spezielles Cohen/ Dylan-Event aus dem Jahre 2014 in England zusammen.

Mole Valley Poets – Meeting 31^st March 2014 Tony Earnshaw: Leonard Cohen & Bob Dylan: Lyrics & poetry

http://www.molevalleypoets.co.uk/leonard_cohen_bob_dylan.html

Tony included a recording of two songs – one from Leonard Cohen and one from Bob Dylan.

Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan Journeys between poetry and song

Two men with many similarities in their backgrounds but also big differences, two journeys which both mirrored and paralleled each other, each an admirer of the other. Both heroes of mine.

Leonard Cohen

Born into one of Montreal’s most influential families, with a strong sense of who they were – ‚a messianic child hood‘ told I was a descendant of Aaaron, the great high priest‘. Very aware of his Jewish roots, beliefs and culture. Moved to Montreal’s Little Portugal neighbourhood as a youth, read his poetry in the clubs.

• 1951 – enrolled at McGill University. Won poetry prize.
• 1954 – published first poems in magazine – CIV/n
• 1956 – first collection published – ‚Let us compare mythologies‘
• 1961 – second collection – The Spice box of the earth. Acclaimed as ‚probably the best young poet in English Canada‘
• Moved to Hydra, lived and wrote there with breaks in Montreal and NY, during 60s

• 1963 – published collection – The favourite game
• 1964 – published novel – Flowers for Hitler
• 1966 – published novel – Beautiful losers – and poems – Parasites of heavenDrifted into writing more songs and subsequently performing them. Moved to NY in 1967. Recorded Songs of Leonard Cohen. – followed by Songs from a room (1969) and Songs of love and hate – (1971) Since then, his career has moved between music and literature, with fallow gaps, has covered many musical styles and included effective retirement, and a return from retirement resulting (in part at least) from the loss of his savings to a dishonest manager.
• Themes
• His early songs were written for other people, or at least first recorded by others. Strong creative relationship with Judy Collins who recorded Suzanne, among others, encouraged him and effectively introduced him to the stage (parallel with Dylan/Baez although Collins was one of the few muses he did not have an affair with).
• Much acclaim but also controversy, not least because of sexually graphic passages.

• religion and faith. Recurring Judeao Christian imagery. Buddhist influences (spent several years as a Buddhist monk). He has drawn from Jewish religious and cultural imagery throughout his career. Examples include „Story of Isaac“, and „Who by Fire“, the words and melody of which echo the Unetaneh Tokef, an 11th-century liturgical poem recited on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Broader Jewish themes sound throughout the album Various Positions. „Hallelujah“, which has music as a secondary theme, begins by evoking the biblical King David composing a song that „pleased the Lord“ and continues with references to Bathsheba and Samson. The lyrics of „Whither Thou Goest“, performed by him and released in his album Live in London, are adapted from the Bible ( Ruth 1:16–17, King James Version). „If It Be Your Will“ also has a strong air of religious resignation.
• sex and love. In later years said that he had always looked to a woman to rescue him and meet his needs. Wrote both tenderly and graphically about his loves and his lovers. „Suzanne“ mixes a wistful type of love song with a religious meditation, themes that are also mixed in „Joan of Arc“. „Famous Blue Raincoat“ is from the point of view of a man whose marriage has been broken by his wife’s infidelity with his close friend, and is written in the form of a letter to that friend. „Everybody Knows“ is about sexual relationships during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in which „the naked man and woman are just a shining artefact of the past.“
• Words/literature/writing – references to the process, the gift etc in may songs
• Depression – he suffers/has suffered and there are many references to depression, suicide, self harm etc — eg „Please Don’t Pass Me By“ and „Tonight Will Be Fine“. „Seems So Long Ago, Nancy“ and „Dress Rehearsal Rag“
• Politics – war, social justice, Arab Israeli conflict etc – songs such as ‚The Old Revolution‘, ‚Democracy‘, ‚ Anthem‘, ‚Lover, Lover Lover‘, and even his cover of ‚The Partisan‘Many affairs, some longer lasting relationships (including those with Suzanne and Marianne and with Dominique Isserman. Rebecca de Mornay, Anjani Thomas). Two children – Adam and Lorca. Strong links with family and childhood friends – Mort Rosengarten. Poems
• Still recording, writing and touring. Apparently with less sex and drugs now …
• Personal

