Milkweed, 11/24/2016
Leonard Cohen, who died this week, was one of our greatest songwriters—Bob Dylan told Cohen that he considered him his nearest rival—and is a figure of almost cult-like devotion among fans. He gave his final interview to David Remnick over the summer. Listen to it now.
Tom Waits I Wish I Was in New Orleans, Live in Paris 1977
Oh, I wish I was in New Orleans, I can see it in my dreams,
To be arm-in-arm walkin’ down Burgundy, a bottle and my friends and me
Hoist up a few tall cool ones, play some pool and listen
To that tenor saxophone calling me home
Oh, and I, I can hear the band begin “When the Saints Go Marching In”,
And by the whiskers on my chin, New Orleans, I’ll be there
I’ll drink you under the table, be red-nosed, go for walks,
The old haunts what I wants is red beans and rice
And wear the dress I like so well, and meet me at the old saloon,
Make sure that there’s a Dixie moon, New Orleans, I’ll be there…
In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
Where no one sees you,
But sometimes I do,And that sight becomes this art.
Night & her daughter sleep (1902)/ Mary L. Macomber
