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♪ Yeah, I've heard that
There was a secret chord ♪
2
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♪ That David played
And it pleased the Lord ♪
3
00:00:50,746 --> 00:00:55,359
♪ But you don't really
Care for music ♪
4
00:00:55,533 --> 00:00:56,534
♪ Do you? ♪
5
00:00:59,407 --> 00:01:04,325
♪ Well, it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth ♪
6
00:01:04,499 --> 00:01:08,807
♪ The minor fall
The major lift ♪
7
00:01:08,981 --> 00:01:14,291
♪ The baffled king composing
Hallelujah ♪
8
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♪ Hallelujah... ♪
9
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The word
"Hallelujah," of course, is so rich.
10
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It's so abundant in resonances.
11
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People have been
singing that word
12
00:01:31,221 --> 00:01:33,571
for thousands of years,
13
00:01:33,745 --> 00:01:37,097
just to affirm our
little journey here.
14
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♪ I did my best ♪
15
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♪ It wasn't much ♪
16
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♪ I couldn't feel
So I tried to touch ♪
17
00:01:47,281 --> 00:01:49,152
♪ I've told the truth ♪
18
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♪ I didn't come to fool you... ♪
19
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I just love the whole song
20
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'cause it seems to me to sum
up so much of what Leonard is.
21
00:02:00,207 --> 00:02:02,296
This relationship with God
22
00:02:02,470 --> 00:02:05,212
that he struggled
with so much...
23
00:02:05,386 --> 00:02:08,040
He's taking one part Biblical,
24
00:02:08,215 --> 00:02:11,653
one part the woman
he slept with last night.
25
00:02:11,827 --> 00:02:15,004
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
26
00:02:15,178 --> 00:02:17,659
He expresses that
being alone with the divine
27
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is what can redeem us.
28
00:02:20,357 --> 00:02:23,360
He was
always a spiritual seeker.
29
00:02:23,534 --> 00:02:24,883
And that gave him a dimension
30
00:02:25,057 --> 00:02:28,452
that most rock stars
couldn't even fathom.
31
00:02:28,626 --> 00:02:31,020
♪ Hallelujah ♪
32
00:02:32,282 --> 00:02:38,419
♪ Hallelu...
33
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♪ ...jah ♪
34
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It's nice of you to greet
my records so warmly.
35
00:02:54,086 --> 00:02:55,455
You've been doing
this for a long time.
36
00:02:55,479 --> 00:02:57,612
Oh, yeah.
37
00:02:57,786 --> 00:02:59,788
They always suggest writers
38
00:02:59,962 --> 00:03:01,964
and I always say, "Get
Larry Sloman to do this,
39
00:03:02,138 --> 00:03:03,531
he's the only one who gets it."
40
00:03:05,141 --> 00:03:10,581
In some respects,
I was Patient Zero
41
00:03:10,755 --> 00:03:14,237
in this virus that
became "Hallelujah."
42
00:03:15,804 --> 00:03:18,110
So four years ago,
43
00:03:18,285 --> 00:03:20,417
I'm sitting in your house
44
00:03:20,591 --> 00:03:23,507
and what amazed me was
when you showed me your books.
45
00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:27,903
The documentation of these songs
46
00:03:28,077 --> 00:03:31,559
and how these songs go
through this amazing process.
47
00:03:31,733 --> 00:03:33,735
Especially with a
song like "Hallelujah."
48
00:03:35,954 --> 00:03:39,654
I mean, book after book
after book with verses.
49
00:03:39,828 --> 00:03:43,875
Well, I always thought
that I sweated over this stuff.
50
00:03:44,049 --> 00:03:46,661
But I had no idea what
sweating over this stuff meant
51
00:03:46,835 --> 00:03:50,317
until I found myself
in a shabby room
52
00:03:50,491 --> 00:03:52,710
at the Royalton Hotel,
53
00:03:52,884 --> 00:03:55,539
trying to finish "Hallelujah"
54
00:03:57,541 --> 00:04:00,196
and not being able to finish it.
55
00:04:00,370 --> 00:04:05,506
And I remember being in
my underwear, on the carpet,
56
00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,335
banging my head
against the floor,
57
00:04:08,509 --> 00:04:11,120
and saying, "I
can't do it anymore."
58
00:04:11,294 --> 00:04:13,949
"It's too lonely,
it's too hard."
59
00:04:14,123 --> 00:04:17,257
Do you think everybody takes
this much care with a pop song?
60
00:04:23,045 --> 00:04:25,874
You know, you can't
begin to understand "Hallelujah"
61
00:04:26,048 --> 00:04:29,181
without investigating
the long, winding path
62
00:04:29,356 --> 00:04:30,879
that got Leonard to a place
63
00:04:31,053 --> 00:04:34,448
where he could
tackle a song like that.
64
00:04:34,622 --> 00:04:38,278
I-I mean, Leonard didn't
really even start writing songs
65
00:04:38,452 --> 00:04:40,323
until he was about 30.
66
00:04:45,763 --> 00:04:48,288
This month, a new
book was published in Canada,
67
00:04:48,462 --> 00:04:53,293
the titleBeautiful Losers,
the author Leonard Cohen.
68
00:04:53,467 --> 00:04:56,121
There are those of the audience
who know Leonard Cohen
69
00:04:56,296 --> 00:04:58,210
perhaps primarily as a poet.
70
00:04:58,385 --> 00:05:02,780
His eyes through my eyes
Shine brighter than love
71
00:05:02,954 --> 00:05:06,306
O send out the raven
Ahead of the dove...
72
00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:08,612
Leonard, in
fact, wishes not to be a poet
73
00:05:08,786 --> 00:05:10,745
but a kind of modern minstrel.
74
00:05:10,919 --> 00:05:13,748
He's become very excited
by the music of the mid '60s.
75
00:05:13,922 --> 00:05:16,185
And recently, his joys
and sorrows of living
76
00:05:16,359 --> 00:05:18,883
have come forth
as simple, beautiful
77
00:05:19,057 --> 00:05:21,016
and sometimes sad songs.
78
00:05:21,190 --> 00:05:22,322
Let's listen to one of them.
79
00:05:26,848 --> 00:05:29,938
♪ It's true That all
the men you knew ♪
80
00:05:30,112 --> 00:05:32,723
♪ Were dealers who
said They were through ♪
81
00:05:32,897 --> 00:05:36,597
♪ With stealing every time
You gave them shelter... ♪
82
00:05:36,771 --> 00:05:39,251
That was the very
first time he sang on television.
83
00:05:39,426 --> 00:05:40,992
The novel was coming out.
84
00:05:41,166 --> 00:05:43,255
And then they said,
"He's going to sing too."
85
00:05:43,430 --> 00:05:45,040
And we said, "Oh, sure. Why not?
86
00:05:45,214 --> 00:05:47,956
And then we'll talk
about the novel."
87
00:05:48,130 --> 00:05:50,698
You must admit that, for
other people looking at you,
88
00:05:50,872 --> 00:05:52,700
Leonard Cohen,
the poet, the novelist,
89
00:05:52,874 --> 00:05:55,746
the scion of a Jewish
family from Montreal,
90
00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,270
pop singer and
writer of pop songs...
91
00:05:58,445 --> 00:05:59,924
All of these things, um,
92
00:06:00,098 --> 00:06:01,641
they may certainly add
up to Leonard Cohen,
93
00:06:01,665 --> 00:06:04,842
but they do look
rather complex at first.
94
00:06:05,016 --> 00:06:09,064
Well, I think, that, uh,
you know, the, um...
95
00:06:09,238 --> 00:06:14,286
The borders have... Have
faded between a lot of endeavors,
96
00:06:14,461 --> 00:06:16,941
like the poet or the singer.
97
00:06:17,115 --> 00:06:19,161
All those kinds of expression,
98
00:06:19,335 --> 00:06:21,076
I think are completely
meaningless.
99
00:06:21,250 --> 00:06:22,643
They don't mean anything to me.
100
00:06:22,817 --> 00:06:25,602
It's just a matter of
what your hand falls on.
101
00:06:25,776 --> 00:06:28,126
And if you can make what
your hand falls on sing,
102
00:06:28,300 --> 00:06:30,302
then you can just do it...
103
00:06:30,477 --> 00:06:32,783
I didn't
know him very well then.
104
00:06:32,957 --> 00:06:35,037
I didn't know whether he
would hang in there with it.
105
00:06:35,133 --> 00:06:37,875
After all, I knew, and
everybody did know,
106
00:06:38,049 --> 00:06:41,531
that he came from a
wealthy family in Montreal,
107
00:06:41,705 --> 00:06:44,316
that he'd grown up
in a lot of privilege,
108
00:06:44,491 --> 00:06:46,275
and was he a dilettante?
109
00:06:46,449 --> 00:06:48,625
Was he going to
drop this and say,
110
00:06:48,799 --> 00:06:50,671
"Maybe I'll study
law"? Or whatever.
111
00:06:52,499 --> 00:06:55,066
♪ And leaning On
the window sill ♪
112
00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,809
♪ He'll say one day You
caused his will to weaken ♪
113
00:06:58,983 --> 00:07:02,030
♪ With your love and
warmth And shelter ♪
114
00:07:02,204 --> 00:07:04,728
♪ And then taking
From his wallet ♪
115
00:07:04,902 --> 00:07:07,252
♪ An old schedule of trains ♪
116
00:07:07,427 --> 00:07:11,300
♪ He'll say, "I told you when
I came I was a stranger" ♪
117
00:07:12,867 --> 00:07:13,694
♪ "I told you when..." ♪
118
00:07:13,868 --> 00:07:15,391
I came down to New York
119
00:07:15,565 --> 00:07:17,872
and I visited some
agents, and they'd say:
120
00:07:18,046 --> 00:07:20,788
"Turn around, kid, aren't
you too old for this game?"
121
00:07:20,962 --> 00:07:23,181
I was 32 at the time.
122
00:07:23,355 --> 00:07:25,445
And I didn't have
very much success
123
00:07:25,619 --> 00:07:27,316
in getting the ear of anyone.
124
00:07:33,583 --> 00:07:35,063
Please welcome with me
125
00:07:35,237 --> 00:07:40,198
a great songwriter,
poet, novelist and friend,
126
00:07:40,372 --> 00:07:41,372
Leonard Cohen.
127
00:07:43,985 --> 00:07:46,161
So, Judy,
how did you and Leonard Cohen
128
00:07:46,335 --> 00:07:47,575
wind up on this stage together?
129
00:07:49,512 --> 00:07:51,862
Oh, my...
130
00:07:52,036 --> 00:07:55,692
Well, Leonard
came to me in 1966,
131
00:07:55,866 --> 00:07:58,652
and he said, "I can't sing
and I can't play the guitar,
132
00:07:58,826 --> 00:08:01,002
and I don't know if this
is a song." And then he...
133
00:08:01,176 --> 00:08:03,570
He sang me "Suzanne."
134
00:08:06,703 --> 00:08:08,400
And I said, after he finished:
135
00:08:08,575 --> 00:08:11,665
"Well, that is a song and
I'm recording it tomorrow."
136
00:08:15,407 --> 00:08:17,845
It's a great thing,
because I had played it
137
00:08:18,019 --> 00:08:19,803
for somebody in
Montreal, and they said:
138
00:08:19,977 --> 00:08:22,763
"No, there's a lot
of songs like that."
139
00:08:22,937 --> 00:08:27,594
♪ Suzanne takes your hand ♪
140
00:08:28,943 --> 00:08:32,076
♪ She leads you to the river ♪
141
00:08:32,250 --> 00:08:36,559
♪ She's wearing
Rags and feathers ♪
142
00:08:36,733 --> 00:08:41,129
♪ From Salvation Army counters ♪
143
00:08:41,303 --> 00:08:45,655
♪ And the sun pours
down Like honey ♪
144
00:08:45,829 --> 00:08:51,705
♪ On our Lady of the Harbor... ♪
145
00:08:51,879 --> 00:08:54,534
It was on an
album of mine calledln My Life.
146
00:08:54,708 --> 00:08:57,798
And "Suzanne" was the one
that kind of drove it over the top.
147
00:08:57,972 --> 00:09:00,496
So I said, "Well, you can't
hide in the shadows anymore.
148
00:09:00,670 --> 00:09:02,367
You have to come
sing in public."
149
00:09:02,542 --> 00:09:04,500
And I had a date here.
150
00:09:04,674 --> 00:09:08,199
And, uh, it was a big
fundraiser for WBAI.
151
00:09:08,373 --> 00:09:10,767
Everybody was here, I think
Jimi Hendrix was on the show.
152
00:09:10,941 --> 00:09:13,727
It was a whole bunch of people.
153
00:09:13,901 --> 00:09:16,730
Judy kind of
talked me into doing this.
154
00:09:16,904 --> 00:09:19,646
She invited me out on
stage, and I started singing,
155
00:09:19,820 --> 00:09:21,604
and the guitar was
completely out of tune,
156
00:09:21,778 --> 00:09:23,911
and I was scared anyways.
157
00:09:24,085 --> 00:09:27,131
So rather than
humiliate myself, I left.
158
00:09:27,305 --> 00:09:28,905
He said,
"I just can't do this."
159
00:09:28,959 --> 00:09:30,439
And he walked off the stage.
160
00:09:30,613 --> 00:09:33,094
Terror. Ha-ha.
161
00:09:33,268 --> 00:09:35,183
Sheer terror, and
everybody loved it.
162
00:09:35,357 --> 00:09:37,185
I mean, they all love
you when you fall apart.
163
00:09:37,359 --> 00:09:39,039
You know, they have...
They get so excited.
164
00:09:41,189 --> 00:09:44,496
♪ You want
to travel blind... ♪
165
00:09:44,671 --> 00:09:46,107
So I came back with him,
166
00:09:46,281 --> 00:09:48,109
and then we finished
"Suzanne" together.
167
00:09:48,283 --> 00:09:51,591
♪ For she's touched
Your perfect body ♪
168
00:09:51,765 --> 00:09:53,593
♪ With her mind ♪
169
00:09:53,767 --> 00:09:56,596
The audience was
generous. It was just nerves.
170
00:09:59,381 --> 00:10:02,427
So that was the first time,
and after that, you know,
171
00:10:02,602 --> 00:10:06,736
he became known for his
voice and singing his own songs.
172
00:10:08,869 --> 00:10:11,045
- Standby.
- Okay.
173
00:10:16,877 --> 00:10:18,269
Just a sec.
174
00:10:18,443 --> 00:10:20,707
I think you're starting
a little slow, Leonard.
175
00:10:20,881 --> 00:10:22,491
- Right.
- Standby, please.
176
00:10:27,017 --> 00:10:28,628
There was a friend
of mine that said,
177
00:10:28,802 --> 00:10:31,935
"John, there's this
poet from Canada,
178
00:10:32,109 --> 00:10:34,677
he's a wonderful songwriter,
but he doesn't read music,
179
00:10:34,851 --> 00:10:37,767
and he's sort of very strange.
180
00:10:37,941 --> 00:10:40,814
I don't think Columbia would
be at all interested in him,
181
00:10:40,988 --> 00:10:43,338
but you might be."
182
00:10:43,512 --> 00:10:46,689
So I listened to this guy and...
183
00:10:46,863 --> 00:10:48,778
Lo and behold, I thought
he was enchanting.
184
00:10:50,737 --> 00:10:54,305
John Hammond brought
Leonard Cohen to see me and...
185
00:10:56,307 --> 00:10:58,832
I do remember that meeting.
186
00:10:59,006 --> 00:11:04,141
Maybe it's our common Jewish
ancestry, but I related to him.
187
00:11:04,315 --> 00:11:08,145
And John said,
"Leonard is an original."
188
00:11:08,319 --> 00:11:10,452
Take four.
189
00:11:10,626 --> 00:11:13,934
That he's a poet and
that he will make his own way
190
00:11:14,108 --> 00:11:17,720
in a special way
that's unique to him.
191
00:11:17,894 --> 00:11:20,592
Just a sec. Leonard,
excuse me. That's over 20 seconds.
192
00:11:20,767 --> 00:11:22,682
I don't think the
introduction should be more...
193
00:11:22,856 --> 00:11:24,814
No, I wasn't
thinking of it that long.
194
00:11:24,988 --> 00:11:27,121
I just want to get into it
before I started singing.
195
00:11:27,295 --> 00:11:29,384
I didn't have it, in
terms of an introduction.
196
00:11:29,558 --> 00:11:31,255
Take five.
197
00:11:31,429 --> 00:11:34,215
He was Leonard Cohen.
No one walked in his path.
198
00:11:34,389 --> 00:11:36,304
He didn't walk in
anybody else's path.
199
00:11:44,529 --> 00:11:46,729
Bravo, Leonard.
Would you like to listen to it?
200
00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:47,968
Yeah.
201
00:11:56,367 --> 00:11:58,152
People are always telling me:
202
00:11:58,326 --> 00:12:02,112
"Why don't you do something
like you did two records ago?"
203
00:12:02,286 --> 00:12:04,158
I just don't want
to repeat myself.
204
00:12:06,377 --> 00:12:08,075
To me, the only
really exciting thing
205
00:12:08,249 --> 00:12:10,120
about the work is
finding new forms.
206
00:12:12,253 --> 00:12:14,864
So I will keep on
trying to find new forms.
207
00:12:24,613 --> 00:12:26,746
I met Leonard in Montreal...
208
00:12:28,356 --> 00:12:29,400
in 1972.
209
00:12:31,794 --> 00:12:35,842
I was performing in
Montreal at the Hotel Nelson,
210
00:12:36,016 --> 00:12:38,583
and it was like a happening.
211
00:12:38,758 --> 00:12:40,779
Everyone in town was there.
The place was exploding.
212
00:12:40,803 --> 00:12:42,603
We were there for a
week, and it was sold out.
213
00:12:42,718 --> 00:12:44,111
They were lined
up around outside.
214
00:12:44,285 --> 00:12:46,461
And this quiet guy comes over
215
00:12:46,635 --> 00:12:48,506
in a black suit
and stands there,
216
00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,466
one hand in his pocket.
217
00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:53,816
We started talking, he
was very complimentary
218
00:12:53,990 --> 00:12:55,600
about how exciting
the music was.
219
00:12:55,775 --> 00:12:57,428
Would I be interested
220
00:12:57,602 --> 00:12:59,604
in talking with him
about recording?
221
00:12:59,779 --> 00:13:01,911
I said, "I'm heading back
to my place in New York."
222
00:13:02,085 --> 00:13:03,652
"Well, I'll come down."
223
00:13:03,826 --> 00:13:05,480
I was 22?
224
00:13:07,699 --> 00:13:09,484
I was unknown.
225
00:13:09,658 --> 00:13:12,879
But we hit it off.
226
00:13:13,053 --> 00:13:15,185
And he played me
some great songs.
227
00:13:15,359 --> 00:13:18,623
And immediately I sensed
that these songs were different.
228
00:13:20,321 --> 00:13:22,802
Leonard's songs
felt cinematic to me.
229
00:13:22,976 --> 00:13:26,457
♪ I remember you well ♪
230
00:13:26,631 --> 00:13:29,591
♪ In the Chelsea Hotel ♪
231
00:13:29,765 --> 00:13:34,814
♪ You were talking so
brave And so sweet ♪
232
00:13:38,295 --> 00:13:40,471
♪ Givin' me head ♪
233
00:13:40,645 --> 00:13:43,387
♪ On an unmade bed ♪
234
00:13:43,561 --> 00:13:46,086
♪ While the limousines ♪
235
00:13:46,260 --> 00:13:48,088
♪ Wait in the street... ♪
236
00:13:50,525 --> 00:13:52,179
And right away, I said:
237
00:13:52,353 --> 00:13:55,965
"Boy, we could record
these and sort of drape them
238
00:13:56,139 --> 00:13:59,795
in a dream, like every
one is a vignette of life."
239
00:14:03,190 --> 00:14:06,758
And he sort of liked that idea,
so within a couple of months,
240
00:14:06,933 --> 00:14:09,892
we recorded, I guess it
was eight or nine songs.
241
00:14:10,066 --> 00:14:13,591
♪ I asked my father ♪
242
00:14:13,765 --> 00:14:17,378
♪ I said "Father,
change my name..." ♪
243
00:14:17,552 --> 00:14:19,641
This wasNew
Skin for the Old Ceremony.
