The Luminously Libidinous Leonard Cohen Will “examine every, every precious inch of you”
While cruising artifacts of the 2008-2009 Leonard Cohen concerts for possible additions to my Best Of Leonard Cohen World Tour 2008-2009 page, I happened onto the video recording of the six minutes of lasciviousness1 that was Leonard Cohen’s May 17, 2009 performance of “I’m Your Man” at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
Words cannot convey – at least not words I can safely use in a post my mother might someday read – the raunchy eroticism that radiates from Cohen’s lyrics, voice, intonation, footwork, facial expressions, and posture.
Leonard Cohen - "I'm Your Man" May 17, 2009
The consequences of the nuanced changes in the lyrics are especially difficult to explain. The shift from the already provocative standard “I’m Your Man” lyrics,
And if you want a doctor
I’ll examine every inch of you
to the words used in this rendition (words added by Cohen are in bold),
And if you want a doctor
I’ll examine every, every precious inch of you
certainly doesn’t appear on paper to signal an exponential increase in salaciousness, but listening to (and watching) Cohen sing that sequence (beginning at 1:05) reveals an extraordinarily seductive invitation to conjoined carnality. Also, only listeners who know the original words (the vast majority of those in attendance if crowds at other shows are any indication) would be aware of the change, further enhancing the impact of the revised lyrics, which become a special gift from the singer to those individuals.
Cohen’s animated performance (he doesn’t stop moving even when he withdraws to the shadows to listen to the solo by Dino Soldo) is well supported not only by his musicians but also by the appreciative, responsive audience.
There is much more, but most observations I could make are destined to be rendered superfluous once readers view the video. I will note, however, that, as I previously pointed out in The Two Rules For An Outrageously Wonderful Relationship With A Woman, the lyrics of “I’m Your Man” are not an expression of a man overwhelming a woman with the goal of coital rapture; instead, the words of the song are an expression of a man offering a woman an entirely different proposition, “Whatever you ask, I’ll never refuse” and meaning it – with the goal of coital rapture.
Leonard Cohen at Radio City Music Hall – I’m Your Man
Video from sasaradovanovic82
Credit Due Department: I was alerted to this video by a post at LeonardCohenForum by the ever-vigilant sturgess66
- The observant reader – and you know who you are – will note that this post utilizes a batch of descriptive terms for Cohen’s performance that are considerably more accurate and more fun than the generic adjective, “sexiest,” used in the title. I hereby confess that the titular “sexiest” is a concession to the power of Google and the other search engines on which humble bloggers depend for traffic. The lowest common denominator – “sexiest” in this case – will be found by more folks searching for a post of this sort than more sophisticated terms such as, say, “concupiscent” or “satyric.” [↩]
Excellent find well done Doc and Sturgess. I think Lisbon 2009 is a candidate for ‘second sexiest’. While he may not be examining every, every precious inch, he does ask us to speak up (with a distinct twinkle in the eye). 4.34 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCMuVnu4J2U