Dance Me to the End of Love
A friend sent me the link to a beautiful music video of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love“, about love in youth and in old age. A lyrical song, which also has another, deeper dimension: Wikipedia says about the song:
“Although structured as a love song, the song was in fact inspired by the Holocaust. In an interview, Cohen said of the song:
‘Dance Me to the End Of Love’ … it’s curious how songs begin because the origin of the song, every song, has a kind of grain or seed that somebody hands you or the world hands you and that’s why the process is so mysterious about writing a song. But that came from just hearing or reading or knowing that in the death camps, beside the crematoria, in certain of the death camps, a string quartet was pressed into performance while this horror was going on, those were the people whose fate was this horror also. And they would be playing classical music while their fellow prisoners were being killed and burnt. So, that music, “Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin,” meaning the beauty there of being the consummation of life, the end of this existence and of the passionate element in that consummation. But, it is the same language that we use for surrender to the beloved, so that the song — it’s not important that anybody knows the genesis of it, because if the language comes from that passionate resource, it will be able to embrace all passionate activity.”
I loved his songs already 37 years ago (Suzanne, Bird on the Wire, Songs of Love and Hate…). And he is also a deeply spiritual personality. Wikipedia: “His work often deals with the exploration of religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships. Famously reclusive, having once spent several years in a Zen Buddhist monastery, and possessing a persona frequently associated with mystique, he is extremely well-regarded by critics for his literary accomplishments, for the richness of his lyrics, and for producing an output of work of high artistic quality over a five-decade career.”
Have a look at his YouTube channel.
From the video
April 19th, 2010 at 7:57 am
I do share your passion for Leonard Cohen.
I saw him a few times live, watching him perform these timeless songs is a sacred experience.
By the way, what is the programme of Master P.K.’s visit to Brussels? I would like to attend if possible.