244
00:14:19,815 --> 00:14:22,905
It was the first thing
that I did with Leonard.
245
00:14:23,079 --> 00:14:28,389
♪ Covered up with fear and filth
And cowardice and shame... ♪
246
00:14:28,563 --> 00:14:31,392
In terms of the actual
musical style of the record,
247
00:14:31,566 --> 00:14:34,003
a great deal of it is
due to John Lissauer.
248
00:14:35,613 --> 00:14:37,398
He's a very young man
249
00:14:37,572 --> 00:14:40,967
and certainly the most
interesting musical mind
250
00:14:41,141 --> 00:14:43,012
that I've come
across in many years.
251
00:14:43,186 --> 00:14:46,886
♪ Lover, lover, lover
Lover, lover, lover ♪
252
00:14:47,060 --> 00:14:48,670
♪ Come back to me... ♪
253
00:14:48,844 --> 00:14:50,498
We finished the record
254
00:14:50,672 --> 00:14:53,022
and put together a
band and went on tour.
255
00:14:53,196 --> 00:14:55,111
It was a small band,
just the five of us.
256
00:14:57,070 --> 00:14:58,941
And we did a lot of cities.
257
00:14:59,115 --> 00:15:01,161
We did all of Europe.
258
00:15:01,335 --> 00:15:05,121
And then, after we toured
for about nine months or so,
259
00:15:05,295 --> 00:15:07,863
Leonard asked me if
maybe I'd like to co-write
260
00:15:08,037 --> 00:15:10,083
an album with him.
261
00:15:10,257 --> 00:15:12,041
I said, "How do
you want to do it?
262
00:15:12,215 --> 00:15:13,495
You want to sit around together,
263
00:15:13,651 --> 00:15:15,262
or do you want me
to take your poetry
264
00:15:15,436 --> 00:15:17,177
and essentially
set them to music?"
265
00:15:17,351 --> 00:15:19,309
And he said,
"Well, let's do that."
266
00:15:24,967 --> 00:15:27,274
And he said, "I'm gonna be
in L.A. for a couple of weeks.
267
00:15:27,448 --> 00:15:28,797
Why don't you come join me?
268
00:15:28,971 --> 00:15:30,538
We'll go to the Chateau Marmont,
269
00:15:30,712 --> 00:15:32,148
get a couple of
rooms and write."
270
00:15:34,194 --> 00:15:38,981
♪ I came so far for beauty ♪
271
00:15:41,288 --> 00:15:45,640
♪ I left so much behind... ♪
272
00:15:50,253 --> 00:15:53,474
So I flew out there,
and he had a piano in the room.
273
00:15:53,648 --> 00:15:56,085
We came up with six songs.
274
00:15:56,259 --> 00:15:58,696
It was gonna be an album
calledSongs for Rebecca.
275
00:15:58,870 --> 00:16:01,134
It was thrilling.
276
00:16:01,308 --> 00:16:02,787
We had rough
vocals on everything
277
00:16:02,962 --> 00:16:04,224
and arrangements on everything.
278
00:16:04,398 --> 00:16:06,530
It was in pretty good shape.
279
00:16:06,704 --> 00:16:08,968
And he said, "All right,
I'm going to go to Hydra
280
00:16:09,142 --> 00:16:10,534
for a couple of weeks.
281
00:16:10,708 --> 00:16:13,581
I'm working on a book
of poetry, this and that...
282
00:16:13,755 --> 00:16:15,931
I'll call you when I get
back, and we'll finish up."
283
00:16:17,715 --> 00:16:19,152
And I didn't hear from him...
284
00:16:20,631 --> 00:16:22,459
for eight years.
285
00:16:30,815 --> 00:16:32,339
Hello? Leonard?
286
00:16:32,513 --> 00:16:34,341
Yeah. Hi,
this is Larry Sloman.
287
00:16:34,515 --> 00:16:38,780
I was a young reporter for
Rolling Stone Magazine in '74,
288
00:16:38,954 --> 00:16:42,871
and I got the plum assignment
of doing a piece on Leonard.
289
00:16:44,916 --> 00:16:46,440
Leonard? Yeah.
290
00:16:46,614 --> 00:16:48,137
What's your schedule
gonna be like?
291
00:16:48,311 --> 00:16:49,636
Let's make
a definite appointment
292
00:16:49,660 --> 00:16:51,053
for tomorrow morning.
293
00:16:51,227 --> 00:16:52,750
Do you get up
early, or do you...?
294
00:16:52,924 --> 00:16:55,014
No, I usually sleep pretty late.
295
00:16:55,188 --> 00:16:57,668
I'll tell you what, I'll probably
stay in Queens today
296
00:16:57,842 --> 00:17:00,149
'cause I have my stereo
out at my parents' house.
297
00:17:00,323 --> 00:17:01,977
Shall I call you or...?
298
00:17:02,151 --> 00:17:03,544
I don't have a phone.
299
00:17:03,718 --> 00:17:05,285
Tell me what time you get up.
300
00:17:05,459 --> 00:17:07,591
I usually get up around 11.
301
00:17:07,765 --> 00:17:09,419
So I'll probably get
into the city around,
302
00:17:09,593 --> 00:17:11,073
let's say, 1:00 tomorrow.
303
00:17:11,247 --> 00:17:12,857
Okay, I'll
see you then. Good.
304
00:17:15,208 --> 00:17:18,907
I became
almost like an obsessive.
305
00:17:19,081 --> 00:17:21,040
I mean, I literally stalked
him for three days.
306
00:17:21,214 --> 00:17:23,477
And after the first
night of the first show,
307
00:17:23,651 --> 00:17:25,479
went back to his hotel room,
308
00:17:25,653 --> 00:17:28,003
just kept peppering him
with questions for two hours,
309
00:17:28,177 --> 00:17:30,005
and he was so gracious.
310
00:17:30,179 --> 00:17:32,225
He was, I think, 40 at the time.
311
00:17:32,399 --> 00:17:33,680
He said, "Wouldn't
it be wonderful
312
00:17:33,704 --> 00:17:35,054
if I could just
keep doing this?"
313
00:17:35,228 --> 00:17:36,838
'Cause, you know, we never see
314
00:17:37,012 --> 00:17:41,277
the mature man
chronicling his life.
315
00:17:41,451 --> 00:17:45,194
He says, "It'd be great to hear
that experience on the stage,
316
00:17:45,368 --> 00:17:47,762
and really, you know, my
goal is to become an elder."
317
00:17:51,244 --> 00:17:54,334
Leonard was thinking about
those issues when he was 40
318
00:17:54,508 --> 00:17:57,989
because he was
exploring his Jewish roots.
319
00:17:58,164 --> 00:18:00,427
And in Jewish tradition, I think
320
00:18:00,601 --> 00:18:03,952
you could start studying
Kabbalah when you're 40.
321
00:18:04,126 --> 00:18:07,086
You have to wait till you're
40 to have that life experience
322
00:18:07,260 --> 00:18:10,741
to be able to understand
Kabbalistic thought.
323
00:18:10,915 --> 00:18:15,006
♪ Who by fire ♪
324
00:18:15,181 --> 00:18:18,227
♪ Who by water ♪
325
00:18:18,401 --> 00:18:22,101
♪ Who in the sunshine ♪
326
00:18:22,275 --> 00:18:25,539
♪ Who in the nighttime ♪
327
00:18:25,713 --> 00:18:29,108
♪ Who by high ordeal ♪
328
00:18:29,282 --> 00:18:31,153
♪ Who by common trial... ♪
329
00:18:33,373 --> 00:18:34,896
I was so touched as a child
330
00:18:35,070 --> 00:18:38,378
by that kind of charged speech
331
00:18:38,552 --> 00:18:41,120
that I heard in the synagogue,
332
00:18:41,294 --> 00:18:43,383
where everything was important.
333
00:18:45,646 --> 00:18:47,300
The world was
created through words,
334
00:18:47,474 --> 00:18:49,867
through speech in our tradition.
335
00:18:50,041 --> 00:18:54,176
♪ Who in these
realms Of love... ♪
336
00:18:54,350 --> 00:18:59,312
When we were young,
Leonard would say very proudly
337
00:18:59,486 --> 00:19:03,316
that his grandfather
could take a pin
338
00:19:03,490 --> 00:19:06,406
and put it through the Torah
339
00:19:06,580 --> 00:19:11,237
and know every word it
touched on every page.
340
00:19:13,369 --> 00:19:15,197
♪ Who shall I say ♪
341
00:19:17,504 --> 00:19:19,549
♪ Is calling... ♪
342
00:19:19,723 --> 00:19:21,638
Leonard Cohen once
told an interviewer
343
00:19:21,812 --> 00:19:24,772
that he was thinking
of changing his name.
344
00:19:24,946 --> 00:19:27,601
When you're a famous
Jew, you change your name.
345
00:19:29,864 --> 00:19:32,040
So that's the deal is, you
don't want to be too Jewish
346
00:19:32,214 --> 00:19:34,216
'cause you'll get in
the way of your fame.
347
00:19:34,390 --> 00:19:37,176
Have you ever
thought of changing your name?
348
00:19:37,350 --> 00:19:39,221
Yeah, I was gonna change
my name to September.
349
00:19:41,005 --> 00:19:42,616
I beg your pardon?
350
00:19:42,790 --> 00:19:44,531
I was gonna change
my name to September
351
00:19:44,705 --> 00:19:46,576
when I started writing
songs and singing them.
352
00:19:50,363 --> 00:19:52,408
Leonard September?
No, September Cohen.
353
00:19:52,582 --> 00:19:53,582
Oh.
354
00:19:55,585 --> 00:19:59,546
But Cohen is such
a standard name.
355
00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,939
Yeah, well, September
is pretty standard too.
356
00:20:02,113 --> 00:20:04,203
Not for a first name.
357
00:20:04,377 --> 00:20:06,205
No. Well, I thought that, uh...
358
00:20:06,379 --> 00:20:07,989
You know, I always
had this feeling
359
00:20:08,163 --> 00:20:11,471
that new things are beginning.
360
00:20:11,645 --> 00:20:13,473
And I thought that I
would change my name
361
00:20:13,647 --> 00:20:15,823
and get a tattoo.
362
00:20:15,997 --> 00:20:19,392
September is how you
say Elul to a non-Jew...
363
00:20:21,350 --> 00:20:23,744
'cause Elul is the month of
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur.
364
00:20:23,918 --> 00:20:26,050
This is... This is
the deepest time
365
00:20:26,225 --> 00:20:28,314
when God's on the throne
and we're down here,
366
00:20:28,488 --> 00:20:30,098
and we come to God
with broken hearts
367
00:20:30,272 --> 00:20:31,665
and God's mercies heal us.
368
00:20:31,839 --> 00:20:33,928
So I think he wanted to say...
369
00:20:34,102 --> 00:20:36,409
Leonard Elul.
370
00:20:36,583 --> 00:20:39,499
You know, Leonard,
the man who's immersed
371
00:20:39,673 --> 00:20:42,241
in the world of
the month of Elul.
372
00:20:43,459 --> 00:20:46,984
♪ Who by brave assent... ♪
373
00:20:47,158 --> 00:20:50,336
When I was standing
beside my tall uncles in the synagogue,
374
00:20:50,510 --> 00:20:53,774
and the cantor would
catalog all the various ways
375
00:20:53,948 --> 00:20:57,386
that we've sinned and died,
that moved me very much.
376
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,084
♪ Who by his lady's command ♪
377
00:21:00,259 --> 00:21:02,870
♪ Who by his own hand... ♪
378
00:21:03,044 --> 00:21:06,656
When my father
died, after his funeral,
379
00:21:06,830 --> 00:21:09,920
I found myself writing
some words to him.
380
00:21:12,053 --> 00:21:15,056
Then I took one
of his formal ties
381
00:21:15,230 --> 00:21:18,102
and I slit it open
with a razor blade,
382
00:21:18,277 --> 00:21:21,802
and I put this little note,
this little poem into the tie,
383
00:21:21,976 --> 00:21:24,457
and I buried it in the garden.
384
00:21:24,631 --> 00:21:26,197
♪ Who by high ordeal... ♪
385
00:21:26,372 --> 00:21:28,025
I think that was the first time
386
00:21:28,199 --> 00:21:31,464
I ever used language
in a sacramental way.
387
00:21:31,638 --> 00:21:35,163
♪ Who in your merry,
merry Month of May ♪
388
00:21:35,337 --> 00:21:39,602
♪ Who by very slow decay... ♪
389
00:21:39,776 --> 00:21:44,607
Unlocking the mysteries of life
was his primary preoccupation.
390
00:21:48,176 --> 00:21:51,440
So if you had any
questions along those lines,
391
00:21:51,614 --> 00:21:53,921
he was... He was
the guy to talk to.
392
00:22:02,408 --> 00:22:04,323
I had been
working in Los Angeles
393
00:22:04,497 --> 00:22:06,150
as a session singer,
394
00:22:06,325 --> 00:22:09,676
and then Leonard invited
me to go on the road with them
395
00:22:09,850 --> 00:22:11,765
for the Field
Commander Cohen tour.
396
00:22:13,897 --> 00:22:16,683
I was the other singer
with Jennifer Warnes.
397
00:22:16,857 --> 00:22:23,472
♪ Like a baby stillborn ♪
398
00:22:23,646 --> 00:22:29,435
♪ Like a beast with his horn ♪
399
00:22:29,609 --> 00:22:32,829
♪ I have torn... ♪
400
00:22:33,003 --> 00:22:35,005
I was, you know,
very, very young.
401
00:22:37,486 --> 00:22:41,534
But I came in and felt an
immediate warmth from Leonard.
402
00:22:41,708 --> 00:22:43,144
So we spent a lot of time
403
00:22:43,318 --> 00:22:45,712
talking about his
overall philosophy of life.
404
00:22:45,886 --> 00:22:49,933
♪ I swear by this song ♪
405
00:22:50,107 --> 00:22:55,112
♪ I swear by all That I
have done wrong... ♪
406
00:22:55,286 --> 00:22:59,029
He was very attuned to human
suffering around the world,
407
00:22:59,203 --> 00:23:03,338
even though he was
relatively comfortable in life.
408
00:23:03,512 --> 00:23:06,080
And he was constantly aware
409
00:23:06,254 --> 00:23:09,388
of everyone in the world
who isn't comfortable.
410
00:23:09,562 --> 00:23:13,783
♪ I saw a beggar He
was standing there... ♪
411
00:23:13,957 --> 00:23:16,960
When you see the
world and you see the laws
412
00:23:17,134 --> 00:23:19,398
of brute necessity
which govern it,
413
00:23:19,572 --> 00:23:22,313
you realize that the only way
414
00:23:22,488 --> 00:23:26,361
that you can reconcile
this veil of suffering,
415
00:23:26,535 --> 00:23:29,886
the only way you can
reconcile it to sanity
416
00:23:30,060 --> 00:23:32,628
is to glue your soul to prayer.
417
00:23:32,802 --> 00:23:37,720
♪ A pretty woman leaning
In her darkened door... ♪
418
00:23:37,894 --> 00:23:42,072
He was really on a
quest to find his path,
419
00:23:42,246 --> 00:23:47,643
his spiritual path, and
he tried a million things.
420
00:23:47,817 --> 00:23:49,340
Well, I've been studying
421
00:23:49,515 --> 00:23:53,344
with an old Japanese
gentleman for many years.
422
00:23:53,519 --> 00:23:56,304
Roshi had a
Zen center over in Europe,
423
00:23:56,478 --> 00:23:58,567
so he came out and he
rode with us on the bus.
424
00:24:01,048 --> 00:24:03,006
There were
a lot of wonderful things
425
00:24:03,180 --> 00:24:04,747
in my own culture,
my own training,
426
00:24:04,921 --> 00:24:07,054
but always in the
back of my mind
427
00:24:07,228 --> 00:24:10,579
was some kind of resonating
presence in my heart.
428
00:24:10,753 --> 00:24:13,495
♪ I have tried... ♪
429
00:24:13,669 --> 00:24:17,151
Some sense that there was
something that could be healed.
430
00:24:17,325 --> 00:24:24,201
♪ To be free ♪
431
00:24:40,348 --> 00:24:45,788
I remember once I was
musing on purgatory,
432
00:24:45,962 --> 00:24:50,271
and I was fearful of it.
433
00:24:50,445 --> 00:24:52,186
And he said:
434
00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:54,318
"This is purgatory."
435
00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:58,192
And he meant the whole scene,
436
00:24:58,366 --> 00:24:59,933
what we're living.
437
00:25:00,107 --> 00:25:02,979
And at the same
time, he would say
438
00:25:03,153 --> 00:25:06,200
what an amazing
experiment this is.
439
00:25:14,687 --> 00:25:15,688
We were very young then.
440
00:25:18,691 --> 00:25:22,738
Even then, it was
about the brokenness
441
00:25:22,912 --> 00:25:27,787
of the community that
we both had come out of.
442
00:25:29,832 --> 00:25:32,792
They had a lot of rules.
443
00:25:32,966 --> 00:25:36,665
You went to school,
you got married.
444
00:25:36,839 --> 00:25:42,192
You had children, you lived
in a nice house in Westmount.
445
00:25:42,366 --> 00:25:45,021
That was written for us.
446
00:25:54,248 --> 00:25:58,078
This is a song based
on my extremely boring
447
00:25:58,252 --> 00:26:02,517
and pathetic life at Westmount
High School in Montreal,
448
00:26:02,691 --> 00:26:05,607
and it's a song that I
wrote a couple of years ago
449
00:26:05,781 --> 00:26:07,261
with Phil Spector.
450
00:26:09,089 --> 00:26:11,526
♪ Ooh-wah-ooh ♪
451
00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:14,398
♪ Oh-oh, oh-oh ♪
452
00:26:14,573 --> 00:26:17,314
♪ Ooh-wah-ooh ♪
453
00:26:17,488 --> 00:26:20,970
♪ Oh-oh, oh-oh ♪
454
00:26:21,144 --> 00:26:24,060
♪ Frankie Laine He
was singing "Jezebel" ♪
455
00:26:26,541 --> 00:26:30,371
♪ I pinned an iron
cross To my lapel... ♪
456
00:26:30,545 --> 00:26:33,069
I'd been hearing that Leonard
457
00:26:33,243 --> 00:26:35,550
was going to record
with Phil Spector.
458
00:26:37,770 --> 00:26:39,690
Leonard's
experience with Phil Spector...
459
00:26:39,772 --> 00:26:41,861
That whole thing, I
think, was Marty Machat,
460
00:26:42,035 --> 00:26:44,690
who was Leonard's manager
at the time, also managed Phil.
461
00:26:45,821 --> 00:26:48,607
So he put them together.
462
00:26:48,781 --> 00:26:51,131
I always got the
sense that Marty didn't like me,
463
00:26:51,305 --> 00:26:53,568
I was too young, it was
something I just sensed.
464
00:26:53,742 --> 00:26:55,022
Maybe Marty didn't like my hair.
465
00:26:57,224 --> 00:27:00,314
And so when Spector came
along, he was a legendary producer,
466
00:27:00,488 --> 00:27:02,728
he might have been the most
famous producer in the world.
467
00:27:04,927 --> 00:27:06,537
It was record producer as star.
468
00:27:08,235 --> 00:27:12,631
So I said, "Boy, I guess
they got the real guy."
469
00:27:12,805 --> 00:27:14,328
"Enough work with this kid,
470
00:27:14,502 --> 00:27:17,070
we're gonna get
the real pop ringer."
471
00:27:18,941 --> 00:27:20,682
♪ I know you're hungry ♪
472
00:27:20,856 --> 00:27:23,772
♪ I can hear it in your voice ♪
473
00:27:23,946 --> 00:27:27,254
♪ And there are Many
parts of me to touch ♪
474
00:27:27,428 --> 00:27:29,430
♪ You have your choice ♪
475
00:27:29,604 --> 00:27:32,433
How did
you feel about the album?
476
00:27:32,607 --> 00:27:35,218
Oh, the album is a disaster.
477
00:27:35,392 --> 00:27:38,787
The songs are good, but Tina
Turner should have sung it.
478
00:27:38,961 --> 00:27:41,094
Or-or Bill Medley.
479
00:27:41,268 --> 00:27:43,966
And working with Phil
Spector was a little tricky.
480
00:27:44,140 --> 00:27:48,231
Spector imposed his
"Wall of Sound" on Leonard.
481
00:27:48,405 --> 00:27:53,106
♪ But don't go home
With your hard-on ♪
482
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,152
♪ It will only Drive
you insane... ♪
483
00:27:56,326 --> 00:27:59,025
It had bombastic orchestration,
484
00:27:59,199 --> 00:28:01,897
and a lot of people
thought that the music
485
00:28:02,071 --> 00:28:04,073
was competing with the lyrics.
486
00:28:04,247 --> 00:28:07,033
And, you know, with Leonard,
you gotta hear the lyrics.
487
00:28:14,693 --> 00:28:17,043
That happened,
uh, at a curious time in my life
488
00:28:17,217 --> 00:28:19,219
because I-I was
at a very low point.
489
00:28:19,393 --> 00:28:21,395
My family was breaking up,
490
00:28:21,569 --> 00:28:24,920
I was living in Los Angeles,
which was a foreign city to me,
491
00:28:25,094 --> 00:28:29,925
and I'd lost control of
my work and my life.
492
00:28:30,099 --> 00:28:31,231
I think the breakup
493
00:28:31,405 --> 00:28:33,189
of his relationship with Suzanne
494
00:28:33,363 --> 00:28:35,670
was a very painful process.
495
00:28:46,725 --> 00:28:49,162
Leonard,
talk a little about "Gypsy's Wife."
496
00:28:52,426 --> 00:28:55,298
In a sense, the song
was written for my gypsy wife.
497
00:28:55,472 --> 00:29:00,260
♪ And where Where
is my gypsy wife? ♪
498
00:29:00,434 --> 00:29:02,044
But, uh, in another way,
499
00:29:02,218 --> 00:29:04,090
it's just a song about, uh,
500
00:29:04,264 --> 00:29:07,615
the way men and women
have lost one another.
501
00:29:07,789 --> 00:29:11,532
That, uh, men and women have
wandered away from each other
502
00:29:11,706 --> 00:29:14,970
and have become
gypsies to each other.
503
00:29:15,144 --> 00:29:17,756
♪ I said where... ♪
504
00:29:17,930 --> 00:29:19,516
"Suzanne,"
I've got to ask you about
505
00:29:19,540 --> 00:29:21,368
because there was a
Suzanne in your life,
506
00:29:21,542 --> 00:29:23,457
and she's the mother
of two children.
507
00:29:23,631 --> 00:29:25,328
But you wrote a song
called "Suzanne,"
508
00:29:25,502 --> 00:29:28,375
and someone told me today
that that was not about her.
509
00:29:28,549 --> 00:29:30,246
No, I had written the song
510
00:29:30,420 --> 00:29:32,727
before I met this
particular lady.
511
00:29:32,901 --> 00:29:34,381
I guess I summoned her.
512
00:29:34,555 --> 00:29:36,818
So it was another Suzanne?
It was another Suzanne, yeah.
513
00:29:39,690 --> 00:29:43,825
♪ She says your
body Is the light ♪
514
00:29:43,999 --> 00:29:46,436
♪ Your body... ♪
515
00:29:46,610 --> 00:29:49,613
You have a
great reputation that goes before you,
516
00:29:49,788 --> 00:29:52,069
and perhaps in your wake as
well, for being a ladies' man.
517
00:29:52,225 --> 00:29:53,922
Is it well-earned?
518
00:29:54,096 --> 00:29:55,968
You know,
I'm the last one to ask.
519
00:29:56,142 --> 00:29:58,666
No,
you're the only one I can ask.
520
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,669
♪ So where... ♪
521
00:30:01,843 --> 00:30:03,908
I would have
jumped off a bridge for Leonard.
522
00:30:03,932 --> 00:30:05,812
I would have done anything
because I adored him.
523
00:30:05,934 --> 00:30:07,374
I didn't have a
love affair with him.
524
00:30:07,414 --> 00:30:08,807
I mean, he was wonderful.
525
00:30:08,981 --> 00:30:11,026
Handsome...
526
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,595
intelligent, mysterious,
dangerous...
527
00:30:17,772 --> 00:30:19,730
I mean, once you're past 25,
528
00:30:19,905 --> 00:30:22,342
you sort of know.
529
00:30:22,516 --> 00:30:24,344
So I knew that.
530
00:30:24,518 --> 00:30:26,737
I knew dangerous when I saw it.
531
00:30:32,352 --> 00:30:37,966
♪ It's too early
For the rainbow ♪
532
00:30:38,140 --> 00:30:42,014
♪ It's too early
For the dove... ♪
533
00:30:42,188 --> 00:30:44,886
Leonard had a way
of putting women on a pedestal.
534
00:30:45,060 --> 00:30:50,587
He, I think, saw women
as part of the path
535
00:30:50,761 --> 00:30:53,329
to some kind of
righteousness or enlightenment.
536
00:30:53,503 --> 00:30:56,115
♪ And there is no man ♪
537
00:30:56,289 --> 00:30:59,161
♪ There is no woman ♪
538
00:30:59,335 --> 00:31:01,207
♪ That you can't touch... ♪
539
00:31:03,905 --> 00:31:06,603
We are irresistibly
attracted to one another.
540
00:31:06,777 --> 00:31:09,519
We are irresistibly
lonely for each other.
541
00:31:09,693 --> 00:31:11,957
And we have to deal with this.
542
00:31:12,131 --> 00:31:14,655
And the other side of that is
543
00:31:14,829 --> 00:31:18,180
the same appetite for
significance in the cosmos,
544
00:31:18,354 --> 00:31:21,836
where each of us understands
his solitude in the cosmos
545
00:31:22,010 --> 00:31:26,232
and longs for some affirmation
by the maker of the cosmos,
546
00:31:26,406 --> 00:31:28,277
by the creator.
547
00:31:28,451 --> 00:31:32,716
♪ Where is my
gypsy wife Tonight? ♪
548
00:31:32,891 --> 00:31:35,241
One of the reviews
I was reading said that...
549
00:31:35,415 --> 00:31:37,025
Leonard's whole
career has been pulled
550
00:31:37,199 --> 00:31:38,853
between holiness and horniness.
551
00:31:39,027 --> 00:31:40,594
So let's talk about women.
552
00:31:40,768 --> 00:31:43,771
What was your first love?
553
00:31:43,945 --> 00:31:46,513
- My first love?
- Childhood sweetheart?
554
00:31:46,687 --> 00:31:49,908
Sixth grade? An older aunt?
555
00:31:51,344 --> 00:31:54,521
You never change, do you?
556
00:31:54,695 --> 00:31:56,740
I was 50 years old
when I'd first fallen in love.
557
00:31:56,915 --> 00:31:58,655
Fifty?
558
00:31:58,829 --> 00:32:01,789
I never knew
what it meant before.
559
00:32:09,101 --> 00:32:11,494
I'm going to be 70 next year.
560
00:32:11,668 --> 00:32:14,019
No way.Yeah.
561
00:32:14,193 --> 00:32:16,064
It's not funny. Don't laugh.
562
00:32:26,031 --> 00:32:28,859
♪ If you want a lover ♪
563
00:32:29,034 --> 00:32:35,605
♪ I'll do anything
You ask me to ♪
564
00:32:35,779 --> 00:32:41,655
♪ And if you want
Another kind of love ♪
565
00:32:41,829 --> 00:32:44,223
♪ I'll wear a mask for you ♪
566
00:32:46,747 --> 00:32:50,794
♪ If you want a
partner Take my hand ♪
567
00:32:50,969 --> 00:32:56,061
♪ Or if you wanna
Strike me down in anger ♪
568
00:32:58,237 --> 00:33:00,021
♪ Here I stand ♪
569
00:33:01,675 --> 00:33:03,764
♪ I'm your man ♪
570
00:33:05,809 --> 00:33:08,508
I feel that
when there is an emotion
571
00:33:08,682 --> 00:33:11,119
strong enough to
gather a song about it,
572
00:33:11,293 --> 00:33:12,816
there's something
about that emotion
573
00:33:12,991 --> 00:33:14,340
that is indestructible.
574
00:33:21,042 --> 00:33:23,436
When I asked
him, he said that he'd been working
575
00:33:23,610 --> 00:33:26,091
two years already
on "Hallelujah."
576
00:33:26,265 --> 00:33:29,529
Then he wrote a part
in Paris, you know?
577
00:33:29,703 --> 00:33:32,271
When he was staying in Paris.
578
00:33:32,445 --> 00:33:35,187
And a part in my house.
579
00:33:35,361 --> 00:33:38,059
You know, he was often
starting with this song.
580
00:33:39,930 --> 00:33:41,323
In the morning, first thing,
581
00:33:41,497 --> 00:33:44,109
coffee, then working
on "Hallelujah."
582
00:33:52,900 --> 00:33:57,687
I really love when Leonard's
doing a work that is really...
583
00:33:59,689 --> 00:34:01,343
bringing you all
sort of emotions
584
00:34:01,517 --> 00:34:03,476
and breaking your heart,
585
00:34:03,650 --> 00:34:06,522
and filling your
heart after it's broken.
586
00:34:06,696 --> 00:34:10,135
You know, I don't know,
it's just beautiful to...
587
00:34:10,309 --> 00:34:15,009
To be able to hear such poetry
588
00:34:15,183 --> 00:34:17,272
with such beautiful
music, you know?
589
00:34:19,100 --> 00:34:20,884
Would he try verses out on you?
590
00:34:22,364 --> 00:34:24,192
Asking me? No, he
was never asking,
591
00:34:24,366 --> 00:34:25,846
but he was playing
in front of me.
592
00:34:27,935 --> 00:34:31,808
But I was not really like
somebody at a concert.
593
00:34:31,982 --> 00:34:33,854
He was working. I
was working a lot.
594
00:34:34,028 --> 00:34:35,899
We were both working a lot.
595
00:34:36,074 --> 00:34:37,901
So I'm part of that landscape.
596
00:34:38,076 --> 00:34:40,382
I feel it like that.
597
00:34:40,556 --> 00:34:43,037
You are just a person,
598
00:34:43,211 --> 00:34:46,301
or you could be the dog
or the cat at the moment
599
00:34:46,475 --> 00:34:48,782
where there was inspiration.
600
00:34:51,654 --> 00:34:53,917
It's so mysterious.
601
00:34:54,092 --> 00:34:56,572
"Hallelujah" is like a
symbolist poem, you know?
602
00:34:58,313 --> 00:35:00,315
It's obscure. It's very obscure.
603
00:35:02,404 --> 00:35:03,623
I always see "Hallelujah"
604
00:35:03,797 --> 00:35:06,756
like a bird that is
flying in a room,
605
00:35:06,930 --> 00:35:11,457
and sometimes touching
the walls of the culture.
606
00:35:11,631 --> 00:35:12,806
It's like a... a riddle.
607
00:35:16,940 --> 00:35:18,551
Ratso knows more than me.
608
00:35:18,725 --> 00:35:20,161
Oh, yeah, yeah. Of course.
609
00:35:24,731 --> 00:35:29,605
The last time we talked, we
were talking about "Hallelujah."
610
00:35:29,779 --> 00:35:31,651
And this is something...
611
00:35:31,825 --> 00:35:34,828
You've been working on this
for as long as I've known you.
612
00:35:35,002 --> 00:35:37,570
Yeah, yeah, I've
been working on that song.
613
00:35:37,744 --> 00:35:39,833
And I think I-I have notes
in my present collection
614
00:35:40,007 --> 00:35:41,965
of-of notebooks.
615
00:35:51,149 --> 00:35:53,063
Oh, okay, here, here.
616
00:35:53,238 --> 00:35:55,675
"When David played
His fingers bled
617
00:35:55,849 --> 00:35:58,199
He wept for every word he said
618
00:35:58,373 --> 00:35:59,722
You hear him still
619
00:35:59,896 --> 00:36:01,463
You hear him singing to you"
620
00:36:03,378 --> 00:36:05,728
Endless variations.
621
00:36:05,902 --> 00:36:06,902
Even here, it says:
622
00:36:07,034 --> 00:36:08,470
"Baby, I've been here before
623
00:36:08,644 --> 00:36:12,344
I know what rooms
like this Are for"
624
00:36:12,518 --> 00:36:13,736
"Baby, I've been here before
625
00:36:13,910 --> 00:36:15,825
I know this room
This crooked floor"
626
00:36:15,999 --> 00:36:17,914
And "Baby I've been here before
627
00:36:18,088 --> 00:36:19,742
I know this room
I've walked this floor"
628
00:36:19,916 --> 00:36:21,527
I mean...
629
00:36:21,701 --> 00:36:24,573
These are all the
"Hallelujah" songs.
630
00:36:32,538 --> 00:36:35,671
Did he ever mention
how many verses he might've written?
631
00:36:39,501 --> 00:36:42,591
For some reason, the
number 180 comes to mind.
632
00:36:44,854 --> 00:36:47,683
It might've been 150,
but it was a lot of verses.
633
00:36:49,729 --> 00:36:51,731
Sometimes I think
that I would go along
634
00:36:51,905 --> 00:36:53,515
with the old Beat philosophy:
635
00:36:53,689 --> 00:36:56,039
"First thought, best thought."
636
00:36:56,214 --> 00:36:58,781
But it never worked for me.
637
00:36:58,955 --> 00:37:01,654
There hardly is a first
thought. It's all sweat.
638
00:37:03,612 --> 00:37:05,179
No, but, I mean,
you are kind of...
639
00:37:05,353 --> 00:37:08,182
transmitting the experience...
640
00:37:08,356 --> 00:37:10,315
or passing it along
to another generation.
641
00:37:12,795 --> 00:37:16,146
What is the experience?
It's the experience of, uh...
642
00:37:16,321 --> 00:37:18,323
of work...
643
00:37:18,497 --> 00:37:20,977
and of failure.
644
00:37:21,151 --> 00:37:22,370
And, uh...
645
00:37:26,244 --> 00:37:29,377
You just try to lay it out
as accurately as you can.
646
00:37:39,387 --> 00:37:42,085
I hadn't
seen him in eight years,
647
00:37:42,260 --> 00:37:43,696
'76 to '84.
648
00:37:45,698 --> 00:37:47,613
And so my Leonard
days were done.
649
00:37:47,787 --> 00:37:51,530
Except in 1984, I
get a phone call.
650
00:37:53,923 --> 00:37:56,665
"Hey, John. How are you?"
651
00:37:56,839 --> 00:37:59,842
He said, "Do you want
to make a record?"
652
00:38:00,016 --> 00:38:03,498
Going back to Lissauer
to produceVarious Positions,
653
00:38:03,672 --> 00:38:06,327
that may have been occasioned by
654
00:38:06,501 --> 00:38:08,851
the excesses of
working with Phil Spector.
655
00:38:10,375 --> 00:38:12,377
Lissauer, the arrangements
656
00:38:12,551 --> 00:38:14,292
were much more subtle
and much more elegant,
657
00:38:14,466 --> 00:38:16,468
and it really, I thought,
658
00:38:16,642 --> 00:38:19,209
brought out the nuances
of the lyrics much better.
659
00:38:20,907 --> 00:38:24,606
It was very
surprising but oddly...
660
00:38:24,780 --> 00:38:27,870
uh, comforting
at the same point.
661
00:38:28,044 --> 00:38:29,959
I must have always
known that we weren't done.
662
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:36,618
Hello?
663
00:38:36,792 --> 00:38:38,316
Now, at this point,
664
00:38:38,490 --> 00:38:41,057
he was in New York
on a semi-regular basis,
665
00:38:41,231 --> 00:38:42,798
and he was staying
at the Royalton.
666
00:38:42,972 --> 00:38:45,061
So he said, "Come
on up to my room.
667
00:38:45,235 --> 00:38:47,020
I'll play you some songs."
668
00:38:47,194 --> 00:38:50,589
So I'm in the Royalton,
and he's got his guitar out,
669
00:38:50,763 --> 00:38:56,246
but he also has a little device
on his table in front of him.
670
00:39:02,557 --> 00:39:04,167
Not quite as many
cymbals, but he goes...
671
00:39:09,782 --> 00:39:10,862
I'm saying, "What is this?"
672
00:39:19,444 --> 00:39:21,924
So I'm saying, "Jeez.
673
00:39:22,098 --> 00:39:25,319
That's kind of like
Kurt Weill meets, um...
674
00:39:25,493 --> 00:39:28,757
You know, it's Berlin in
the '30s or something."
675
00:39:28,931 --> 00:39:32,326
And at first I thought that
he was sort of putting me on.
676
00:39:32,500 --> 00:39:36,156
I mean, it's a Leonard
Cohen album, it's... It's, uh...
677
00:39:36,330 --> 00:39:41,248
tactile and acoustic and
serious and deep and historic.
678
00:39:41,422 --> 00:39:43,206
I said, "This electronic stuff,
679
00:39:43,381 --> 00:39:45,557
that's just like a
post-disco thing."
680
00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,303
I remember
studio sessions with Leonard...
681
00:39:54,653 --> 00:39:55,784
and John.
682
00:39:57,743 --> 00:39:59,222
I remember their relationship,
683
00:39:59,397 --> 00:40:00,485
they were laughing a lot.
684
00:40:03,618 --> 00:40:05,359
Leonard is very intense
685
00:40:05,533 --> 00:40:08,797
but with no show-off of
the intensity, you know?
686
00:40:08,971 --> 00:40:13,193
He's, like, producing this
incredible performance
687
00:40:13,367 --> 00:40:16,239
without intending to
say, "Oh, look at me.
688
00:40:16,414 --> 00:40:18,285
I'm going to do something
great and difficult.
689
00:40:18,459 --> 00:40:20,200
Please, I want concentration."
690
00:40:20,374 --> 00:40:22,768
It's a real creativity.
691
00:40:22,942 --> 00:40:25,161
♪ Dance me
Through the curtains ♪
692
00:40:25,335 --> 00:40:27,860
♪ That our kisses
Have outworn... ♪
693
00:40:28,034 --> 00:40:30,602
Columbia had
asked that we do a record
694
00:40:30,776 --> 00:40:33,779
that would put Leonard
on the American map.
695
00:40:33,953 --> 00:40:35,737
And we had this
song, "Hallelujah,"
696
00:40:35,911 --> 00:40:41,177
which was pop song-like,
and it reached out more.
697
00:40:41,351 --> 00:40:43,963
It just had...
698
00:40:44,137 --> 00:40:46,269
a more contemporary
possibility to it
699
00:40:46,444 --> 00:40:47,619
than a lot of his stuff.
700
00:40:49,185 --> 00:40:51,536
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
701
00:40:51,710 --> 00:40:53,712
I could see how great it was.
702
00:40:53,886 --> 00:40:57,585
And as soon as I sat at the
piano and we started to do...
703
00:41:04,766 --> 00:41:08,117
Again, kind of a gospel 6/8
feel, which eventually is...
704
00:41:15,124 --> 00:41:17,605
And my favorite spot
is the big hole in the end
705
00:41:17,779 --> 00:41:18,867
where it goes...
706
00:41:27,528 --> 00:41:29,487
The last time
through it, really just,
707
00:41:29,661 --> 00:41:31,184
you think, "Oh,
please do something."
708
00:41:36,668 --> 00:41:41,368
♪ Now, I've heard there
was A secret chord ♪
709
00:41:41,542 --> 00:41:45,590
♪ That David played
And it pleased the Lord ♪
710
00:41:45,764 --> 00:41:49,550
♪ But you don't
really Care for music ♪
711
00:41:49,724 --> 00:41:50,986
♪ Do you? ♪
712
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:52,727
When I first heard it,
713
00:41:52,901 --> 00:41:54,555
it had the verses
that are on the record.
714
00:41:54,729 --> 00:41:56,296
And that was it.
715
00:41:56,470 --> 00:41:58,907
And I never, ever asked
him about his lyrics.
716
00:41:59,081 --> 00:42:01,127
I didn't ever say,
"Explain this to me,"
717
00:42:01,301 --> 00:42:03,085
or, "Does this have
two meanings?"
718
00:42:03,259 --> 00:42:04,715
All the things that
people wanna know.
719
00:42:04,739 --> 00:42:05,827
"Jeez, what did he...?"