• Going Home (recorded)
• Take this waltz – English adaptation of Lorca poem recorded for an album marking 50^th anniversary of his death)
• Dance me to the end of love
• Poem (from Let us compare mythologies)
• Suzanne
• True love leaves no traces (from Death of a ladies man)Born Duluth, raised Hibbing, Minnesota, to Abram and Beatty Zimmerman, part of the area’s small but close knit Jewish community. A music fan from early years – blues, country, rock and roll; formed several bands while in High School. Played piano with Bobby Vee while at school, under the name Elston Gunn. Enrolled at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, switched to American folk music‘. … ‚The thing about rock’n’roll is that for me anyway it wasn’t enough … There were great catch-phrases and driving pulse rhythms … but the songs weren’t serious or didn’t reflect life in a realistic way. I knew that when I got into folk music, it was more of a serious type of thing. The songs are filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, much deeper feelings‘ Dropped out after a year and went to NY, hoping to meet Woody Guthrie. Spent time with Rambling Jack Elliot as a result, played in Greenwich Village. First album ‚Bob Dylan‘ a mix of covers and two original songs. Also recorded as Blind Boy Grunt and, for piano sessions, as Bob Landy. Played harmonica on album Jack Elliott under pseudonym Tedham Porterhouse. Legally changed name to Bob Dylan in 62, appeared in BBC programme, singing Blowing in the Wind, met Martin Carthy and learnt new material, performed at the Troubadour. Hailed as a prophet, ‚the voice of his generation‘ etc – which pushed him into retreat – „I’m just a singer, a songwriter“Themes and highlights
• Songs characterized by strength of lyrics, roots in US and also British and Irish folk music. Hailed by many as ‚poetic‘.
• 1963 Freewheelin‘ Bob Dylan –several protest songs, heavily influenced by Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Also love songs and jokey talking blues. The start of other artists covering his songs. Joan Baez recorded his songs, became huge supporter, introduced him around, they became lovers (cf Cohen and Collins).
• Became involved in the Dinkytown folk music circuit, started using the name Bob Dylan, because of influence of Dylan Thomas. Identity issues maybe? – in 2004 interview said „You’re born, you know, the wrong names, wrong parents. I mean, that happens. You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free.“
• Bob Dylan

• Protest – although he seemed to resent the label, he was the key protest singer of the sixties and continued to revert to politically and socially aware songs over many years – eg George Jackson (about death of black panther, Hollis Brown, Hurricane, )
• Love songs and relationship break ups. (married and divorced twice, several relationships, 5 children)
• Humour
• Christian period – Slow train comin
• Continued dialogue with religion – stays close to his Jewish roots, observing‘ Jewish festivals, still sings his born again‘ songs and says he is ‚a true believer, but also has said „Here’s the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don’t find it anywhere else.“
• Expanding musical styles, from folk to jazz, rock and roll to hillbilly
• Man of mystery – rumours about Dylan abounded, he has never given a straight answer to a straight question, has changed his musical persona, refused to be pigeon holed
• Reinventing songs – live performances of familiar songs can be mystifying, so keen is he to avoid predictability
• The rolling tour – still going
• Work with others – the Wilburys, the Band, the Dead,
• Film work – a few acting roles
• Identity as an artist – renaissance man?
• „Bob freed your mind the way Elvis freed your body. He showed us that just because music was innately physical did not mean that it was anti-intellectual“ (Bruce Springsteen)
• Wikipedia extract – ‚Literary critic Christopher Ricks published a 500-page analysis of Dylan’s work, placing him in the context of Eliot, Keats and Tennyson, [364] and claiming that Dylan was a poet worthy of the same close analysis. [365] Former British poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion argued that his lyrics should be studied in schools. [366] Since 1996, academics have lobbied the Swedish Academy to award Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature‚
• Accused of plagiarism, not least by Joni Mitchell – his response, that this is ‚part of the tradition‘
• Lyrics

• Girl of the North country
• Masters of war
• All along the watchtower
• Talking world war III blues /Tambourine man (recorded)