This is the fourth song to be presented from Leonard Cohen’s 2012 album Old Ideas. Leonard Norman Cohen CC GOQ was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist and is back to entertain us again. This becalmed meditation of surrender is built around a simple guitar arpeggio and a lonely harmonica. While the recording of Old Ideas began in earnest in January 2011, an early version of Lullaby was demoed in 2007, and the song was performed live during Cohen’s 2008-10 world tour.
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 (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
And they’re talking in tongues
Interestingly on the tour mentioned above, some older songs made their way into the set, most notably the song Alexandra Leaving. It was performed in every show entirely by Sharon Robinson after a short introduction by Cohen. In my last article of Love Itself, I sent a version of Sharon’s sublime performance. The tour received universal praise from media and fans alike. Guido Lauwaert (Knack) wrote about opening night “The 78-year-old poet and singer seems 50 years younger for the duration of the concert. What strikes me is a total lack of false feelings…”
Especially Cohen’s appearance on stage found praise by many reviewers. Craig Jones of eGigs (UK) states of the concert at the Wembley Arena:
“He may refer to himself on the self-deprecating Going Home as “a lazy bastard living in a suit”, but Cohen is in fact quite the opposite. Just two weeks away from his 78th birthday, the fact that he is still able to deliver a three and a half hour set of intense beauty, melancholy and drama is quite a feat. He may be promoting ‘Old Ideas’, but still after all this time, those ideas remain the very best.”
For more information about the album itself you can find my previous entries from Old Ideas.
References:
1. Old Ideas – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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