720
00:42:06,001 --> 00:42:08,656
♪ ...composing Hallelujah ♪
721
00:42:08,830 --> 00:42:10,876
I wanted to be the audience.
722
00:42:11,050 --> 00:42:14,793
I wanted to make of the lyrics
what they were to the listener.
723
00:42:14,967 --> 00:42:17,709
I didn't want to know too
much. And I didn't want to...
724
00:42:17,883 --> 00:42:19,667
I think it's insulting in a way
725
00:42:19,841 --> 00:42:22,365
to ask someone
to explain his art.
726
00:42:22,540 --> 00:42:23,889
It has to explain itself.
727
00:42:24,063 --> 00:42:30,678
♪ Hallelujah ♪
728
00:42:34,029 --> 00:42:35,509
We're all thrilled
with this record.
729
00:42:35,683 --> 00:42:36,815
And there's so much to it.
730
00:42:36,989 --> 00:42:38,947
There's three
unbelievably great songs
731
00:42:39,121 --> 00:42:40,577
on this album, and I
said, "We've done it.
732
00:42:40,601 --> 00:42:41,820
This is really good."
733
00:42:45,388 --> 00:42:46,948
And I think Columbia
is gonna like this.
734
00:42:47,042 --> 00:42:48,348
They're gonna be happy.
735
00:42:48,522 --> 00:42:49,958
They had their anthem
736
00:42:50,132 --> 00:42:52,352
and they had a pop
tune in "Dance Me."
737
00:42:52,526 --> 00:42:55,181
And it had stuff that could
catch on all over the place.
738
00:42:55,355 --> 00:42:58,576
And I said, you
know, "This is it."
739
00:42:58,750 --> 00:42:59,751
And, boy, was I wrong.
740
00:43:09,151 --> 00:43:10,151
Sit down, my friend.
741
00:43:13,721 --> 00:43:16,289
Now, your album is
called Various Positions.
742
00:43:16,463 --> 00:43:18,596
I know it's available
in England, I found out.
743
00:43:18,770 --> 00:43:20,728
But why can't we
get it in America?
744
00:43:20,902 --> 00:43:23,905
Columbia Records
didn't want to bring it out.
745
00:43:24,079 --> 00:43:25,385
Why? What happened?
746
00:43:25,559 --> 00:43:28,040
They have a transorbital
frontal lobotomy?
747
00:43:30,216 --> 00:43:31,957
It was time to
present the record.
748
00:43:32,131 --> 00:43:34,046
Uh...
749
00:43:34,220 --> 00:43:37,571
And they brought it into
the new head of Columbia,
750
00:43:37,745 --> 00:43:39,791
Walter Yetnikoff.
751
00:43:39,965 --> 00:43:42,271
Yetnikoff was not a Leonard guy.
752
00:43:42,445 --> 00:43:44,796
And he pretty
much hated it, heh.
753
00:43:44,970 --> 00:43:49,931
I visited the chief executive
of Columbia Records.
754
00:43:50,105 --> 00:43:51,193
And?
755
00:43:51,367 --> 00:43:53,543
First of all, he
reviewed my suit.
756
00:43:56,285 --> 00:43:58,157
Then he said:
757
00:43:58,331 --> 00:44:00,855
"Leonard, we know you're great,
758
00:44:01,029 --> 00:44:02,814
but we don't know
if you're any good."
759
00:44:05,991 --> 00:44:06,991
Really?
760
00:44:14,695 --> 00:44:17,437
That record album
never came out in the States, did it?
761
00:44:17,611 --> 00:44:21,833
No, Columbia Records
refused to put it out.
762
00:44:22,007 --> 00:44:25,532
Why? He said, "I
don't like the mix."
763
00:44:25,706 --> 00:44:28,448
I said, "You mix
it, Mr. Yetnikoff.
764
00:44:28,622 --> 00:44:31,233
If that's what's going to stop
you putting out the record,
765
00:44:31,407 --> 00:44:32,757
you just mix it and put it out."
766
00:44:36,151 --> 00:44:40,242
To me, that was so disgusting
and terrible and heartbreaking.
767
00:44:40,416 --> 00:44:41,853
Yeah. Yeah.
768
00:44:48,381 --> 00:44:51,079
TheVarious Positions
is the positions of the little will.
769
00:44:53,038 --> 00:44:54,648
We sense that there is a will
770
00:44:54,822 --> 00:44:58,130
that is behind all things.
771
00:44:58,304 --> 00:45:02,438
And we're also aware
of our own little will...
772
00:45:02,612 --> 00:45:04,658
to succeed, to dominate,
773
00:45:04,832 --> 00:45:07,139
to influence, to be king.
774
00:45:08,793 --> 00:45:10,490
And from time to time,
775
00:45:10,664 --> 00:45:12,884
things arrange themselves
in such a way that
776
00:45:13,058 --> 00:45:14,712
that tiny will is annihilated.
777
00:45:17,758 --> 00:45:20,326
I remember
that he was crushed after that.
778
00:45:20,500 --> 00:45:22,720
All his work that
had been so intense
779
00:45:22,894 --> 00:45:26,288
and doing something so
precise and so beautiful,
780
00:45:26,462 --> 00:45:29,161
and then they say, "Oh, no,
no. We're not interested in this."
781
00:45:29,335 --> 00:45:31,250
It's horrible. It's horrible.
782
00:45:31,424 --> 00:45:33,295
It was like The
Twilight Zone for me.
783
00:45:33,469 --> 00:45:35,820
You do something you're
absolutely sure is one thing,
784
00:45:35,994 --> 00:45:37,952
and someone else sees it...
785
00:45:38,126 --> 00:45:41,739
as reversed as possible.
786
00:45:44,654 --> 00:45:48,223
I said, "Boy, I must have
no sense of the music world...
787
00:45:49,921 --> 00:45:50,921
to be this wrong."
788
00:45:52,837 --> 00:45:54,882
And suddenly, everyone
thought it was wrong.
789
00:45:57,711 --> 00:46:01,280
And Marty made me
feel that I had somehow
790
00:46:01,454 --> 00:46:04,457
ruined Leonard's record career.
791
00:46:04,631 --> 00:46:06,894
He walked in, thinking it
was the greatest thing ever,
792
00:46:07,068 --> 00:46:08,722
and he came out
and it was my fault.
793
00:46:12,857 --> 00:46:17,905
My record career with
Columbia was pretty much done.
794
00:46:18,079 --> 00:46:20,821
So I basically stopped
making records with this album.
795
00:46:22,997 --> 00:46:24,390
At some point, someone said:
796
00:46:24,564 --> 00:46:26,827
"Yeah, you're not working
in this town again, kid."
797
00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:32,137
To me, that
was such a Philistine move.
798
00:46:32,311 --> 00:46:36,315
I mean, it-it just symbolized
everything that's wrong
799
00:46:36,489 --> 00:46:38,970
with those assholes
who run music labels.
800
00:46:41,407 --> 00:46:45,063
I don't think that the
rejection of an album
801
00:46:45,237 --> 00:46:47,674
after it's paid for...
802
00:46:49,241 --> 00:46:50,851
happens that often.
803
00:46:53,985 --> 00:46:55,464
That's pretty extreme, yeah.
804
00:46:57,075 --> 00:47:01,993
I have no idea why
Walter rejected it.
805
00:47:02,167 --> 00:47:05,561
Obviously, the album
included one classic.
806
00:47:08,086 --> 00:47:09,696
The work is done.
807
00:47:11,524 --> 00:47:12,786
And it's really good, man.
808
00:47:14,353 --> 00:47:16,311
It is impeccable.
809
00:47:16,485 --> 00:47:18,357
The stuff's down
in black and white.
810
00:47:18,531 --> 00:47:20,750
Whether it comes out
or whether it's seen.
811
00:47:20,925 --> 00:47:24,711
I'm telling you, this
is all for the books.
812
00:47:24,885 --> 00:47:29,324
I feel I have a huge posthumous
career ahead of me, you know?
813
00:47:29,498 --> 00:47:32,458
My estate will swell.
814
00:47:32,632 --> 00:47:34,329
My name will flourish...
I mean, you know.
815
00:47:40,988 --> 00:47:46,602
Look, "Courage is
what others can't see,
816
00:47:46,776 --> 00:47:48,343
what is never affirmed.
817
00:47:50,563 --> 00:47:52,739
It is made of what
you have thrown away
818
00:47:52,913 --> 00:47:54,045
and then come back for."
819
00:47:57,570 --> 00:47:59,702
I don't think that
Leonard ever believed
820
00:47:59,877 --> 00:48:02,270
that he was not any good.
821
00:48:02,444 --> 00:48:04,011
I don't think he
ever believed that.
822
00:48:04,185 --> 00:48:06,057
I don't think, no
matter who told him,
823
00:48:06,231 --> 00:48:09,016
what titan of the
record industry told him,
824
00:48:09,190 --> 00:48:11,105
or what sales figures
they could show him,
825
00:48:11,279 --> 00:48:13,079
he would ever believe
that he wasn't any good.
826
00:48:14,543 --> 00:48:17,068
♪ Now I look for her always ♪
827
00:48:17,242 --> 00:48:19,940
♪ I'm lost in this calling ♪
828
00:48:20,114 --> 00:48:24,771
♪ And I'm tied to the
roots Of some prayer ♪
829
00:48:24,945 --> 00:48:26,665
I don't
think he would let anybody
830
00:48:26,816 --> 00:48:27,992
destroy him in that way.
831
00:48:29,776 --> 00:48:34,259
I think he always knew
that he was very strong.
832
00:48:34,433 --> 00:48:39,481
♪ And the night comes
on And it's very calm ♪
833
00:48:39,655 --> 00:48:44,051
♪ I want to cross over
I want to go home ♪
834
00:48:44,225 --> 00:48:46,924
♪ But she says, "Go back ♪
835
00:48:48,403 --> 00:48:50,753
♪ Go back to the world" ♪
836
00:48:53,713 --> 00:48:55,273
The album eventually came out...
837
00:48:57,064 --> 00:49:00,546
on some dipshit label
out of New Jersey.
838
00:49:03,766 --> 00:49:05,855
It came out
in a very tiny company.
839
00:49:06,030 --> 00:49:08,206
We had to scurry
around to find somebody
840
00:49:08,380 --> 00:49:09,816
just to print the records.
841
00:49:13,254 --> 00:49:16,214
SoVarious
Positions and "Hallelujah"
842
00:49:16,388 --> 00:49:20,696
had gone completely
unheralded and unrecognized.
843
00:49:26,746 --> 00:49:28,661
There's a lot of stuff
that's really good,
844
00:49:28,835 --> 00:49:31,446
nobody really is
turned up to, you know?
845
00:49:31,620 --> 00:49:33,448
Most of the things
that you're exposed to
846
00:49:33,622 --> 00:49:35,885
are just the things
you hear on the radio.
847
00:49:39,367 --> 00:49:42,109
Nobody heard
of "Hallelujah" at that time.
848
00:49:42,283 --> 00:49:44,329
Except Dylan.
849
00:49:44,503 --> 00:49:49,595
And Dylan was singing the
song in some of his concerts,
850
00:49:49,769 --> 00:49:52,728
which was a
wonderful affirmation.
851
00:49:52,902 --> 00:49:56,950
♪ You say
there was A secret chord ♪
852
00:49:57,124 --> 00:50:01,128
♪ That David played
And it pleased the Lord ♪
853
00:50:01,302 --> 00:50:05,437
♪ But you don't really
care For music, do you? ♪
854
00:50:09,528 --> 00:50:13,401
♪ It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth ♪
855
00:50:13,575 --> 00:50:18,276
♪ The minor fall
And the major lift ♪
856
00:50:18,450 --> 00:50:21,714
I've had many conversations
with Bob about Leonard's work.
857
00:50:21,888 --> 00:50:26,197
So "Hallelujah" is a
song right up Bob's alley.
858
00:50:26,371 --> 00:50:28,503
Why?
859
00:50:28,677 --> 00:50:31,245
Because it's, um...
860
00:50:31,419 --> 00:50:34,161
Bob is another
spiritual seeker. Bob...
861
00:50:34,335 --> 00:50:38,209
Heh, I mean, you know,
Bob is a spiritual chameleon.
862
00:50:38,383 --> 00:50:44,302
♪ Hallelujah ♪
863
00:50:48,393 --> 00:50:51,918
What impact
did Bob Dylan have on you personally?
864
00:50:52,092 --> 00:50:57,619
The last time Mr. Dylan
and I met was at a café
865
00:50:57,793 --> 00:51:02,059
in the 14th Arrondissement
in Paris, France,
866
00:51:02,233 --> 00:51:06,976
a day after Mr. Dylan's
triumphant concert there.
867
00:51:07,151 --> 00:51:09,892
It was a pleasant conversation,
868
00:51:10,067 --> 00:51:14,114
a conversation that could
be described as "shop talk,"
869
00:51:14,288 --> 00:51:17,552
in which we traded lyrics,
870
00:51:17,726 --> 00:51:20,729
both of us astounded
at the other's genius.
871
00:51:23,471 --> 00:51:27,258
I've heard a lot of
different versions of the Paris café.
872
00:51:27,432 --> 00:51:30,261
One version of it goes that Bob
873
00:51:30,435 --> 00:51:32,785
said how much he
liked "Hallelujah."
874
00:51:32,959 --> 00:51:36,136
And Leonard said, "Yeah,
875
00:51:36,310 --> 00:51:39,661
it took me seven years
to write that song."
876
00:51:39,835 --> 00:51:42,395
I said it was a couple of years.
Actually, it was more than that.
877
00:51:42,534 --> 00:51:44,101
But I was ashamed to tell him
878
00:51:44,275 --> 00:51:46,451
exactly how long
it took, and then,
879
00:51:46,625 --> 00:51:48,235
the conversation went on,
880
00:51:48,409 --> 00:51:50,890
and I praised one of
the songs he wrote.
881
00:51:51,064 --> 00:51:54,589
It was called "I and I" from
an album called Infidels.
882
00:51:54,763 --> 00:51:56,635
I asked him how
long he took to write it.
883
00:51:56,809 --> 00:51:57,809
He said, "15 minutes."
884
00:51:59,812 --> 00:52:00,900
Bob was kidding.
885
00:52:04,512 --> 00:52:06,819
He also once said that he
wrote the Lenny Bruce song
886
00:52:06,993 --> 00:52:08,473
in the back of a taxicab.
887
00:52:10,866 --> 00:52:12,955
There are
people that write great songs
888
00:52:13,130 --> 00:52:16,698
in the back of taxicabs, but
my songs take a long time
889
00:52:16,872 --> 00:52:19,832
to bring to completion, and I
don't know what the process is.
890
00:52:20,006 --> 00:52:23,575
But I know that perseverance
is the essential element.
891
00:52:25,490 --> 00:52:26,839
I love that.
892
00:52:27,013 --> 00:52:29,407
I love the fact that he
worked hard for those words...
893
00:52:29,581 --> 00:52:31,191
It-it, uh...
894
00:52:31,365 --> 00:52:33,193
It makes us feel
better about ourselves.
895
00:52:33,367 --> 00:52:35,848
Dylan was like, "Yeah, I
wrote it in the back of the cab."
896
00:52:36,022 --> 00:52:39,417
It's like, yeah, okay, okay,
you probably did, but come on.
897
00:52:39,591 --> 00:52:41,201
You know.
898
00:52:41,375 --> 00:52:43,464
Come down to earth, you know.
899
00:52:43,638 --> 00:52:47,164
Come down, stand among
us for a moment, you know.
900
00:52:47,338 --> 00:52:49,078
It is a gift.
901
00:52:49,253 --> 00:52:51,342
Of course, you have
to keep your tools sharp,
902
00:52:51,516 --> 00:52:54,954
and you have to keep your
skill in a condition of operation.
903
00:52:55,128 --> 00:52:58,697
But the real song,
where that comes from,
904
00:52:58,871 --> 00:53:00,960
no one knows. That
is grace. That is a gift.
905
00:53:01,134 --> 00:53:02,744
And, uh...
906
00:53:02,918 --> 00:53:04,093
That is...
907
00:53:04,268 --> 00:53:05,660
That is not yours.
908
00:53:10,099 --> 00:53:12,406
If I knew where songs came from,
909
00:53:12,580 --> 00:53:14,930
I would go there more often.
910
00:53:15,104 --> 00:53:18,151
♪ If it be your will ♪
911
00:53:20,675 --> 00:53:25,027
♪ That I speak no more... ♪
912
00:53:25,202 --> 00:53:27,943
One time when we
really talked about creative process,
913
00:53:28,117 --> 00:53:30,598
Leonard acknowledged there's
something called the Bat Kol,
914
00:53:30,772 --> 00:53:32,687
which in the
Talmud is the, uh...
915
00:53:32,861 --> 00:53:35,908
The feminine voice of God
that extends into people.
916
00:53:39,433 --> 00:53:41,261
The Bat Kol arrives,
917
00:53:41,435 --> 00:53:44,786
and if you're in her service,
you write down what she says.
918
00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:46,005
And then she goes away.
919
00:53:47,659 --> 00:53:49,443
So the baffled king is:
920
00:53:49,617 --> 00:53:51,097
"I just wrote the secret chord
921
00:53:51,271 --> 00:53:54,448
and I don't even
know how I got it.
922
00:53:54,622 --> 00:53:58,235
But what I think I did is I made
myself open to the Bat Kol."
923
00:53:58,409 --> 00:54:01,107
♪ If a voice be true... ♪
924
00:54:03,283 --> 00:54:04,850
Refine yourself enough
925
00:54:05,024 --> 00:54:07,026
that the Bat Kol
recognizes that you're open.
926
00:54:08,636 --> 00:54:09,724
She arrives.
927
00:54:09,898 --> 00:54:12,074
♪ I will sing to you... ♪
928
00:54:12,249 --> 00:54:14,338
You speak.
929
00:54:14,512 --> 00:54:17,428
She departs. And you polish it.
930
00:54:19,168 --> 00:54:23,216
♪ All your praises
They shall ring ♪
931
00:54:23,390 --> 00:54:25,740
Various
Positions is the name of the album.
932
00:54:25,914 --> 00:54:29,831
And at the same time, same
year, we haveBook of Mercy.
933
00:54:30,005 --> 00:54:32,573
How didBook of Mercy come about?
934
00:54:32,747 --> 00:54:35,184
It's a book of prayer.
935
00:54:35,359 --> 00:54:37,926
♪ If it be your will ♪
936
00:54:40,625 --> 00:54:43,758
♪ If there is a choice ♪
937
00:54:43,932 --> 00:54:46,021
The songs are
related, of course.
938
00:54:46,195 --> 00:54:49,198
I think everybody's
work is all of one piece.
939
00:54:51,549 --> 00:54:55,422
♪ Let your mercies
Spill on all ♪
940
00:54:55,596 --> 00:54:59,426
♪ These burning hearts in hell ♪
941
00:55:02,386 --> 00:55:04,344
♪ If it be your will ♪
942
00:55:06,477 --> 00:55:07,956
♪ To make us well... ♪
943
00:55:10,916 --> 00:55:14,093
At one point, I think
you say, perhaps at more than one point,
944
00:55:14,267 --> 00:55:16,965
you say, "Though
I don't believe."
945
00:55:17,139 --> 00:55:18,880
I say that a couple of times:
946
00:55:19,054 --> 00:55:21,709
"Though I don't believe,
I come to you now
947
00:55:21,883 --> 00:55:23,798
and I lift my doubt
to your mercy."
948
00:55:23,972 --> 00:55:26,845
♪ In our rags of light... ♪
949
00:55:27,019 --> 00:55:30,152
That kind of
conversation with eternity,
950
00:55:30,327 --> 00:55:32,894
oh, it certainly is deep
in the Jewish tradition
951
00:55:33,068 --> 00:55:35,941
of questioning God.
952
00:55:36,115 --> 00:55:39,205
And I think it's a
legitimate concern.
953
00:55:39,379 --> 00:55:41,033
♪ If it be your will ♪
954
00:55:43,601 --> 00:55:47,431
♪ If it be your will ♪
955
00:55:55,874 --> 00:55:58,833
I guess it was 1988,
956
00:55:59,007 --> 00:56:01,445
Leonard goes on tour and...
957
00:56:01,619 --> 00:56:05,274
he starts singing "Hallelujah,"
and all of a sudden...
