Famous Blue Raincoat

So here's something else... not exactly art/photography/poetry related... but kind of...

I've been kind of haunted by Tori Amos' version of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat" for about 15 years now, and it just won't go away. It's so deeply emotional, and yet the lyrics and "letter-written" style of the song keep it 'manly' taught. There's so much emotion going on, but the main character keeps it at arms length - as all men do. And that's the brilliance of Leonard Cohen's lyrics. He says far more than what the actual lines convey. However, Tori's performance has drawn out of the man (Leonard Cohen) what a man could never completely display. It just drips with pain! All men feel the emotional turmoil experienced in the song at some time, but this is just like being there. It's amazing! Cohen's brilliant, but Tori Amos has taken the song so much further than Leonard ever could. She's really laid it on the table, guts and all, and that's a true artist right there, taking something brilliant and transforming it into something even better.