It's four in the morning, the end of DecemberI'm writing you now just to see if you're betterNew York is cold, but I like where I'm livingThere's music on Clinton Street all through the evening
I hear that you're building your little house
deep in the desertYou're living for nothing now,
I hope you're keeping some kind of record
Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hairShe said that you gave it to herThat night that you planned to go clearDid you ever go clear?
Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much olderYour famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulderYou'd been to the station to meet every train, andYou came home without Lili Marlene
And you treated my woman to a flake of your lifeAnd when she came back she was nobody's wife
Well I see you there with the rose in your teethOne more thin gypsy thiefWell, I see Jane's awakeShe sends her regards
And what can I tell you my brother, my killerWhat can I possibly say?I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive youI'm glad you stood in my way
If you ever come by here, for Jane or for meWell, your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free
Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyesI thought it was there for good so I never tried
And Jane came by with a lock of your hairShe said that you gave it to herThat night that you planned to go clearSincerely, L. Cohen
Leonard Cohen (1934-2016).
MontrealFamous Blue Raincoat is, voor mijn gevoel althans, de beste song die Leonard Cohen ooit geschreven heeft. Het nummer staat op zijn album Songs of Love and Hate uit 1971. Op het filmpje zijn beelden te zien van een bezoek dat hij midden jaren zestig aan zijn geboortestad Montreal bracht. Ik was op dat moment ongeveer twaalf jaar oud en herinner me de sfeer van die tijd nog goed, in zekere zin is dus best wel veel voor mij herkenbaar, ook al loopt hij op dat moment rond in Canada. Cohen woonde op dat moment overigens in Griekenland en had al enigszins naam gemaakt als dichter en schrijver. Ook May Khoen was een groot bewonderaar van hem, in feite heb ik zijn muziek eind jaren zeventig door haar ontdekt. Hij overleed, net zoals Khoen, in 2016.
©Huub Drenth
May Khoen in Zweden, 1998.