958
00:56:07,320 --> 00:56:08,669
new lyrics.
959
00:56:08,843 --> 00:56:10,584
Is there any verse
960
00:56:10,758 --> 00:56:12,238
that actually no one
has ever heard of
961
00:56:12,325 --> 00:56:13,587
that you could tell us?
962
00:56:16,198 --> 00:56:18,462
There are. I don't know
how distinguished they are.
963
00:56:18,636 --> 00:56:21,203
But there are a lot of verses
to the song "Hallelujah."
964
00:56:21,378 --> 00:56:23,336
They go like this:
965
00:56:23,510 --> 00:56:25,773
"Baby, I've been here before
966
00:56:25,947 --> 00:56:28,254
I know this room
I've walked this floor"
967
00:56:30,125 --> 00:56:32,780
♪ You see I used to live alone ♪
968
00:56:35,130 --> 00:56:36,480
♪ Before I knew you ♪
969
00:56:38,395 --> 00:56:40,440
I said, "Wait a minute.
970
00:56:40,614 --> 00:56:42,399
We're not in the Old
Testament anymore."
971
00:56:42,573 --> 00:56:45,314
♪ I've seen your flag
On the marble arch ♪
972
00:56:45,489 --> 00:56:46,577
♪ But love... ♪
973
00:56:46,751 --> 00:56:48,100
It's more secular.
974
00:56:48,274 --> 00:56:50,842
It's like a completely
different song.
975
00:56:51,016 --> 00:56:53,105
And I'm saying to
myself, "What the fuck?"
976
00:56:53,279 --> 00:56:59,067
♪ It's a broken Hallelujah... ♪
977
00:57:01,548 --> 00:57:03,178
You said some
interesting things about
978
00:57:03,202 --> 00:57:04,856
the reason you rewrote
some of these songs
979
00:57:05,030 --> 00:57:06,945
because you felt
that it was inauthentic
980
00:57:07,119 --> 00:57:09,338
to write religious
songs anymore.
981
00:57:09,513 --> 00:57:11,906
In and of itself,
there's nothing wrong with it.
982
00:57:12,080 --> 00:57:14,561
It's whether you
can get behind it.
983
00:57:14,735 --> 00:57:17,259
I had the King David song.
984
00:57:17,434 --> 00:57:21,307
It was easy for me to
use that Biblical metaphor
985
00:57:21,481 --> 00:57:24,179
until the time came when
I choked on the words
986
00:57:24,353 --> 00:57:26,704
because it simply
wasn't direct enough.
987
00:57:29,228 --> 00:57:31,709
♪ There was a time
You let me know ♪
988
00:57:34,233 --> 00:57:38,455
♪ What's really Going on below ♪
989
00:57:38,629 --> 00:57:44,591
♪ But now you never Even
show it to me, do you? ♪
990
00:57:48,247 --> 00:57:53,339
♪ But I remember
When I moved in you ♪
991
00:57:53,513 --> 00:57:57,822
♪ Yes, and the Holy
Dove She was moving too ♪
992
00:57:57,996 --> 00:58:01,347
♪ Yes, and every single breath ♪
993
00:58:01,521 --> 00:58:06,570
♪ That we drew was Hallelujah ♪
994
00:58:08,180 --> 00:58:10,704
♪ Hallelujah ♪
995
00:58:13,185 --> 00:58:16,101
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
996
00:58:16,275 --> 00:58:19,234
I wanted to push the
song deep into the secular world,
997
00:58:19,408 --> 00:58:20,758
into the ordinary world.
998
00:58:20,932 --> 00:58:25,545
♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
999
00:58:25,719 --> 00:58:28,896
♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
1000
00:58:33,379 --> 00:58:36,556
"Hallelujah" was a
word that you don't really get to use
1001
00:58:36,730 --> 00:58:38,776
without sounding too religious.
1002
00:58:40,255 --> 00:58:41,996
Leonard pulled that
word out of the sky
1003
00:58:42,170 --> 00:58:43,450
and pulled it down to the earth,
1004
00:58:43,607 --> 00:58:45,783
and made the word okay again.
1005
00:58:45,957 --> 00:58:48,786
And hip again and
usable again, you know?
1006
00:58:50,962 --> 00:58:52,267
Thank you so much, friends.
1007
00:58:58,970 --> 00:59:01,059
Fast-forward a couple of years
1008
00:59:01,233 --> 00:59:04,323
and I was hanging
out at Leonard's office,
1009
00:59:04,497 --> 00:59:06,630
and his then-manager
1010
00:59:06,804 --> 00:59:11,025
told me that, uh, they
were doing a tribute album.
1011
00:59:11,199 --> 00:59:13,027
It was going to
be a tribute album
1012
00:59:13,201 --> 00:59:15,856
to Leonard calledl'm Your Fan.
1013
00:59:16,030 --> 00:59:18,511
Could I suggest
people to be on it?
1014
00:59:18,685 --> 00:59:20,905
And I had worked for
years with John Cale,
1015
00:59:21,079 --> 00:59:22,079
writing lyrics with John.
1016
00:59:23,864 --> 00:59:27,389
And John loves Leonard's work.
1017
00:59:27,564 --> 00:59:30,175
So I said, "Yeah,
Cale would be perfect."
1018
00:59:32,264 --> 00:59:36,529
♪ Sunday morning... ♪
1019
00:59:36,703 --> 00:59:38,725
We welcome
John Cale to the studio today.
1020
00:59:38,749 --> 00:59:40,549
One of the founders of
the Velvet Underground,
1021
00:59:40,577 --> 00:59:42,187
worked with Nico and Lou Reed,
1022
00:59:42,361 --> 00:59:44,339
and pretty much everybody
else you'd care to think of
1023
00:59:44,363 --> 00:59:47,018
during an extraordinary
50-year career,
1024
00:59:47,192 --> 00:59:49,411
at the forefront of innovation
in rock and pop music.
1025
00:59:49,586 --> 00:59:51,370
John Cale joins us.
1026
00:59:51,544 --> 00:59:53,424
One of the things I
thought we'd have to discuss
1027
00:59:53,546 --> 00:59:55,374
is the role that you played
1028
00:59:55,548 --> 00:59:57,768
in reviving Leonard
Cohen's "Hallelujah."
1029
00:59:57,942 --> 00:59:59,813
How did you cotton
on to the potential,
1030
00:59:59,987 --> 01:00:01,510
the power of
Leonard Cohen's song
1031
01:00:01,685 --> 01:00:04,339
long before other
solo artists recorded it?
1032
01:00:04,513 --> 01:00:06,313
Well, I remember
seeing Leonard doing it
1033
01:00:06,472 --> 01:00:08,866
at the Beacon in New York.
1034
01:00:09,040 --> 01:00:10,389
I hadn't heard it before,
1035
01:00:10,563 --> 01:00:12,521
and it just knocked me sideways.
1036
01:00:12,696 --> 01:00:15,612
So I thought, I could do
this as a solo piano thing.
1037
01:00:18,702 --> 01:00:20,529
This is an experiment.
1038
01:00:20,704 --> 01:00:22,619
This song was written
by Leonard Cohen.
1039
01:00:31,279 --> 01:00:34,848
♪ I heard there
was A secret chord ♪
1040
01:00:35,022 --> 01:00:39,070
♪ That David played
And it pleased the Lord ♪
1041
01:00:39,244 --> 01:00:43,988
♪ But you don't really
care For music, do you? ♪
1042
01:00:44,162 --> 01:00:46,425
I remember
John Cale covering that song.
1043
01:00:46,599 --> 01:00:48,383
I remember going,
"Wow, what a deep cut.
1044
01:00:48,557 --> 01:00:51,038
You've just picked a song
of Leonard's that I know,
1045
01:00:51,212 --> 01:00:54,041
but not a lot of
people know that tune."
1046
01:00:54,215 --> 01:00:55,913
Then I called up John and said:
1047
01:00:56,087 --> 01:00:58,045
"John, there's different verses.
1048
01:00:58,219 --> 01:01:00,352
There's the song
that's on the album,
1049
01:01:00,526 --> 01:01:02,746
and then there's the
song he's doing live.
1050
01:01:02,920 --> 01:01:04,878
See if you can
get all the verses."
1051
01:01:05,052 --> 01:01:07,751
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1052
01:01:07,925 --> 01:01:12,016
Well, I got a ton of
verses that are really gorgeous.
1053
01:01:12,190 --> 01:01:14,061
But some of them I
couldn't sing myself.
1054
01:01:14,235 --> 01:01:15,889
Some of them were about religion
1055
01:01:16,063 --> 01:01:19,023
and reflecting
Leonard's background.
1056
01:01:19,197 --> 01:01:21,765
So I took the cheeky verses.
1057
01:01:21,939 --> 01:01:25,116
♪ There was a time
You let me know ♪
1058
01:01:25,290 --> 01:01:28,641
♪ What's really Going on below ♪
1059
01:01:28,815 --> 01:01:32,906
♪ But now you never
show it To me, do you? ♪
1060
01:01:35,692 --> 01:01:39,173
♪ I remember When
I moved in you ♪
1061
01:01:39,347 --> 01:01:42,742
♪ And the Holy Dove
Was moving too ♪
1062
01:01:42,916 --> 01:01:49,009
♪ And every breath We
drew was Hallelujah ♪
1063
01:01:49,183 --> 01:01:51,272
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1064
01:01:51,446 --> 01:01:54,754
The spareness of that
version was beautiful to me.
1065
01:01:56,408 --> 01:01:59,716
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1066
01:01:59,890 --> 01:02:01,282
John has a real talent
1067
01:02:01,456 --> 01:02:04,938
for pulling away all of
the unnecessary stuff.
1068
01:02:05,112 --> 01:02:08,899
♪ Maybe there's a God above ♪
1069
01:02:09,073 --> 01:02:11,902
♪ But all I ever
learned From love... ♪
1070
01:02:12,076 --> 01:02:14,818
And it was great that
he was combining the spiritual
1071
01:02:14,992 --> 01:02:18,386
and the secular
versions of that song.
1072
01:02:18,560 --> 01:02:20,737
Cale really owned that song.
1073
01:02:20,911 --> 01:02:23,391
He really made it personal.
1074
01:02:23,565 --> 01:02:26,177
♪ It's not somebody
Who's seen the light... ♪
1075
01:02:26,351 --> 01:02:29,267
But again, that's
because, you know,
1076
01:02:29,441 --> 01:02:32,444
Cale's a guy like Leonard
who's been through the wars.
1077
01:02:32,618 --> 01:02:33,445
So, you know.
1078
01:02:33,619 --> 01:02:36,622
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1079
01:02:36,796 --> 01:02:43,237
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1080
01:02:52,203 --> 01:02:54,858
I do not remember
the first time I heard "Hallelujah."
1081
01:02:56,337 --> 01:02:57,774
But I'm pretty sure
1082
01:02:57,948 --> 01:02:59,601
that the first time I
heard "Hallelujah,"
1083
01:02:59,776 --> 01:03:02,256
Leonard wasn't singing it.
1084
01:03:02,430 --> 01:03:05,433
I think I must have
heard Jeff Buckley?
1085
01:03:07,131 --> 01:03:08,523
The first version
of "Hallelujah"
1086
01:03:08,697 --> 01:03:10,395
I heard was Jeff Buckley.
1087
01:03:10,569 --> 01:03:11,657
Jeff Buckley.
1088
01:03:15,095 --> 01:03:19,012
I don't know, the Jeff Buckley
seems to be theversion
1089
01:03:19,186 --> 01:03:21,710
because I'm even
shocked sometimes,
1090
01:03:21,885 --> 01:03:23,538
even when you
go on the Internet,
1091
01:03:23,712 --> 01:03:25,792
and sometimes you see
people on television, they say:
1092
01:03:25,932 --> 01:03:28,717
"Now I'm going to sing
a song by Jeff Buckley."
1093
01:03:28,892 --> 01:03:30,415
And it's "Hallelujah."
1094
01:03:32,460 --> 01:03:34,506
Hi, I'm Mick Grondahl.
And I'm Jeff Buckley.
1095
01:03:34,680 --> 01:03:36,856
And you're watching
120 Minuteson MTV.
1096
01:03:41,556 --> 01:03:43,196
Jeff Buckley and "Hallelujah"
1097
01:03:43,341 --> 01:03:44,777
probably wouldn't
have come together
1098
01:03:44,951 --> 01:03:45,991
were it not for St. Ann's.
1099
01:03:47,171 --> 01:03:48,171
How did that happen?
1100
01:03:49,390 --> 01:03:50,957
Oh, heh.
1101
01:03:51,131 --> 01:03:52,437
By accident.
1102
01:03:54,395 --> 01:03:56,180
You know, "Arts at St. Ann's"
1103
01:03:56,354 --> 01:03:58,269
was a music theater series
1104
01:03:58,443 --> 01:04:01,402
in this important
landmark church.
1105
01:04:01,576 --> 01:04:04,623
And we were just starting
to do these multi-artist shows
1106
01:04:04,797 --> 01:04:07,452
that investigated
somebody's body of work.
1107
01:04:08,932 --> 01:04:10,368
And Hal Willner and I
1108
01:04:10,542 --> 01:04:12,849
were doing this
homage to Tim Buckley.
1109
01:04:16,026 --> 01:04:18,550
♪ You turn and run away ♪
1110
01:04:18,724 --> 01:04:20,552
Janine and I got in touch
1111
01:04:20,726 --> 01:04:23,511
with Tim Buckley's
manager, Herb Cohen.
1112
01:04:23,685 --> 01:04:26,427
He said, "You
know he has a son."
1113
01:04:26,601 --> 01:04:28,995
Or someone said, "He has
a son." I went, "Is he good?"
1114
01:04:29,169 --> 01:04:30,779
He went, "He's
better than his father."
1115
01:04:30,954 --> 01:04:33,043
♪ Let me sing a song ♪
1116
01:04:33,217 --> 01:04:34,653
I've always played music,
1117
01:04:34,827 --> 01:04:36,829
I just have never pursued
the music business.
1118
01:04:37,003 --> 01:04:41,007
I never sent a tape to
anyone or shopped myself.
1119
01:04:41,181 --> 01:04:43,880
And then the beautiful
people at St. Ann's,
1120
01:04:44,054 --> 01:04:45,272
they asked me to come.
1121
01:04:50,103 --> 01:04:53,106
And when he
walked into the church that day,
1122
01:04:53,280 --> 01:04:55,674
he was obviously the
type that you could put
1123
01:04:55,848 --> 01:04:58,111
in any situation to do anything.
1124
01:04:58,285 --> 01:05:00,679
You could just tell. It's
just an instinctual thing,
1125
01:05:00,853 --> 01:05:03,013
hearing him sing three
notes, watching him play guitar,
1126
01:05:03,116 --> 01:05:05,814
talking to him about the
different music he liked.
1127
01:05:05,989 --> 01:05:08,687
He was a magic man.
1128
01:05:08,861 --> 01:05:12,952
♪ Once I was a soldier ♪
1129
01:05:15,650 --> 01:05:19,393
♪ And I fought On
foreign sands for you... ♪
1130
01:05:21,221 --> 01:05:22,657
And then at the very end,
1131
01:05:22,831 --> 01:05:24,790
Jeff's guitar string broke.
1132
01:05:24,964 --> 01:05:27,271
So he sang it a cappella.
1133
01:05:27,445 --> 01:05:31,101
♪ Do you ever... ♪
1134
01:05:31,275 --> 01:05:33,075
And you could see the
full range of his voice.
1135
01:05:33,103 --> 01:05:39,979
♪ ...remember me ♪
1136
01:05:44,070 --> 01:05:46,855
Something had
been unleashed, you know.
1137
01:05:47,030 --> 01:05:48,683
So he stuck around.
1138
01:05:51,512 --> 01:05:54,951
You can be
heard performing live at the Sin-é.
1139
01:05:55,125 --> 01:05:57,127
Oh, yeah.
1140
01:05:57,301 --> 01:05:59,520
He came in looking for a gig.
1141
01:05:59,694 --> 01:06:01,348
And things developed
very quickly.
1142
01:06:02,828 --> 01:06:03,988
I believe it was Hal Willner,
1143
01:06:04,090 --> 01:06:05,483
actually, told him to come in.
1144
01:06:07,746 --> 01:06:09,356
He started playing once a week.
1145
01:06:10,749 --> 01:06:11,880
That was his workshop.
1146
01:06:14,057 --> 01:06:17,060
And he would just play
whatever songs he was learning.
1147
01:06:17,234 --> 01:06:19,714
He wasn't playing any originals.
1148
01:06:19,888 --> 01:06:22,065
I figured to
pick my favorite artists
1149
01:06:22,239 --> 01:06:24,981
and artists that move a lot
of people, or just move me.
1150
01:06:27,809 --> 01:06:30,073
Jeff would
play music for me a lot,
1151
01:06:30,247 --> 01:06:31,900
and it was a very natural thing
1152
01:06:32,075 --> 01:06:34,164
for me to share
"Hallelujah" with him
1153
01:06:34,338 --> 01:06:36,122
because we'd been doing projects
1154
01:06:36,296 --> 01:06:37,994
at St. Ann's with John Cale.
1155
01:06:38,168 --> 01:06:40,648
And I had heard John's
version of "Hallelujah,"
1156
01:06:40,822 --> 01:06:42,389
which I loved.
1157
01:06:42,563 --> 01:06:44,391
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1158
01:06:44,565 --> 01:06:48,830
And somewhere in there, I
played John's song for him.
1159
01:06:49,005 --> 01:06:52,312
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1160
01:06:52,486 --> 01:06:58,144
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1161
01:06:59,928 --> 01:07:04,020
"Hallelujah" is a
Leonard Cohen song.
1162
01:07:04,194 --> 01:07:07,936
♪ Yeah, but, baby I've
been here before... ♪
1163
01:07:08,111 --> 01:07:09,547
I do the John Cale version.
1164
01:07:09,721 --> 01:07:11,592
♪ And I've walked
This floor... ♪
1165
01:07:11,766 --> 01:07:14,291
I just learned it one
night before a gig at Sin-é.
1166
01:07:14,465 --> 01:07:17,076
♪ Before I knew you... ♪
1167
01:07:17,250 --> 01:07:18,295
It's a great song.
1168
01:07:20,123 --> 01:07:21,167
I wish I wrote it.
1169
01:07:22,864 --> 01:07:24,475
I didn't know the song.
1170
01:07:24,649 --> 01:07:26,042
I knew it when he sang it.
1171
01:07:26,216 --> 01:07:27,695
That was my introduction to it.
1172
01:07:27,869 --> 01:07:31,917
It was amazing, and
everybody knew it was amazing.
1173
01:07:32,091 --> 01:07:34,615
Everybody knew he was amazing.
1174
01:07:34,789 --> 01:07:36,617
So he's on his way.
1175
01:07:38,097 --> 01:07:40,404
So I brought the A&R guy,
1176
01:07:40,578 --> 01:07:42,667
Steve Berkowitz,
down there to see him.
1177
01:07:42,841 --> 01:07:46,192
The first time that I
heard about Jeff was...
1178
01:07:46,366 --> 01:07:49,674
Hal and I are walking
across St. Mark's Place.
1179
01:07:49,848 --> 01:07:51,893
He said, "Buckley's kid
plays in here sometimes."
1180
01:07:52,068 --> 01:07:55,767
And he points at this little
dusty club called Sin-é.
1181
01:07:55,941 --> 01:07:58,335
And, um, we looked in the
window and there he was.
1182
01:08:02,948 --> 01:08:06,517
After, like, one or two songs,
I just grabbed Hal by the arm.
1183
01:08:06,691 --> 01:08:08,562
"Am I hearing everything
I think I'm hearing?"
1184
01:08:08,736 --> 01:08:10,086
And he goes, "Yeah, you are."
1185
01:08:32,064 --> 01:08:35,720
"Hallelujah,"
which is so emotional and spiritual
1186
01:08:35,894 --> 01:08:39,724
and so open to feeling
and interpretation...
1187
01:08:41,421 --> 01:08:42,988
Good choice for Jeff Buckley.
1188
01:08:46,209 --> 01:08:49,255
Jeff was an instrument
of Leonard's and that song
1189
01:08:49,429 --> 01:08:50,669
to turn it into something else.
