Hey, That's No Way

Everything you need to know about romance you can learn from Leonard Cohen. Maybe not everything, but a lot. Should you even be trying to learn about romance by listening to songs? How else are you supposed to learn? Isn’t that why man created poetry in the first place? Music may be little more than our inadequate attempt to mimic the rhythm of our mother’s heart, but poetry is where we learn how to feel. Really. Poetry and literature aren’t just to entertain. They’re tools for teaching us what to believe, what to feel, how to be. So of course it’s only human nature to turn to pop songs when forming our expectation for love, life and whatnot. Whether what we turn to is a good guide or not is up in the air. But we could do worse. We could just base everything on our own experiences. I doubt there’d be much faith in romance left if we all did that, though.

I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm,
your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm,
yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new,
in city and in forest they smiled like me and you,
but now it's come to distances and both of us must try,
your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.

I'm not looking for another as I wander in my time,
walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme
you know my love goes with you as your love stays with me,
it's just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea,
but let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie,
your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm,
your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm,
yes many loved before us, I know that we are not new,
in city and in forest they smiled like me and you,
but let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie,
your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.

About these ads