Leonard Cohen and the riding crop
Posted by Abel on 27 Nov 2008 at 08:14 am | Tagged as: Startles
Haron and I were chatting last week about the nigh-miraculous quality of some of the stage performances we’ve seen this year.
To date, 2008 includes the best gig I’ve ever seen (Portishead); the best drama (the quite stunning ‘Black Watch‘) and the best ballet (Matthew Bourne’s wonderful new ‘Dorian Gray’).
We were en route to adding “best performance of a song ever” to the list, as we headed to see the legendary Leonard Cohen play the Royal Albert Hall. His rendition of ‘Hallelujah’ was quite simply awesome.
That said, it was my second-favourite of his songs - The Future - that produced the evening’s startle. The version I know of the song comes from the soundtrack to ‘Natural Born Killers’ - and I’m pretty sure it’s abbreviated, as I certainly don’t remember the line:
“And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil’s riding crop.”
Haron was quite transported by the thought of Leonard Cohen having anything to do with riding crops. I, meanwhile, was wondering whether his delightful backing singers needed any help understanding the line…
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I have noticed that Britain has some lovely theatre. I’ve only taken in one show, but it was lovely. I suppose that the countries two favourite pastimes should have combined somehow… I omit cricket from favourite pastimes as I do not understand that game.
Cricket is dead simple. You go stand around on the village green in stupid white clothes, tell people off for making noise or, shock horror, *walking across* the village green, throw a ball at other people and then yell numbers out randomly, then go and have tea. Then you come back outside, do it again, then your game gets rained off and you go home.
Fun.
LOL! That does sound fun… and shockingly like softball… but there’s no tea in softball. Nope. Oi, my grammar in the above comment is very not good. Thank you Smudge,$ for enlightening me. Hehe.
I saw Leonard Cohen at the O2, and I agree, his Hallelujah was amazing. I missed the line in The Future though - I must have been too busy watching his backing singers!
Cricket…like softball? Not by half!!
Softball at it’s worst is played by sweaty men, who drink gallons of beer on hot summer days.
But then, at it’s best, softball is played by comely coeds, who after a hard and dirty game are known to take long, steamy communal showers…
And there there are the paddlings for errors committed in the field, excessive strikeouts by batters and walks/runs given up by pitchers.
So you see Girl, cricket has little in common with softball.
Oh and by the way, just a word of advice, if I were you I wouldn’t hang out with Smudge, as lovely as she is, she is bound (or should be) to get you into a great deal of trouble.
I’m not terribly surprised to learn that Leonard Cohen has snuck a riding crop reference into one of his songs.
I quite enjoy another of his songs “Light As The Breeze” as sung by Billy Joel. For your enjoyment, here are a few snippets:
“Now you can drink it or you can nurse it,
it don’t matter how you worship
as long as you’re
down on your knees. ”
…
“And you’re weak and you’re harmless
and you’re sleeping in your harness…”
I feel far more educated now! Lol, what a thoughful spanker you are. Oh, and I don’t think Smudge can possibly get me into any more trouble then I get myself into already *sigh*.
Frankly, I’m disgusted. The suggestion that I would ever be capable of getting myself or anyone else into trouble is quite, quite outrageous. How rude. How hurtful. My poor, poor little self. *Sniff*.
F - perish the thought that I’d connected the riding crop reference with the rather delightful sisters on backing vocals for Mr. Cohen.
Hallelujah is a personal favorite although I prefer the K.D. Lang version on her “hymns of the 49th parallel” album. But clearly, I am going to renew/search out some of the original master’s other songs!
Sorry k.d. lang - bloody spelling-checker!
Don’t forget “I’m Your Man”!
If you want a lover
I’ll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I’ll wear a mask for you
If you want a partner
Take my hand
Or if you want to strike me down in anger
Here I stand
I’m your man