1190
01:08:55,131 --> 01:08:58,612
His guitar playing
on that is astounding.
1191
01:08:58,786 --> 01:09:01,267
People always talk about
his voice, which obviously...
1192
01:09:01,441 --> 01:09:06,316
But his guitar playing
is, like, crazy good.
1193
01:09:06,490 --> 01:09:09,275
I think,
musically, he made it his own.
1194
01:09:09,449 --> 01:09:10,972
Leonard wrote a beautiful song,
1195
01:09:11,147 --> 01:09:14,628
and then Jeff made it sound
like an angel was singing it.
1196
01:09:14,802 --> 01:09:18,545
♪ Your faith was strong
But you needed proof ♪
1197
01:09:18,719 --> 01:09:21,592
♪ You saw her
bathing On the roof ♪
1198
01:09:21,766 --> 01:09:25,726
♪ Her beauty in the
moonlight Overthrew you ♪
1199
01:09:28,207 --> 01:09:31,776
♪ She tied you To
a kitchen chair ♪
1200
01:09:31,950 --> 01:09:34,866
♪ She broke your throne
And she cut your hair ♪
1201
01:09:35,040 --> 01:09:40,045
♪ And from your lips
She drew the Hallelujah ♪
1202
01:09:41,481 --> 01:09:45,703
♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
1203
01:09:45,877 --> 01:09:47,966
Jeff didn't
make it a better song.
1204
01:09:48,140 --> 01:09:49,707
It was already a great song.
1205
01:09:49,881 --> 01:09:52,231
You know, Leonard wrote it.
1206
01:09:52,405 --> 01:09:55,930
But he did elevate the
plateau of visibility for that song
1207
01:09:56,104 --> 01:09:59,673
to the rest of the world
in a more popular vein
1208
01:09:59,847 --> 01:10:03,547
and maybe a less forbidding way
than those dark, grumbly voices
1209
01:10:03,721 --> 01:10:05,549
of those older guys
who had done it,
1210
01:10:05,723 --> 01:10:07,551
whether it was Cale
or Leonard or Dylan.
1211
01:10:07,725 --> 01:10:10,989
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1212
01:10:11,163 --> 01:10:14,035
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1213
01:10:14,210 --> 01:10:18,301
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1214
01:10:18,475 --> 01:10:22,740
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1215
01:10:22,914 --> 01:10:25,830
I did see him end
the show often with that song.
1216
01:10:27,962 --> 01:10:29,442
It was so effective.
1217
01:10:30,878 --> 01:10:32,315
It's just him.
1218
01:10:32,489 --> 01:10:36,232
♪ Hall... ♪
1219
01:10:38,321 --> 01:10:39,844
And it's very exposed.
1220
01:10:41,062 --> 01:10:43,151
♪ Hall... ♪
1221
01:10:43,326 --> 01:10:48,809
And he did make it sort
of overtly sexual, um,
1222
01:10:48,983 --> 01:10:51,247
which, I think, was
really fun for him to do.
1223
01:10:51,421 --> 01:10:54,075
♪ ... lujah ♪
1224
01:10:54,250 --> 01:11:01,126
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1225
01:11:11,267 --> 01:11:12,616
What was the question?
1226
01:11:12,790 --> 01:11:14,444
It was about Leonard Cohen.
1227
01:11:14,618 --> 01:11:16,097
Do you know
whether he's heard...?
1228
01:11:16,272 --> 01:11:17,751
I hope he never hears it.
1229
01:11:17,925 --> 01:11:18,925
Why?
1230
01:11:20,276 --> 01:11:21,538
'Cause...
1231
01:11:23,366 --> 01:11:24,541
Uh...
1232
01:11:24,715 --> 01:11:26,194
I don't know.
1233
01:11:26,369 --> 01:11:29,241
To me, it sounds more
like a boy singing it.
1234
01:11:42,559 --> 01:11:44,169
Jeff didn't live to
see "Hallelujah"
1235
01:11:44,343 --> 01:11:45,997
becoming the song it did.
1236
01:11:50,915 --> 01:11:54,048
But after he died, of course,
1237
01:11:54,222 --> 01:11:56,921
a lot of people came to
his version of that song.
1238
01:12:00,664 --> 01:12:02,666
This song was
played by a gentleman that
1239
01:12:02,840 --> 01:12:04,929
is probably one of
my biggest influences
1240
01:12:05,103 --> 01:12:06,844
and a number of
other people's as well.
1241
01:12:07,018 --> 01:12:09,629
We owe a great debt
to Mr. Jeff Buckley.
1242
01:12:12,763 --> 01:12:15,635
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1243
01:12:17,550 --> 01:12:20,292
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1244
01:12:21,685 --> 01:12:24,209
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1245
01:12:26,167 --> 01:12:29,606
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1246
01:12:29,780 --> 01:12:31,651
The question is,
if he hadn't died,
1247
01:12:31,825 --> 01:12:34,262
would that song have
taken the place it did?
1248
01:12:36,308 --> 01:12:37,308
To Jeff Buckley.
1249
01:12:44,360 --> 01:12:45,360
"Hallelujah"?
1250
01:12:47,537 --> 01:12:49,147
Is that what you're saying?
1251
01:12:51,410 --> 01:12:52,410
All right, what the hell.
1252
01:12:54,718 --> 01:12:56,807
For me, Jeff
Buckley's "Hallelujah"
1253
01:12:56,981 --> 01:13:00,158
is paramount to why
I sing and how I sing.
1254
01:13:00,332 --> 01:13:02,726
Hearing those lyrics
come out of his mouth
1255
01:13:02,900 --> 01:13:04,989
was the first time
it really got me.
1256
01:13:06,991 --> 01:13:08,601
I became immediately
obsessed with it.
1257
01:13:10,255 --> 01:13:11,822
I would put it on repeat
1258
01:13:11,996 --> 01:13:13,436
next to my head
when I'd go to sleep.
1259
01:13:13,606 --> 01:13:14,926
I had a little
boom-box CD player.
1260
01:13:14,955 --> 01:13:16,566
And just listen
to it all night long.
1261
01:13:16,740 --> 01:13:20,787
And it kind of informed a
lot of my dreams and visions.
1262
01:13:20,961 --> 01:13:23,137
It was what was causing me
1263
01:13:23,311 --> 01:13:26,227
to reconcile my faith and
my sexuality at the time.
1264
01:13:26,402 --> 01:13:28,229
It was what was helping me...
1265
01:13:30,057 --> 01:13:32,886
feel a part of that narrative.
1266
01:13:33,060 --> 01:13:36,847
♪ Well, darling I've
been here before ♪
1267
01:13:37,021 --> 01:13:40,067
♪ I've seen this room
I've walked these floors ♪
1268
01:13:40,241 --> 01:13:45,856
♪ You know I used to live
alone Before I knew you... ♪
1269
01:13:46,030 --> 01:13:49,468
It evokes some of the most
primitive human desires.
1270
01:13:49,642 --> 01:13:51,209
And it marries it with a concept
1271
01:13:51,383 --> 01:13:52,732
that so many of
us struggle with,
1272
01:13:52,906 --> 01:13:54,430
which is spirituality.
1273
01:13:54,604 --> 01:13:57,694
♪ It's a cold And
it's a broken ♪
1274
01:13:57,868 --> 01:14:01,654
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1275
01:14:01,828 --> 01:14:03,221
Leonard Cohen somehow understood
1276
01:14:03,395 --> 01:14:06,093
that "Hallelujah"
wasn't a church song,
1277
01:14:06,267 --> 01:14:10,489
but that it was actually a
moment of realization that...
1278
01:14:10,663 --> 01:14:12,230
life can be desperately hard.
1279
01:14:12,404 --> 01:14:15,146
And for me, that was just
something I really wanted to say
1280
01:14:15,320 --> 01:14:16,974
every day to myself,
1281
01:14:17,148 --> 01:14:20,412
as I was going through
that phase of coming-of-age
1282
01:14:20,586 --> 01:14:24,024
and trying to understand, um...
1283
01:14:24,198 --> 01:14:27,288
what it meant to be
young, faithful and gay.
1284
01:14:27,463 --> 01:14:34,078
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1285
01:14:38,735 --> 01:14:41,128
♪ Hey, Hallelujah ♪
1286
01:14:46,656 --> 01:14:47,831
Thank you very much!
1287
01:15:06,371 --> 01:15:09,330
You're watching
an in-concert profile of me.
1288
01:15:09,505 --> 01:15:11,811
I don't want to say
too much about myself
1289
01:15:11,985 --> 01:15:14,074
because most of you
don't know who I am,
1290
01:15:14,248 --> 01:15:16,294
and those of you who do
already know something
1291
01:15:16,468 --> 01:15:19,732
about my curious career
and my marginal presence
1292
01:15:19,906 --> 01:15:22,692
on the edge of the music
scene for the past 30 years.
1293
01:15:22,866 --> 01:15:25,433
One reason I've
hung around so long
1294
01:15:25,608 --> 01:15:27,827
is it takes me four or
five years to do an album.
1295
01:15:31,875 --> 01:15:35,182
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1296
01:15:37,576 --> 01:15:40,448
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1297
01:15:51,677 --> 01:15:54,898
♪ Maybe there's a God above ♪
1298
01:15:55,072 --> 01:16:00,730
♪ As for me All I ever
learned from love ♪
1299
01:16:00,904 --> 01:16:02,993
♪ Is how to shoot at someone ♪
1300
01:16:05,865 --> 01:16:09,390
♪ Who outdrew you... ♪
1301
01:16:09,565 --> 01:16:13,003
I had a great
sense of disorder in my life,
1302
01:16:13,177 --> 01:16:16,702
of chaos, of
depression, of distress.
1303
01:16:16,876 --> 01:16:19,270
I had no idea where
this came from,
1304
01:16:19,444 --> 01:16:23,579
and the prevailing
psychoanalytic explanations
1305
01:16:23,753 --> 01:16:27,191
didn't seem to
address the things I felt.
1306
01:16:27,365 --> 01:16:34,241
♪ A broken Hallelujah ♪
1307
01:16:34,415 --> 01:16:38,332
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1308
01:16:38,506 --> 01:16:42,162
At a certain point,
I'd finished the tour,
1309
01:16:42,336 --> 01:16:44,948
and I'd been drinking a lot,
1310
01:16:45,122 --> 01:16:47,603
which became progressively
more distressing.
1311
01:16:49,779 --> 01:16:55,611
And I didn't see much more
future in show business.
1312
01:16:55,785 --> 01:17:00,050
♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
1313
01:17:05,969 --> 01:17:09,581
♪ I did my best I
know it wasn't much ♪
1314
01:17:09,755 --> 01:17:15,674
♪ I could not feel that is
why I learned to touch ♪
1315
01:17:15,848 --> 01:17:18,808
You've been spending
a lot of time outside of Los Angeles.
1316
01:17:18,982 --> 01:17:20,984
That's right.
There's a Zen monastery
1317
01:17:21,158 --> 01:17:22,718
that I've been living
at on Mount Baldy,
1318
01:17:22,768 --> 01:17:25,423
about 6500 feet up.
1319
01:17:33,170 --> 01:17:35,694
I visited him up at Mount Baldy.
1320
01:17:37,522 --> 01:17:40,133
It was a primordial rock pile.
1321
01:17:44,790 --> 01:17:47,271
It was not a comforting place.
1322
01:17:49,186 --> 01:17:52,711
Well, Zen practice
isn't comforting either.
1323
01:17:52,885 --> 01:17:55,801
It's, uh... It's
not for the meek.
1324
01:18:00,023 --> 01:18:01,851
It's a rigorous life.
1325
01:18:04,114 --> 01:18:05,942
It's designed to overthrow you.
1326
01:18:10,163 --> 01:18:11,817
If it isn't a
matter of survival,
1327
01:18:11,991 --> 01:18:14,211
of life and death, of
healing or sickness,
1328
01:18:14,385 --> 01:18:16,561
then I don't think
anyone in their right mind
1329
01:18:16,735 --> 01:18:18,824
would undertake
this kind of training.
1330
01:18:22,828 --> 01:18:25,028
So it's almost
like medicine for you, then?
1331
01:18:27,703 --> 01:18:31,010
Well, it's a very
careful and precise investigation
1332
01:18:31,184 --> 01:18:34,274
into the self that
was urgent for me.
1333
01:18:34,448 --> 01:18:36,494
If you're sitting in
a meditation hall
1334
01:18:36,668 --> 01:18:38,626
for four or five hours a day,
1335
01:18:38,801 --> 01:18:42,021
you kind of get
straight with yourself.
1336
01:18:42,195 --> 01:18:45,459
So this is not on the level
of a religious conversion.
1337
01:18:45,633 --> 01:18:47,984
It's closer to
science than religion.
1338
01:18:51,248 --> 01:18:54,860
Do you
find it inspiring as a writer?
1339
01:18:55,034 --> 01:18:58,298
I think it's like peeling
away the layers of the onion,
1340
01:18:58,472 --> 01:19:00,257
which is the process
I've always used
1341
01:19:00,431 --> 01:19:02,520
in writing anyways.
1342
01:19:02,694 --> 01:19:04,348
You keep discarding the stuff
1343
01:19:04,522 --> 01:19:08,178
that is too easy or
too much of a slogan.
1344
01:19:08,352 --> 01:19:10,615
Yeah, this kind of
practice is valuable,
1345
01:19:10,789 --> 01:19:14,140
but there's no guarantee
that any kind of training
1346
01:19:14,314 --> 01:19:17,709
or environment or situation
results in a good song.
1347
01:19:20,973 --> 01:19:23,933
He told me that
when he sat in Zazen,
1348
01:19:24,107 --> 01:19:25,804
he was writing songs.
1349
01:19:27,632 --> 01:19:29,808
That's not exactly
what one would think
1350
01:19:29,982 --> 01:19:32,376
you're doing in Zazen.
1351
01:19:32,550 --> 01:19:36,075
In Zazen, you would
clear your mind.
1352
01:19:46,346 --> 01:19:49,610
♪ The birds They sang ♪
1353
01:19:49,785 --> 01:19:51,961
♪ At the break of day ♪
1354
01:19:53,963 --> 01:19:55,834
♪ Start again ♪
1355
01:19:57,314 --> 01:19:59,882
♪ I heard them say ♪
1356
01:20:01,535 --> 01:20:04,800
♪ Don't dwell ♪
1357
01:20:04,974 --> 01:20:08,542
♪ On what has passed away ♪
1358
01:20:08,716 --> 01:20:12,285
♪ Or what is yet to be ♪
1359
01:20:12,459 --> 01:20:14,766
Why did you leave Mount Baldy?
1360
01:20:14,940 --> 01:20:16,724
I felt I'd been
there long enough,
1361
01:20:16,899 --> 01:20:18,944
and I found myself
saying to Roshi
1362
01:20:19,118 --> 01:20:21,381
that I think it's time to go
down the hill for a while.
1363
01:20:23,688 --> 01:20:27,039
♪ The Holy Dove ♪
1364
01:20:27,213 --> 01:20:29,955
♪ She will be caught again ♪
1365
01:20:32,262 --> 01:20:35,569
♪ Bought and sold ♪
1366
01:20:35,743 --> 01:20:38,268
♪ Then bought again ♪
1367
01:20:38,442 --> 01:20:42,011
♪ The Dove is never free... ♪
1368
01:21:12,563 --> 01:21:14,913
♪ There is a crack ♪
1369
01:21:15,087 --> 01:21:19,831
♪ A crack in everything ♪
1370
01:21:20,005 --> 01:21:23,400
♪ That's how the light Gets in ♪
1371
01:21:23,574 --> 01:21:26,359
♪ That's how The light gets in ♪
1372
01:21:31,756 --> 01:21:34,150
"Hallelujah," you
know, obviously had wings,
1373
01:21:34,324 --> 01:21:36,195
but what was the thing
that really broke it?
1374
01:21:36,369 --> 01:21:38,415
When was the
first movie version?
1375
01:21:38,589 --> 01:21:43,072
It was just Cale,
then Buckley...
1376
01:21:43,246 --> 01:21:44,682
And then...
1377
01:21:44,856 --> 01:21:46,553
And
then Shrek. Shrek.
1378
01:21:48,555 --> 01:21:50,470
So Shrekreally broke it.
1379
01:21:50,644 --> 01:21:53,343
I have not seen Shrek.
1380
01:21:53,517 --> 01:21:56,824
And I actually just need
to check, is that a cartoon?
1381
01:21:56,999 --> 01:21:59,349
♪ The years start comin'
And they don't stop comin' ♪
1382
01:21:59,523 --> 01:22:01,612
♪ Fed to the rules And I
hit the ground runnin' ♪
1383
01:22:01,786 --> 01:22:03,875
♪ Didn't make sense
Not to live for fun... ♪
1384
01:22:04,049 --> 01:22:06,617
This was the first of its kind.
1385
01:22:06,791 --> 01:22:09,881
They weren't traditional
fairytale characters.
1386
01:22:10,055 --> 01:22:12,492
And the music was different.
1387
01:22:12,666 --> 01:22:17,715
It just reflected our
comedic aesthetics and...
1388
01:22:17,889 --> 01:22:19,282
what would keep us,
1389
01:22:19,456 --> 01:22:21,458
keep our butts in a
seat watching a movie.
1390
01:22:23,329 --> 01:22:25,941
And I'd been a fan
of Leonard Cohen
1391
01:22:26,115 --> 01:22:28,247
since the early '90s.
1392
01:22:28,421 --> 01:22:31,598
♪ I heard there was
A secret chord... ♪
1393
01:22:31,772 --> 01:22:33,861
I came across him
throughl'm Your Fan,
1394
01:22:34,036 --> 01:22:37,778
and John Cale's
version of "Hallelujah."
1395
01:22:37,953 --> 01:22:40,303
I just played that over
and over and over again.
1396
01:22:40,477 --> 01:22:42,827
And one of the first
jobs I was given,
1397
01:22:43,001 --> 01:22:46,265
as a newer director
on the movie,
1398
01:22:46,439 --> 01:22:48,267
was "figure this moment out."
1399
01:22:48,441 --> 01:22:52,576
♪ Baby, I've been here before ♪
1400
01:22:52,750 --> 01:22:55,579
♪ I know this room
I've walked this floor... ♪
1401
01:22:55,753 --> 01:22:59,104
It's just this interesting,
complex mix of feelings
1402
01:22:59,278 --> 01:23:02,978
that you don't often
see in a family movie.
1403
01:23:03,152 --> 01:23:05,154
But we all agreed we loved it.
1404
01:23:05,328 --> 01:23:07,330
And Aron Warner,
our producer, said:
1405
01:23:07,504 --> 01:23:10,246
"Okay, that's great.
Go figure it out."
1406
01:23:10,420 --> 01:23:12,291
So I worked with the lyrics,
1407
01:23:12,465 --> 01:23:16,208
trimming down the song
to edit out the naughty bits
1408
01:23:16,382 --> 01:23:20,212
and get the song down to,
you know, a couple of minutes.
1409
01:23:22,649 --> 01:23:24,695
What are the naughty bits?
1410
01:23:24,869 --> 01:23:27,480
Oh, "Tied
you to a kitchen chair,"
1411
01:23:27,654 --> 01:23:30,135
and all of the
very personal lyrics
1412
01:23:30,309 --> 01:23:32,224
that had to do with the specific
1413
01:23:32,398 --> 01:23:33,965
sexual aspect of
the relationship.
1414
01:23:34,139 --> 01:23:36,576
And we trimmed down choruses
1415
01:23:36,750 --> 01:23:40,189
and then re-storyboarded
to that version.
1416
01:23:40,363 --> 01:23:43,583
John Cale asked
me for a bunch of lyrics.
1417
01:23:43,757 --> 01:23:46,282
Is his in Shrek or is
that Rufus Wainwright's?
1418
01:23:46,456 --> 01:23:47,979
That's a good question.
1419
01:23:48,153 --> 01:23:49,459
I think it's Rufus's.
1420
01:23:55,073 --> 01:23:57,747
What's interesting
about my relationship to "Hallelujah"
1421
01:23:57,771 --> 01:23:59,425
is that I didn't
know the song at all.
1422
01:23:59,599 --> 01:24:01,645
I didn't know Jeff
Buckley's version.
1423
01:24:01,819 --> 01:24:04,300
I didn't know Leonard
Cohen's version.
1424
01:24:04,474 --> 01:24:07,607
♪ I heard there was
A secret chord... ♪
1425
01:24:07,781 --> 01:24:10,741
But what occurred was that I
was on DreamWorks Records,
1426
01:24:10,915 --> 01:24:14,049
and DreamWorks was
also making the movieShrek.
1427
01:24:14,223 --> 01:24:16,747
And there was some
kind of backroom deal...
1428
01:24:18,792 --> 01:24:21,404
that was struck between
the powers that be
1429
01:24:21,578 --> 01:24:23,623
at the animation studio
and the record company.
1430
01:24:28,933 --> 01:24:32,719
So I recut John Cale's
version in the studio,
1431
01:24:32,893 --> 01:24:35,853
assuming that it
would be in the movie.
1432
01:24:36,027 --> 01:24:39,074
But then they came
back to us and they said:
1433
01:24:39,248 --> 01:24:42,164
"Unfortunately, the filmmakers
1434
01:24:42,338 --> 01:24:44,862
have decided to keep
John Cale's version in."
1435
01:24:45,036 --> 01:24:49,040
'Cause they thought his voice
matched Shrek more, heh-heh!
1436
01:24:49,214 --> 01:24:51,260
Yes, it was rejected
for the movie.
1437
01:24:51,434 --> 01:24:53,175
And that was just me.
1438
01:24:54,959 --> 01:24:56,787
Sorry, I'm really sorry.
1439
01:24:56,961 --> 01:24:58,528
I love John Cale's version.
1440
01:24:58,702 --> 01:25:01,705
John Cale is one of my
all-time favorite artists,
1441
01:25:01,879 --> 01:25:06,753
but I can see how there's
more of a kind of Welsh,
1442
01:25:06,927 --> 01:25:11,018
sour quality, which I could see
would work better with Shrek
1443
01:25:11,193 --> 01:25:15,458
than my gorgeous, you
know, 22-year-old tenor.
1444
01:25:15,632 --> 01:25:19,592
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1445
01:25:19,766 --> 01:25:23,466
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1446
01:25:23,640 --> 01:25:26,251
Look, I love Rufus
Wainwright. He's fantastic.
1447
01:25:26,425 --> 01:25:29,080
And it's a beautiful,
beautiful version.
1448
01:25:29,254 --> 01:25:31,300
But it always felt
too young to me.
1449
01:25:32,866 --> 01:25:35,086
It felt like someone's
first heartbreak.
1450
01:25:35,260 --> 01:25:38,611
♪ Baby, I've been here before ♪
1451
01:25:38,785 --> 01:25:42,398
♪ I know this room And
I've walked this floor ♪
1452
01:25:42,572 --> 01:25:47,403
♪ I used to live alone
Before I knew you ♪
1453
01:25:47,577 --> 01:25:50,319
So I just put my foot down.
1454
01:25:50,493 --> 01:25:55,802
But the caveat that was arranged
1455
01:25:55,976 --> 01:26:00,503
was that my version
would be on the soundtrack.
1456
01:26:00,677 --> 01:26:03,070
Shrek. Music
from the original motion picture.
1457
01:26:03,245 --> 01:26:04,681
Wow!
1458
01:26:04,855 --> 01:26:11,166
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1459
01:26:11,340 --> 01:26:13,342
And as the years went by,
1460
01:26:13,516 --> 01:26:16,997
watching any of the
talent shows on TV,
1461
01:26:17,172 --> 01:26:18,695
somebody would sing it
1462
01:26:18,869 --> 01:26:20,784
and somebody would
play it with a ukulele.
1463
01:26:20,958 --> 01:26:23,874
And it was always the,
you know, Shrekversion,
1464
01:26:24,048 --> 01:26:28,705
the shortened version that has
all the naughty bits taken out.
1465
01:26:34,624 --> 01:26:36,408
So just give us a
little background,
1466
01:26:36,582 --> 01:26:37,888
why this song for Lee?
1467
01:26:38,062 --> 01:26:39,672
I like him as a person.
1468
01:26:39,846 --> 01:26:42,327
And I wanted him to do something
1469
01:26:42,501 --> 01:26:45,504
which shows that he's got
the potential to be a great artist.
1470
01:26:45,678 --> 01:26:48,159
That's why I chose this
song, I love this song.
1471
01:26:48,333 --> 01:26:51,075
Singing live for your
votes, here's "Hallelujah."
1472
01:26:53,295 --> 01:26:56,341
♪ Baby, I've been
here Before... ♪
1473
01:26:56,515 --> 01:27:00,650
♪ I've seen this room And
I've walked this floor... ♪
1474
01:27:00,824 --> 01:27:05,481
♪ I used to live alone
Before I knew you... ♪
1475
01:27:07,831 --> 01:27:12,923
♪ Now I've heard there
was A secret chord that... ♪
1476
01:27:15,752 --> 01:27:17,493
♪ And it pleased the Lord... ♪
1477
01:27:17,667 --> 01:27:21,148
♪ Maybe there's a God above... ♪
1478
01:27:21,323 --> 01:27:24,848
♪ All I've ever
learned From love... ♪
1479
01:27:25,022 --> 01:27:31,681
♪ Is how to shoot somebody
Who outdrew you... ♪
1480
01:27:31,855 --> 01:27:35,641
♪ Hallelujah
♪♪ Hallelujah ♪
1481
01:27:35,815 --> 01:27:39,689
♪ Hallelujah
♪♪ Oh, Hallelujah ♪
1482
01:27:39,863 --> 01:27:44,346
♪ Hallelujah
♪♪ Hallelujah ♪
1483
01:27:44,520 --> 01:27:51,396
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1484
01:27:56,183 --> 01:27:57,315
That was just...
1485
01:27:58,838 --> 01:28:01,754
I mean, seriously, incredible.
1486
01:28:01,928 --> 01:28:04,888
- Thank you, Simon.
- You've gotta win.
1487
01:28:05,062 --> 01:28:07,543
If you want the winner's single
to be released by Alexandra,
1488
01:28:07,717 --> 01:28:09,588
you have to vote for her.
1489
01:28:18,380 --> 01:28:21,644
Leonard Cohen,
let me ask you about "Hallelujah."
1490
01:28:21,818 --> 01:28:24,647
It took on a whole new
energy this past Christmas.
1491
01:28:24,821 --> 01:28:26,779
It appeared Number
1 and Number 2
1492
01:28:26,953 --> 01:28:28,738
on the UK bestseller charts.
1493
01:28:28,912 --> 01:28:33,003
And your version from
1984 was also in the top 40.
1494
01:28:33,177 --> 01:28:34,613
What did you make of that?
1495
01:28:34,787 --> 01:28:36,398
Well, of course,
1496
01:28:36,572 --> 01:28:40,445
there were certain ironic
and amusing sidebars,
1497
01:28:40,619 --> 01:28:43,622
you know, because the
record that it came from
1498
01:28:43,796 --> 01:28:47,234
wasn't considered good
enough for the American market.
1499
01:28:47,409 --> 01:28:49,976
It wasn't put out, so there
was a certain sense of
1500
01:28:50,150 --> 01:28:51,935
a mild sense of revenge...
1501
01:28:53,545 --> 01:28:55,417
that arose in my heart.
1502
01:28:55,591 --> 01:28:58,115
What is
the magic of "Hallelujah"?
1503
01:28:58,289 --> 01:29:00,117
I don't know.
1504
01:29:00,291 --> 01:29:04,121
You know, one is always
trying to write a good song and...
1505
01:29:04,295 --> 01:29:05,818
like everything else,
1506
01:29:05,992 --> 01:29:08,473
you put in your best
effort, but you can't...
1507
01:29:08,647 --> 01:29:11,302
command the consequences, so...
1508
01:29:11,476 --> 01:29:15,175
Of course, I was happy
that the song was being used,
1509
01:29:15,350 --> 01:29:18,527
but I think people ought to
stop singing it for a little while.
1510
01:29:21,051 --> 01:29:23,314
- Leonard was kidding.
- You think?
1511
01:29:23,488 --> 01:29:25,664
Yes, yes. You know...
1512
01:29:25,838 --> 01:29:27,927
I mean, I think
he was tickled pink
1513
01:29:28,101 --> 01:29:31,148
that everybody and their
sister were singing this song.
1514
01:29:40,070 --> 01:29:45,292
♪ You don't really care
For music, do you? ♪
1515
01:29:47,164 --> 01:29:50,907
♪ It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth ♪
1516
01:29:51,081 --> 01:29:52,909
♪ The minor fall... ♪
1517
01:30:03,049 --> 01:30:05,791
What a song can do
when it gets out into the world,
1518
01:30:05,965 --> 01:30:08,751
despite its challenges, is
really, really fascinating.
1519
01:30:08,925 --> 01:30:12,232
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1520
01:30:12,407 --> 01:30:15,235
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1521
01:30:15,410 --> 01:30:17,803
"Hallelujah" really
beat the odds
1522
01:30:17,977 --> 01:30:19,457
in that it's its own thing now.
1523
01:30:21,590 --> 01:30:24,506
It's its own person,
and it has its own life.
1524
01:30:24,680 --> 01:30:27,465
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1525
01:30:29,859 --> 01:30:32,949
People love it for their
weddings and their engagements.
1526
01:30:35,299 --> 01:30:37,780
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1527
01:30:39,259 --> 01:30:40,478
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1528
01:30:40,652 --> 01:30:42,437
And their dark times.
1529
01:30:46,397 --> 01:30:50,096
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1530
01:30:50,270 --> 01:30:53,404
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1531
01:30:53,578 --> 01:30:55,600
It always feels like
every time you hear the song
1532
01:30:55,624 --> 01:30:57,234
that something big
has just happened.
1533
01:30:59,323 --> 01:31:01,456
You don't just hear the
song and pass by the song
1534
01:31:01,630 --> 01:31:04,154
and move to the next song.
1535
01:31:04,328 --> 01:31:07,853
I love that it doesn't
matter if you're agnostic
1536
01:31:08,027 --> 01:31:09,638
or Christian or
Jewish or whatever...
1537
01:31:09,812 --> 01:31:13,685
There's parts of the
song that apply to you.
1538
01:31:14,860 --> 01:31:15,860
And they're all right,
1539
01:31:15,992 --> 01:31:17,559
none of them are wrong.
1540
01:31:21,345 --> 01:31:22,912
I'm going to try something here.
1541
01:31:23,086 --> 01:31:25,131
This could go bad.
1542
01:31:25,305 --> 01:31:27,264
I was at Red Rocks,
and earlier in the day,
1543
01:31:27,438 --> 01:31:29,266
I was listening to a mix.
1544
01:31:29,440 --> 01:31:35,490
And by chance, Jeff Buckley's
"Hallelujah" came on my iPod.
1545
01:31:35,664 --> 01:31:38,580
I had never played the
song, but I had a little slot
1546
01:31:38,754 --> 01:31:42,018
that was kind of a
question-mark slot on the set list.
1547
01:31:42,192 --> 01:31:44,542
I didn't say anything
to the band beforehand.
1548
01:31:44,716 --> 01:31:46,979
They didn't know
I was gonna do it.
1549
01:31:47,153 --> 01:31:50,896
♪ I heard there
was A secret chord ♪
1550
01:31:51,070 --> 01:31:54,073
♪ That David played
And it pleased the Lord ♪
1551
01:31:54,247 --> 01:31:57,120
♪ But you don't really
care For music, do you? ♪
1552
01:32:00,645 --> 01:32:02,865
♪ It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth ♪
1553
01:32:03,039 --> 01:32:06,999
♪ The minor fall
The major lift ♪
1554
01:32:07,173 --> 01:32:11,482
♪ The baffled king
Composing Hallelujah ♪
1555
01:32:13,005 --> 01:32:14,746
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1556
01:32:16,443 --> 01:32:17,662
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1557
01:32:17,836 --> 01:32:19,751
What I didn't anticipate,
1558
01:32:19,925 --> 01:32:22,275
'cause I'm still pretty
new to this song,
1559
01:32:22,449 --> 01:32:24,626
I didn't anticipate the
way the crowd would react.
1560
01:32:31,633 --> 01:32:33,678
I mean, there are 10,000
people between two rocks
1561
01:32:33,852 --> 01:32:36,812
in-in what looks
like a cathedral.
1562
01:32:36,986 --> 01:32:38,465
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1563
01:32:40,337 --> 01:32:42,121
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1564
01:32:42,295 --> 01:32:44,471
And for me, that was
one of those nights that,
1565
01:32:44,646 --> 01:32:47,431
when it's all said
and done and all over,
1566
01:32:47,605 --> 01:32:49,955
I'm not gonna remember
a lot of things, probably,
1567
01:32:50,129 --> 01:32:52,654
but I'm going to remember
singing "Hallelujah,"
1568
01:32:52,828 --> 01:32:55,526
night one at Red
Rocks, no doubt.
1569
01:32:55,700 --> 01:32:59,312
And I'll remember the
people, and I'll remember...
1570
01:32:59,486 --> 01:33:01,184
the way they
responded to the song.
1571
01:33:01,358 --> 01:33:03,490
It was...
1572
01:33:03,665 --> 01:33:04,796
just like being in church.
1573
01:33:25,425 --> 01:33:29,386
♪ In my secret life... ♪
1574
01:33:29,560 --> 01:33:31,388
So where are you now?
1575
01:33:31,562 --> 01:33:33,738
You know,
nothing's over till it's over,
1576
01:33:33,912 --> 01:33:36,436
but I find myself in
a graceful moment.
1577
01:33:38,221 --> 01:33:40,702
So the depressions that
you suffered from very much
1578
01:33:40,876 --> 01:33:41,876
in your earlier days?
1579
01:33:43,400 --> 01:33:44,749
They've lifted.
1580
01:33:47,360 --> 01:33:48,884
They've lifted completely.
1581
01:33:49,058 --> 01:33:50,407
♪ I saw you this morning ♪
1582
01:33:50,581 --> 01:33:52,017
It's not so much that I...
1583
01:33:52,191 --> 01:33:54,106
♪ You were moving so fast... ♪
1584
01:33:54,280 --> 01:33:56,674
I got what I was
looking for, but the, um...
1585
01:33:58,415 --> 01:33:59,808
the search itself dissolved.
1586
01:34:02,941 --> 01:34:05,727
It sounds like
you had an amazing moment of clarity
1587
01:34:05,901 --> 01:34:08,338
or revelation or whatever.
1588
01:34:08,512 --> 01:34:11,341
It wasn't as dramatic
as that, there were no bright lights
1589
01:34:11,515 --> 01:34:13,343
but something did happen,
1590
01:34:13,517 --> 01:34:15,127
and God knows I
want to celebrate it.
1591
01:34:15,301 --> 01:34:16,868
But I certainly know
1592
01:34:17,042 --> 01:34:19,218
that any analysis
of it would be futile.
1593
01:34:19,392 --> 01:34:20,392
Right.
1594
01:34:22,395 --> 01:34:27,226
♪ And we're still making love ♪
1595
01:34:27,400 --> 01:34:32,536
♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
♪ In my secret life ♪
1596
01:34:35,670 --> 01:34:38,194
♪ In my secret life ♪
1597
01:34:40,239 --> 01:34:42,807
♪ I smile when I'm angry... ♪
1598
01:34:42,981 --> 01:34:45,505
We were working on new material.
1599
01:34:45,680 --> 01:34:48,117
So he was coming
over to my studio and...
1600
01:34:48,291 --> 01:34:50,902
One day he came
over and he said:
1601
01:34:51,076 --> 01:34:54,384
"You know, I went to the
ATM and there's no money.
1602
01:34:54,558 --> 01:34:55,864
I've been ripped off."
1603
01:34:58,823 --> 01:35:01,260
I want to
make sure I've said this clearly,
1604
01:35:01,434 --> 01:35:03,915
you found out that
your business manager
1605
01:35:04,089 --> 01:35:06,918
had basically stolen
all your money,
1606
01:35:07,092 --> 01:35:08,703
the money that had been made
1607
01:35:08,877 --> 01:35:10,356
from selling your
song publishing,
1608
01:35:10,530 --> 01:35:13,316
and your retirement funds.
1609
01:35:13,490 --> 01:35:15,492
That's true.
Yes, that's the way it was.
1610
01:35:17,973 --> 01:35:20,932
He really turned
everything over to his assistant.
1611
01:35:23,239 --> 01:35:24,719
He signed everything off to her.
1612
01:35:24,893 --> 01:35:29,506
She could do anything she
wanted with everything that he had.
1613
01:35:29,680 --> 01:35:30,986
Something that...
1614
01:35:31,160 --> 01:35:33,597
apparently is very dangerous.
1615
01:35:35,947 --> 01:35:37,620
It was enough
to put a dent in your mood,
1616
01:35:37,644 --> 01:35:38,644
you know what I mean?
1617
01:35:40,299 --> 01:35:41,624
Is there a feeling that,
1618
01:35:41,648 --> 01:35:43,389
"Now I better get back to work?"
1619
01:35:43,563 --> 01:35:45,130
Sure.
1620
01:35:45,304 --> 01:35:47,480
But I joke about the
economic pressures.
1621
01:35:47,654 --> 01:35:50,266
I really did have to get
back to work for that reason,
1622
01:35:50,440 --> 01:35:54,009
but there's also
another kind of pressure.
1623
01:35:54,183 --> 01:35:58,100
You know, 70 is
indisputably not youth.
1624
01:35:58,274 --> 01:36:00,319
I don't say it's
extreme old age,
1625
01:36:00,493 --> 01:36:03,540
but it is the
foothills of old age,
1626
01:36:03,714 --> 01:36:07,022
and that urgent invitation
to complete one's work
1627
01:36:07,196 --> 01:36:10,460
is very much in my life.
1628
01:36:10,634 --> 01:36:14,159
And it's more urgent than
the economic necessity.
1629
01:36:14,333 --> 01:36:18,468
That the two coincide
is just a coincidence.
1630
01:36:31,786 --> 01:36:33,918
Great talking
to you. - Yeah!
1631
01:36:34,092 --> 01:36:36,225
I haven't spoken
to you for a long time.
1632
01:36:36,399 --> 01:36:39,358
I remember last time
we talked, you were worrying about
1633
01:36:39,532 --> 01:36:42,753
what was a dignified
position for an old guy like you,
1634
01:36:42,927 --> 01:36:45,408
going from coffee shop to
coffee shop with your guitar?
1635
01:36:45,582 --> 01:36:46,626
Right.
1636
01:36:49,412 --> 01:36:52,328
So are you gonna, uh, tour?
1637
01:36:52,502 --> 01:36:57,202
I may because it's a
good solution to old age and death.
1638
01:36:57,376 --> 01:36:59,335
Just play till you
drop. - Right.
1639
01:36:59,509 --> 01:37:01,250
And you keep your work alive,
1640
01:37:01,424 --> 01:37:03,034
and your chops
get better and better.
1641
01:37:04,993 --> 01:37:08,170
It's a matter of
establishing priorities.
1642
01:37:08,344 --> 01:37:11,260
So Leonard came out again.
1643
01:37:11,434 --> 01:37:13,523
But I think he was...
1644
01:37:13,697 --> 01:37:15,351
kind of apprehensive
1645
01:37:15,525 --> 01:37:18,354
in how, you know,
he'd be received
1646
01:37:18,528 --> 01:37:20,269
'cause it'd been so long.
1647
01:37:20,443 --> 01:37:23,098
He wasn't at all confident
that it was going to work.
1648
01:37:25,622 --> 01:37:30,105
And that's why we started
the tour in a very small venue.
1649
01:37:38,461 --> 01:37:42,030
You know, even when I
was in the monastery at Mount Baldy,
1650
01:37:42,204 --> 01:37:45,163
there were times when
I would ask myself:
1651
01:37:45,337 --> 01:37:49,080
"Are you really never going
to get up on a stage again?"
1652
01:37:49,254 --> 01:37:52,910
The idea of performing
was always unresolved.
1653
01:37:55,826 --> 01:37:58,698
I don't mean to suggest
I'm not at all anxious.
1654
01:38:02,528 --> 01:38:04,922
But fortunately,
this band is so good.
1655
01:38:06,663 --> 01:38:08,186
We jelled in the rehearsal hall.
1656
01:38:11,450 --> 01:38:13,409
We rehearsed for a long time.
1657
01:38:13,583 --> 01:38:16,238
An unusually long time.
1658
01:38:16,412 --> 01:38:17,630
Three months, I think.
1659
01:38:21,983 --> 01:38:25,638
Leonard really
honored his audiences.
1660
01:38:25,812 --> 01:38:28,032
He said every night
before the show:
1661
01:38:28,206 --> 01:38:29,947
"We're gonna give you
everything we've got."
1662
01:38:46,311 --> 01:38:51,142
♪ Now my friends are
gone And my hair is gray ♪
1663
01:38:51,316 --> 01:38:55,233
♪ I ache in the places
Where I used to play ♪
1664
01:38:55,407 --> 01:38:57,192
♪ And I'm crazy for love ♪
1665
01:38:59,237 --> 01:39:01,065
♪ But I'm not comin' on ♪
1666
01:39:04,982 --> 01:39:08,246
♪ I'm just paying
my rent Every day ♪
1667
01:39:08,420 --> 01:39:10,857
♪ In the Tower of Song ♪
1668
01:39:34,403 --> 01:39:37,188
♪ I was born like this ♪
1669
01:39:37,362 --> 01:39:39,190
♪ I had no choice ♪
1670
01:39:39,364 --> 01:39:44,282
♪ I was born with the
gift Of a golden voice ♪
1671
01:39:44,456 --> 01:39:49,548
♪ And 27 angels From
the Great Beyond ♪
1672
01:39:53,465 --> 01:39:56,860
♪ Yeah, they tied me
To this table right here ♪
1673
01:39:57,034 --> 01:39:59,036
♪ In the Tower of Song ♪
1674
01:40:05,695 --> 01:40:08,480
It's been a long time
since I stood out here.
1675
01:40:08,654 --> 01:40:12,528
It was about, uh, 14 years ago.
1676
01:40:12,702 --> 01:40:18,142
I was 60 years old, just
a kid with a crazy dream.
1677
01:40:23,626 --> 01:40:26,237
♪ Now you can say
That I've grown bitter ♪
1678
01:40:26,411 --> 01:40:28,587
♪ But of this You may be sure ♪
1679
01:40:28,761 --> 01:40:30,937
♪ The rich have
got Their channels ♪
1680
01:40:31,112 --> 01:40:33,027
♪ In the bedrooms Of the poor ♪
1681
01:40:33,201 --> 01:40:36,813
♪ And there's a mighty
judgment Coming ♪
1682
01:40:36,987 --> 01:40:38,771
♪ But I may be wrong ♪
1683
01:40:42,384 --> 01:40:45,952
♪ You see, I hear
These funny voices ♪
1684
01:40:46,127 --> 01:40:48,129
♪ In the Tower of Song ♪
1685
01:41:02,360 --> 01:41:03,360
Don't stop.
1686
01:41:09,585 --> 01:41:11,804
Sublime.
1687
01:41:20,117 --> 01:41:23,164
Thanks so much, friends.
1688
01:41:23,338 --> 01:41:25,383
It's been a real privilege
1689
01:41:25,557 --> 01:41:27,516
and honor to play
for you tonight.
1690
01:41:31,128 --> 01:41:34,827
And then, of
course, it just grew from there.
1691
01:41:35,001 --> 01:41:38,614
They kept booking concerts
and they kept being sold out.
1692
01:41:38,788 --> 01:41:41,834
It was like, "Oh, okay,"
and we just kept going.
1693
01:41:44,272 --> 01:41:46,187
This isFresh Air,
I'm Terry Gross,
1694
01:41:46,361 --> 01:41:47,840
back with Leonard Cohen.
1695
01:41:48,014 --> 01:41:50,626
The great songwriter and
singer is back on the road,
1696
01:41:50,800 --> 01:41:52,541
doing his first
tour in 15 years.
1697
01:41:52,715 --> 01:41:54,586
♪ When they said ♪♪ They said ♪
1698
01:41:54,760 --> 01:41:56,327
♪ Repent ♪♪ Repent ♪
1699
01:41:56,501 --> 01:41:58,982
♪ Repent ♪♪ Repent ♪
1700
01:41:59,156 --> 01:42:02,464
♪ I wonder what they meant ♪
1701
01:42:02,638 --> 01:42:04,379
♪ When they said ♪ ♪ They said ♪
1702
01:42:04,553 --> 01:42:06,294
♪ Repent ♪♪ Repent ♪
1703
01:42:06,468 --> 01:42:11,690
♪ Repent ♪♪ Repent ♪
1704
01:42:11,864 --> 01:42:13,910
One of the
remarkable things about Leonard
1705
01:42:14,084 --> 01:42:17,696
is how much he throws
himself into whatever he does.
1706
01:42:17,870 --> 01:42:20,221
♪ Of the ancient Western... ♪
1707
01:42:20,395 --> 01:42:23,180
Look at him, close to 80.
1708
01:42:23,354 --> 01:42:25,400
People his age are more worried
1709
01:42:25,574 --> 01:42:27,576
about getting to the
early-bird dinner special.
1710
01:42:29,230 --> 01:42:31,406
♪ And a white man dancing... ♪
1711
01:42:31,580 --> 01:42:33,799
I mean, Leonard is on-stage
1712
01:42:33,973 --> 01:42:35,540
for three hours
jumping up and down,
1713
01:42:35,714 --> 01:42:37,977
and skipping off at the
end of a three-hour set.
1714
01:42:38,152 --> 01:42:39,588
Here we go.
1715
01:42:53,428 --> 01:42:55,386
What have you
learned being back on-stage
1716
01:42:55,560 --> 01:42:57,258
for the first time in 15 years?
1717
01:42:57,432 --> 01:43:00,043
Learned? I... I don't know,
1718
01:43:00,217 --> 01:43:03,568
it's hard to teach an old
dog new tricks, as you know.
1719
01:43:03,742 --> 01:43:07,181
I don't know if I've learned
anything, but I've been, um...
1720
01:43:07,355 --> 01:43:10,096
I've been grateful
that it's going well.
1721
01:43:10,271 --> 01:43:12,708
Because...
1722
01:43:12,882 --> 01:43:14,275
you never know
what's gonna happen
1723
01:43:14,449 --> 01:43:15,972
when you step on the stage.
1724
01:43:16,146 --> 01:43:20,933
♪ Now I've heard There
was a secret chord ♪
1725
01:43:21,107 --> 01:43:25,068
♪ That David played
And it pleased the Lord ♪
1726
01:43:25,242 --> 01:43:30,552
♪ But you don't really
care For music, do you? ♪
1727
01:43:32,902 --> 01:43:34,904
The only way you
can sell a concert
1728
01:43:35,078 --> 01:43:37,863
is to put yourself at risk.
1729
01:43:38,037 --> 01:43:41,215
And if you don't do
that, people know,
1730
01:43:41,389 --> 01:43:44,087
and they go home with a
feeling that they liked the songs,
1731
01:43:44,261 --> 01:43:46,568
but, you know, they prefer
to listen to them at home.
1732
01:43:46,742 --> 01:43:50,528
♪ Hallelujah... ♪
1733
01:43:50,702 --> 01:43:53,923
But if you can really stand
at the center of your song,
1734
01:43:54,097 --> 01:43:56,360
if you can inhabit that space
1735
01:43:56,534 --> 01:43:58,580
and really stand
1736
01:43:58,754 --> 01:44:02,148
for the complexity
of your own emotions,
1737
01:44:02,323 --> 01:44:04,890
then everybody feels good.
1738
01:44:05,064 --> 01:44:07,241
The musicians feel
good and you feel good
1739
01:44:07,415 --> 01:44:09,199
and the people
who've come feel good.
1740
01:44:13,203 --> 01:44:16,989
♪ Well, your faith was
strong But you needed proof ♪
1741
01:44:17,163 --> 01:44:21,733
♪ You saw her
bathing On the roof ♪
1742
01:44:21,907 --> 01:44:26,999
♪ Her beauty and the
moonlight Overthrew you ♪
1743
01:44:30,394 --> 01:44:34,790
♪ She tied you To
a kitchen chair ♪
1744
01:44:34,964 --> 01:44:38,620
♪ She broke your throne
And she cut your hair ♪
1745
01:44:38,794 --> 01:44:40,752
♪ And from your lips ♪
1746
01:44:40,926 --> 01:44:46,628
♪ She drew the Hallelujah ♪
1747
01:44:46,802 --> 01:44:52,590
♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah... ♪
1748
01:44:52,764 --> 01:44:55,289
When people hear "Hallelujah,"
1749
01:44:55,463 --> 01:44:58,640
it must be something
so universal.
1750
01:44:58,814 --> 01:45:02,165
It's really, really powerful.
1751
01:45:02,339 --> 01:45:04,123
Now, that's a big deal.
1752
01:45:04,298 --> 01:45:07,431
We don't get to be involved
in very many things that...
1753
01:45:07,605 --> 01:45:09,825
hit people as
strongly as that does.
1754
01:45:09,999 --> 01:45:13,959
♪ Well, maybe
There's a God above ♪
1755
01:45:14,133 --> 01:45:19,617
♪ As for me, all I ever
learned From love is ♪
1756
01:45:19,791 --> 01:45:24,535
♪ How to shoot at
someone Who outdrew you ♪
1757
01:45:27,408 --> 01:45:31,107
♪ But it's not a cry
That you hear tonight ♪
1758
01:45:31,281 --> 01:45:33,239
♪ No, it's not some pilgrim ♪
1759
01:45:33,414 --> 01:45:35,764
♪ Who claims To
have seen the light ♪
1760
01:45:35,938 --> 01:45:39,811
♪ It is a cold And
a very broken ♪
1761
01:45:39,985 --> 01:45:42,553
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1762
01:45:44,468 --> 01:45:46,992
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1763
01:45:48,646 --> 01:45:50,605
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1764
01:45:53,390 --> 01:45:55,784
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1765
01:45:57,525 --> 01:46:02,399
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1766
01:46:06,272 --> 01:46:10,973
I was doing my
first-ever solo show at Coachella,
1767
01:46:11,147 --> 01:46:13,845
and I remember looking
at the lineup and going:
1768
01:46:14,019 --> 01:46:16,370
"Oh, my God! Leonard Cohen."
1769
01:46:18,894 --> 01:46:22,854
Seeing Leonard Cohen felt
like a beautiful, holy moment,
1770
01:46:23,028 --> 01:46:28,207
to be outside with all of
those people watching him.
1771
01:46:31,385 --> 01:46:33,125
It was a church moment.
1772
01:46:35,998 --> 01:46:40,002
You get this feeling
of having a modern prayer.
1773
01:46:42,396 --> 01:46:45,877
I think that's why people were
coming to the shows so much
1774
01:46:46,051 --> 01:46:49,141
because they were
getting that feeling.
1775
01:46:51,100 --> 01:46:53,319
Even how he thanked everybody,
1776
01:46:53,494 --> 01:46:55,234
everybody in the crew,
1777
01:46:55,409 --> 01:46:57,541
and all the different
jobs that people did
1778
01:46:57,715 --> 01:46:58,715
to put together the show.
1779
01:47:00,849 --> 01:47:02,328
It was like an
instruction manual
1780
01:47:02,503 --> 01:47:04,461
on how to be in the world.
1781
01:47:04,635 --> 01:47:09,031
It's like you can be this
good, you really can.
1782
01:47:09,205 --> 01:47:12,948
♪ I did my best It wasn't much ♪
1783
01:47:13,122 --> 01:47:15,516
♪ I couldn't feel ♪
1784
01:47:15,690 --> 01:47:17,561
♪ So I learned to touch ♪
1785
01:47:17,735 --> 01:47:19,607
♪ I've told the truth ♪
1786
01:47:19,781 --> 01:47:23,785
♪ I did not come here
To Coachella to fool you ♪
1787
01:47:26,483 --> 01:47:28,572
♪ And even though... ♪
1788
01:47:28,746 --> 01:47:30,681
People who
respond to him in the way they do,
1789
01:47:30,705 --> 01:47:33,229
and they respond to him
all over the world, of course,
1790
01:47:33,403 --> 01:47:35,203
are responding to
something that is different.
1791
01:47:37,712 --> 01:47:40,541
You're getting things that
are so deep and so resonant
1792
01:47:40,715 --> 01:47:42,586
in your own spiritual journey,
1793
01:47:42,760 --> 01:47:45,807
that you are
benefitting from his.
1794
01:47:45,981 --> 01:47:48,418
And that's of course
the highest compliment
1795
01:47:48,592 --> 01:47:49,898
to a poet or a songwriter.
1796
01:47:51,726 --> 01:47:54,685
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1797
01:47:56,557 --> 01:48:03,389
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1798
01:48:14,009 --> 01:48:17,229
Leonard closed his
2009 tour with an emotional concert
1799
01:48:17,403 --> 01:48:22,844
on September 24th at the
Ramat Gan Stadium near Tel Aviv.
1800
01:48:23,018 --> 01:48:25,237
It was three days
after his 75th birthday.
1801
01:48:27,065 --> 01:48:28,458
Leonard made a plea
1802
01:48:28,632 --> 01:48:31,374
for Israeli-Palestinian
reconciliation,
1803
01:48:31,548 --> 01:48:33,289
then raised his hands
1804
01:48:33,463 --> 01:48:36,031
and gave the
priestly benediction.
1805
01:48:36,205 --> 01:48:37,772
So, dear friends...
1806
01:49:00,490 --> 01:49:02,370
God bless
you. Good night, friends.
1807
01:49:40,182 --> 01:49:42,793
I think it was
Tennessee Williams said:
1808
01:49:42,967 --> 01:49:45,491
"Life is a fairly
well-written play
1809
01:49:45,666 --> 01:49:47,363
except for the third act."
1810
01:49:49,321 --> 01:49:52,368
The beginning of the
third act, in my case,
1811
01:49:52,542 --> 01:49:55,458
seems to be very,
very well-written.
1812
01:49:55,632 --> 01:50:00,985
But the end of the third act,
of course, when the hero dies,
1813
01:50:01,159 --> 01:50:03,814
that, generally speaking,
from what one can observe,
1814
01:50:03,988 --> 01:50:05,816
can be rather tricky.
1815
01:50:10,995 --> 01:50:13,868
Should I read a couple of these?
1816
01:50:20,309 --> 01:50:24,966
"Ducking away to write
and write feverishly,
1817
01:50:25,140 --> 01:50:29,318
if two words a day
constitutes a fever."
1818
01:50:32,974 --> 01:50:35,411
"Many pressing concerns,
1819
01:50:35,585 --> 01:50:39,850
but ignoring most of them
in favor of a finished lyric."
1820
01:50:42,331 --> 01:50:45,160
"Not interested
in anything else,
1821
01:50:45,334 --> 01:50:49,338
and this interest
fairly fragile also."
1822
01:50:51,732 --> 01:50:53,908
"Another beautiful day."
1823
01:50:57,781 --> 01:50:59,914
It's the broken Hallelujah.
1824
01:51:02,438 --> 01:51:07,051
♪ I don't need a reason ♪
1825
01:51:07,225 --> 01:51:11,882
♪ For what I became ♪
1826
01:51:12,056 --> 01:51:16,452
♪ I've got these excuses ♪
1827
01:51:16,626 --> 01:51:21,283
♪ They're tired and lame ♪
1828
01:51:21,457 --> 01:51:27,419
♪ I don't need a pardon
No, no, no, no, no ♪
1829
01:51:27,593 --> 01:51:30,945
♪ There's no one left To blame ♪
1830
01:51:31,119 --> 01:51:33,164
♪ I'm leaving the table ♪
1831
01:51:37,299 --> 01:51:41,129
♪ I'm out of the game ♪
1832
01:52:17,382 --> 01:52:21,256
♪ I heard there was
A secret chord ♪
1833
01:52:21,430 --> 01:52:25,129
♪ David played
And it pleased the Lord but ♪
1834
01:52:27,305 --> 01:52:30,831
♪ You don't really care
For music, do you? ♪
1835
01:52:33,747 --> 01:52:38,882
♪ Well, it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth ♪
1836
01:52:39,056 --> 01:52:43,539
♪ The minor fall
The major lift ♪
1837
01:52:43,713 --> 01:52:49,588
♪ The baffled king
Composing Hallelujah ♪
1838
01:52:52,113 --> 01:52:54,506
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1839
01:52:57,683 --> 01:53:00,730
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1840
01:53:00,904 --> 01:53:03,298
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1841
01:53:05,126 --> 01:53:08,825
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1842
01:53:08,999 --> 01:53:15,876
♪ Hal... ♪
1843
01:53:18,313 --> 01:53:19,880
♪ ...lelujah ♪
1844
01:53:20,054 --> 01:53:26,930
♪ Hallelujah ♪
1845
01:53:38,550 --> 01:53:44,818
♪ Hallelu... ♪
1846
01:53:52,869 --> 01:53:56,917
♪ ...lujah ♪
1847
01:54:03,445 --> 01:54:09,364
You look around and you see
a world that is impenetrable,
1848
01:54:09,538 --> 01:54:11,975
that, uh, cannot
be made sense of.
1849
01:54:13,847 --> 01:54:16,371
You either raise your fist,
1850
01:54:16,545 --> 01:54:19,069
or you say, "Hallelujah."
1851
01:54:19,243 --> 01:54:20,679
I try to do both.
1852
01:55:01,459 --> 01:55:03,200
♪ You got me singing ♪
1853
01:55:05,115 --> 01:55:08,684
♪ Even though the news is bad ♪
1854
01:55:08,858 --> 01:55:10,294
♪ You got me singing ♪
1855
01:55:12,340 --> 01:55:15,952
♪ The only song I ever had ♪
1856
01:55:16,126 --> 01:55:17,606
♪ You got me singing ♪
1857
01:55:19,913 --> 01:55:22,959
♪ Ever since the river died ♪
1858
01:55:23,133 --> 01:55:25,048
♪ You got me thinking ♪
1859
01:55:25,222 --> 01:55:28,573
♪ Of the places we could hide ♪
1860
01:55:30,619 --> 01:55:32,229
♪ You got me singing ♪
1861
01:55:34,449 --> 01:55:37,843
♪ Even though the world
Is gone ♪
1862
01:55:38,018 --> 01:55:39,497
♪ You got me thinking ♪
1863
01:55:41,412 --> 01:55:44,850
♪ That I'd like to carry on ♪
1864
01:55:45,025 --> 01:55:46,635
♪ You got me singing ♪
1865
01:55:48,898 --> 01:55:52,162
♪ Even though
It all looks grim ♪
1866
01:55:52,336 --> 01:55:54,860
♪ You got me singing ♪
1867
01:55:55,035 --> 01:55:57,559
♪ The Hallelujah hymn ♪
1868
01:55:59,865 --> 01:56:01,345
♪ You got me singing ♪
1869
01:56:03,391 --> 01:56:06,829
♪ Like a prisoner in a jail ♪
1870
01:56:07,003 --> 01:56:10,267
♪ You got me singing ♪
1871
01:56:10,441 --> 01:56:14,010
♪ Like my pardon's
In the mail ♪
1872
01:56:14,184 --> 01:56:17,753
♪ You got me wishing ♪
1873
01:56:17,927 --> 01:56:21,278
♪ Our little love would last ♪
1874
01:56:21,452 --> 01:56:23,541
♪ You got me thinking ♪
1875
01:56:23,715 --> 01:56:26,980
♪ Like those people
Of the past ♪
1876
01:56:29,025 --> 01:56:30,244
♪ You got me singing ♪
1877
01:56:32,811 --> 01:56:36,032
♪ Even though
The world is gone ♪
1878
01:56:36,206 --> 01:56:39,818
♪ You got me thinking ♪
1879
01:56:39,993 --> 01:56:42,865
♪ That I'd like to carry on ♪
1880
01:56:43,039 --> 01:56:46,738
♪ You got me singing ♪
1881
01:56:46,912 --> 01:56:50,481
♪ Even though
It all went wrong ♪
1882
01:56:50,655 --> 01:56:52,744
♪ You got me singing ♪
1883
01:56:52,918 --> 01:56:56,009
♪ The Hallelujah song ♪
1884
01:57:21,425 --> 01:57:26,691
♪ Singing the Hallelujah song ♪
136119
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