Old Ideas es un álbum de Leonard Cohen, publicado en 2012 por Columbia. El disco incluye 10 canciones, entre ellas «Going Home», «Amen», «Show Me the Place» y «Darkness».
Sobre el álbum
El álbum de estudio "Old Ideas", de 2012, es una obra de una profundidad y una belleza sobrecogedoras, una nueva joya en la discografía de Leonard Cohen de su última etapa. En este trabajo, el artista, con casi 80 años, reflexiona sobre los grandes temas de siempre (el amor, la muerte, Dios) con una lucidez, una ironía y una sabiduría que desarman. Es un disco de una madurez exquisita.
El sonido del álbum es cálido, orgánico y de una elegancia atemporal. La producción se basa en instrumentos acústicos como el piano, el órgano y las guitarras, con sutiles toques de violín y coros femeninos que crean una atmósfera íntima y confesional. Por consiguiente, la voz de Leonard Cohen, más grave y rota que nunca, se convierte en el centro absoluto.
Las letras son de una calidad literaria superlativa. En "Going Home", Cohen dialoga irónicamente consigo mismo y con su propia leyenda, mientras que en "Show Me the Place" y "Come Healing" explora su faceta más espiritual. "Darkness" es un blues crepuscular sobre la aceptación de la vejez.
"Old Ideas" es una pieza redonda de la senectud, un disco que demuestra que se puede envejecer con gracia, inteligencia y un sentido del humor a prueba de todo. Es una lección de vida de un poeta que nunca dejó de buscar respuestas a las viejas preguntas.
Listado de Canciones
- Going Home3:50
Letra
I love to speak with Leonard He’s a sportsman and a shepherd He’s a lazy bastard Living in a suit But he does say what I tell him Even though it isn’t welcome He just doesn't have the freedom To refuse He will speak these words of wisdom Like a sage, a man of vision Though he knows he’s really nothing But the brief elaboration of a tube Going home Without my sorrow Going home Sometime tomorrow Going home To where it’s better Than before Going home Without my burden Going home Behind the curtain Going home Without the costume That I wore He wants to write a love song An anthem of forgiving A manual for living with defeat A cry above the suffering A sacrifice recovering But that isn’t what I need him To complete I want to make him certain That he doesn’t have a burden That he doesn’t need a vision That he only has permission To do my instant bidding Which is to say what I have told him To repeat Going home Without my sorrow Going home Sometime tomorrow Going home To where it’s better Than before Going home Without my burden Going home Behind the curtain Going home Without this costume That I wore I'm going home Without the sorrow Going home Sometime tomorrow Going home To where it’s better Than before Going home Without my burden Going home Behind the curtain Going home Without this costume That I wore I love to speak with Leonard He’s a sportsman and a shepherd He’s a lazy bastard Living in a suit - Amen7:39
Letra
Tell me again When I’ve been to the river And I’ve taken the edge off my thirst Tell me again We’re alone and I’m listening I’m listening so hard that it hurts Tell me again When I’m clean and I’m sober Tell me again When I’ve seen through the horror Tell me again Tell me over and over Tell me that you want me then Amen Amen Amen Amen Tell me again When the victims are singing And the laws of remorse are restored Tell me again That you know what I’m thinking But vengeance belongs to the Lord Tell me again When I’m clean and I’m sober Tell me again When I’ve seen through the horror Tell me again Tell me over and over Tell me that you love me then Amen Amen Amen Amen Tell me again When the day has been ransomed And the night has no right to begin Try me again When the angels are panting And scratching at the door to come in Tell me again When I’m clean and I’m sober Tell me again When I’ve seen through the horror Tell me again Tell me over and over Tell me that you need me then Amen Amen Amen Amen Tell me again When the filth of the butcher Is washed in the blood of the lamb Tell me again When the rest of the culture Has passed through the eye of the camp Tell me again When I’m clean and I’m sober Tell me again When I’ve seen through the horror Tell me again Tell me over and over Tell me that you love me then Amen Amen Amen Amen - Show Me the Place4:08
Letra
Show me the place, where you want your slave to go Show me the place, I've forgotten I don't know Show me the place where my head is bend and low Show me the place, where you want your slave to go Show me the place, help me roll away the stone Show me the place, I can't move this thing alone Show me the place where the word became a man Show me the place where the suffering began The troubles came, I saved what I could save A shred of light, a particle away But there were chains so I hastened to the hay There were chains, so I loved you Like a spade Show me the place, where you want your slave to go Show me the place, I've forgotten I don't know Show me the place, where you want your slave to go The troubles came, I saved what I could save A shred of light, a particle away But there were chains so I hastened to the hay There were chains so I loved you like a slave Show me the place Show me the place Show me the place Show me the place, help me roll away the stone Show me the place, I can't move this thing alone Show me the place, where the word became a man Show me the place, where the suffering began - Darkness4:30
- Anyhow3:09
Letra
