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Critical Dharma for Thinking Minds /Milk Tea Alliance

Leonard Cohen: Democracy is Coming to the USA

Legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen dies aged 82

leonard-cohen-1966.jpg

Democracy is coming to the USA.

‘We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries,’ says announcement of the Canadian singer’s death on his Facebook page.

“It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away. We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries,” the post said.

“A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief.”

In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Cohen spoke about the prospect of death with calmness and clarity: “I am ready to die. I hope it’s not too uncomfortable. That’s about it for me.”

Leonard Cohen pictured in the 1960s.
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 Leonard Cohen pictured in the 1960s. Photograph: Roz Kelly/Getty Images

So long, Leonard Cohen; he died today at 82.

Let’s not give up on our love for each other.

Don’t let rage, hate and fear turn you into the mirror image of Trump. Violent revolt plays right into his game plan, so he can lock us down and watch us tear each other apart.

Wage non-violence and peace. Create  resilient communities of peace, love, respect and human dignity.

Namaste, brother Leonard.

“Democracy”lyrics

It’s coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It’s coming from the feel
that this ain’t exactly real,
or it’s real, but it ain’t exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It’s coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don’t pretend to understand at all.
It’s coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It’s coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin’
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It’s coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It’s here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it’s here they got the spiritual thirst.
It’s here the family’s broken
and it’s here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It’s coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we’ll be making love again.
We’ll be going down so deep
the river’s going to weep,
and the mountain’s going to shout Amen!
It’s coming like the tidal flood
beneath the lunar sway,
imperial, mysterious,
in amorous array:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on …

I’m sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can’t stand the scene.
And I’m neither left or right
I’m just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I’m stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I’m junk but I’m still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A

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This entry was posted on 2016/11/11 by and tagged .

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