SUZANNE
(learned in the 1960s at Teton Tea Parties; written by Leonard Cohen)
Suzanne take you down to her place by the river,
Jesus was a sailor, when he walked upon the water,
Suzanne take you down to her place by the river,
(from miriam berg's folksong collection)
You can hear the boats go down, you can spend the night beside her,
And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China,
And you know that she's half crazy, and that's why you want to be there,
And just when you mean to tell her that you have no love to give her,
She gets you on her wavelength and lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover;
And you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind,
And you think you maybe trust her, for you've touched her perfect body
with your mind.
He spent a long time watching from a lonely wooden tower,
And when he knew for certain only drowning folks could see him,
He said, All men shall be brothers then, until the sea shall free them,
But he himself was broken long before the sky would open,
Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone.
And you want to travel with him, and you want to travel blind,
And you think you maybe trust him, for he's touched your perfect body
with his mind.
You can hear the boats go down, you can spend the night forever,
And the sun pours down like honey on our lady of the harbour,
And she shows you where to look amidst the garbage and the flowers,
There are heroes in the seaweed, there arechildren in the morning,
They are leaning out for love, and they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror;
And you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind,
And you think you maybe trust her, for she's touched your perfect body
with her mind.