I know it really is a pity The way you treat me now I know you can’t forgive me But forgive me anyhow The ending got so ugly I even heard you say You never ever loved me But could you love me anyway I dreamed about you baby You were wearing half your dress I know you have to hate me But could you hate me less? I used up all my chances And you’ll never take me back But there ain’t no harm in asking Could you cut me one more slack? I’m naked and I’m filthy And there’s sweat upon my brow And both of us are guilty Anyhow Have mercy on me baby After all I did confess Even though you have to hate me Could you hate me less? It’s a shame and it’s a pity I know you can’t forgive me The ending got so ugly You never ever loved me Dreamed about you baby I know you have to hate me I’m naked and I’m filthy And both of us are guilty Anyhow Have mercy on me baby - Crazy to Love You3:08
Letra
Had to go crazy to love you Had to go down to the pit Had to do time in the tower Begging my crazy to quit Had to go crazy to love you You who were never the one Whom I chased through the souvenir heartache Her braids and her blouse all undone Sometimes I’d head for the highway I’m old and the mirrors don’t lie But crazy has places to hide in That are deeper than any goodbye Had to go crazy to love you Had to let everything fall Had to be people I hated Had to be no one at all I’m tired of choosing desire I been saved by a blessed fatigue The gates of commitment unwired And nobody trying to leave Sometimes I’d head for the highway I’m old and the mirrors don’t lie But crazy has places to hide in That are deeper than any goodbye Had to go crazy to love you You who were never the one Whom I chased through the souvenir heartache Her braids and her blouse all undone - Come Healing2:53
Letra
O gather up the brokenness And bring it to me now The fragrance of those promises You never dared to vow The splinters that you carry The cross you left behind Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind And let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb Behold the gates of mercy In arbitrary space And none of us deserving The cruelty or the grace O solitude of longing Where love has been confined Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind O see the darkness yielding That tore the light apart Come healing of the reason Come healing of the heart O troubled dust concealing An undivided love The heart beneath is teaching To the broken heart above Let the heavens falter Let the earth proclaim Come healing of the altar Come healing of the name O longing of the branches To lift the little bud O longing of the arteries To purify the blood And let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb O let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb - Banjo3:26
Letra
There’s something that I’m watching Means a lot to me There’s something that I’m watching Means a lot to me It’s a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea It’s a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea Don’t know how it got there Maybe taken by the wave Don’t know how it got there Maybe taken by the wave Off of someone’s shoulder Or out of someone’s grave Off of someone’s shoulder Or out of someone’s grave It’s coming for me darling No matter where I go It’s coming for me darling No matter where I go Its duty is to harm me My duty is to know Its duty is to harm me My duty is to know There’s something that I’m watching Means a lot to me There’s something that I’m watching Means a lot to me It’s a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea It’s a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea - Lullaby4:48
Letra
Sleep baby sleep The day’s on the run The wind in the trees Is talking in tongues If your heart is torn I don’t wonder why If the night is long Here’s my lullaby Here’s my lullaby Well the mouse ate the crumb Then the cat ate the crust Now they’ve fallen in love They’re talking in tongues If your heart is torn I don’t wonder why If the night is long Here’s my lullaby Here’s my lullaby Sleep baby sleep There’s a morning to come The wind in the trees They’re talking in tongues If your heart is torn I don’t wonder why If the night is long Here’s my lullaby Here’s my lullaby - Different Sides4:10
Letra
We find ourselves on different sides Of a line nobody drew Though it all may be one in the higher eye Down here where we live it is two I to my side call the meek and the mild You to your side call the Word By virtue of suffering I claim to have won You claim to have never been heard Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don’t like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone The pull of the moon, the thrust of the sun And thus the ocean is crossed The waters are blessed while a shadowy guest Kindles a light for the lost Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don’t like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone Down in the valley the famine goes on The famine up on the hill I say that you shouldn’t, you couldn’t, you can’t You say that you must and you will Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don’t like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone You want to live where the suffering is I want to get out of town C’mon baby give me a kiss Stop writing everything down Both of us say there are laws to obey Yeah, but frankly I don’t like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don’t like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone