Suzanne

Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
And you can spend the night beside her
And you know, that she's half crazy

But that's why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China

And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover

And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you've touched her perfect body with your mind

And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower

And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said: "All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them"

But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone

And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
For he's touched your perfect body with his mind

Now, Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters

And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbor
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind

Als ich hörte, dass Leonard Cohen gestorben war, habe ich als erstes ➱Suzanne aufgelegt. Ich habe noch die alte quietschegelbe Ausgabe des März Verlags von ➱Blumen für Hitler, da ist Suzanne mit einer Übersetzung drin. Man musste immer genau zuhören, wenn er sang. Weil hier ein Dichter sang, ein Troubadur, der von der Liebe und der Einsamkeit sang. Meine erste LP von Leonard Cohen war Songs from a Room. Weil ➱Bird on the Wire da drauf war. Lieber Jay, nun ist dieser Poet auch gegangen. Sie werden sicher etwas posten oder? stand in der Mail, die ich von einer guten Bekannten bekam. Da war ein Photo von Cohen dabei und die Zeilen aus ➱Anthem: There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in? Mir fällt zu Cohen nichts ein, er ist seit Jahrzehnten in meinem Leben. Und wird es bleiben.

Lesen Sie auch: Leonard Cohen