ANTHEM by Leonard Cohen (excerpt)
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That is how the light gets in.
“Dad let me drive!” / Claire O’Brien 2011
We asked for signs.
The signs were sent,
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of government —
Signs for all to see.
I can’t run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they’ve summoned up a thundercloud
and they’re going to hear from me.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That is how the light gets in.
![haiti-earthquake-crowd_12569_600x450[1]](https://electricinthedesert.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/haiti-earthquake-crowd_12569_600x45012.jpg)
You can add up the parts
but you won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart to love will come –
but like a refugee.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That is how the light gets in.
That is how the light gets in.
Eléctrica in the Desert 
Sad and haunting… wow
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Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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Wow, thanks very much!
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Beautiful post. My wife’s maiden name was O’Brien, Margaret Mary O’Brien, she was a magnificent human being.
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Margaret Mary..the name strikes a chord in my heart. I am sure she was magnificent.
O’Briens are known trouble-makers (-:
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Reblogged this on Eléctrica in the Desert.
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Dear Claire – everyone is having trouble with the like button today.
I love this song, and I love Cohen singing it… it feels right when he does it… my favorite…
I see the crack as part of creation… giving us the chance to see the light…
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I see what you mean.
Sigh. If only it were not so beautiful, it couldn’t be so sad.
I wonder if I dare give God (broadly defined) an ultimatum: “Okay, that’s it. If you’re real, either come back or let there be a revolution”
However, I have a distinct feeling that there’s something to be lacking in that approach
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It ‘s by ignoring the crack that people gets in trouble, that they never find the light. It’s a refreshing thooght for those who are seeking real life.
Best wishes for 2014.
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Thank-you! That’s an interesting way of looking at it. I was thinking maybe also the cracks are MADE by those who are meant to be silenced, and who never will be – letting in the light ignored / not recognized by the powerful. Hmm…
Thanks a lot for writing and good wishes for the new year to you as well
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I absolutely adore Leonard Cohen, though I have to admit “Everybody Knows” and “First We Take Manhattan” are my first and second favorite.
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Oh God, yes! I’ve been ready to take Manhattan – and then Berlin – since I was eleven.
Do you know that 90s compilation “I’m Your Fan” – a whole bunch of people, Lou Reed, John Cage, Iggy Pop, R.E.M., etc., do beautiful covers of Leonard Cohen songs? A few (don’t tell Leonard this) I think are actually better than the originals.
It’s good to see part of every generation fall in love with him. Like, somewhere, right now, some teenagers starting a band in Hamburg or Milan or Houston are listening with dropped jaws to “Everybody Knows”
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Yes, I recall seeing “I’m Your Fan” on a flight from Melbourne to Auckland about 6 years ago.
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What a great post! I know I will be back to look at it again and again, you have captured something amazing.
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Thank-you, Robyn! I was reading your blog last night and I feel the same way about what you capture.
That song never loses its power for me. I only wish I could claim credit for having written it, but if I had, I’d be a famous 79-year-old Canadian musician.
I tried to comment on your blog, but in spite of relentless clicking, I couldn’t. I don’t even know if my Like registered – I am having such weird and aggravating tech problems I could just scream, as Shelby would say (except she’d have a really good reason). I’ll try again tonight.
Blessings
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I’ve got the same problem – I think the infrastructure is overloaded, it’s been an issue for more than 12 hours
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Oh – thanks! Valerie (above) says the same. With New Zealand and Australia reporting in, we’ve got your half of the planet covered, using Claire’s Media Statistics.
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