Cubiyanqui

When I was a younger, less wise, man, I dated a woman who was an ardent admirer of Leonard Cohen and his music. I had never heard of Mr. Cohen back then, but I had heard — and treasured — Jeff Buckley‘s version of Mr. Cohen’s Alleluia. For years, I thought the song had been written by Jeff. Later on, I saw a video of Mr. Cohen performing Alleluia and I remember thinking the man had done a very poor job of covering Mr. Buckley’s classic.

This has all been corrected. I have since given Mr. Cohen his due. I have since given Mr. Cohen’s music as a gift. I’ve recognized his genius and I’m blown away by his prolific talent.

I don’t know what became of the woman I once loved. She might still be a fan of Mr. Cohen and his music. She probably is, wherever she’s listening to love songs these days. I think that once you fall in love with this man’s music, you’re probably a life-long devotee. So I dusted off this old poem I had written, I set it to music and I recorded it.

It’s here:

After I listened to the finished product, I thought that if she ever heard it, she might think that I sounded like a very poor imitation of Mr. Cohen — just like I thought Mr. Cohen compared to Jeff Buckley.

But at least she’d know that I was still thinking of her. Still trying to impress her.