The Future

Give me back my broken night

my mirrored room, my secret life

It’s lonely here,

there’s no one left to torture

Give me absolute control

over every living soul

And lie beside me, baby,

that’s an order!

Give me crack and anal sex

Take the only tree that’s left

and stuff it up the hole

in your culture

Give me back the Berlin Wall

give me Stalin and St. Paul

I’ve seen the future, brother:

it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions

Won’t be nothing

Nothing you can measure anymore

The blizzard, the blizzard of the world

has crossed the threshold

and it has overturned

the order of the soul

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

You don’t know me from the wind

you never will, you never did

I’m the little jew

who wrote the Bible

I’ve seen the nations rise and fall

I’ve heard their stories, heard them all

but love’s the only engine of survival

Your servant here, he has been told

to say it clear, to say it cold:

It’s over, it ain’t going

any further

And now the wheels of heaven stop

you feel the devil’s riding crop

Get ready for the future:

it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions

Won’t be nothing

Nothing you can measure anymore

The blizzard, the blizzard of the world

has crossed the threshold

and it has overturned

the order of the soul

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

There’ll be the breaking

of the ancient western code

Your private life will suddenly explode

There’ll be phantoms

there’ll be fires on the road

and the white man dancing

You’ll see your woman

hanging upside down

her features covered by her fallen gown

and all the lousy little poets

coming round

trying to sound like Charlie Manson

and the white man dancin’

Give me back the Berlin Wall

Give me Stalin and St. Paul

Give me Christ

or give me Hiroshima

Destroy another fetus now

We don’t like children anyhow

I’ve seen the future, baby:

it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions

Won’t be nothing

Nothing you can measure anymore

The blizzard, the blizzard of the world

has crossed the threshold

and it has overturned

the order of the soul

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

When they said REPENT REPENT

I wonder what they meant

Waiting For The Miracle

co-written by Sharon Robinson

Baby, I’ve been waiting,

I’ve been waiting night and day.

I didn’t see the time,

I waited half my life away.

There were lots of invitations

and I know you sent me some

but I was waiting

for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

I know you really loved me

but, you see, my hands were tied.

I know it must have hurt you,

it must have hurt your pride

to have to stand beneath my window

with your bugle and your drum

and me I’m up there waiting

for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

Ah I don’t believe you’d like it.

You wouldn’t like it here.

There ain’t no entertainment

and the judgements are severe.

The maestro says it’s Mozart

but it sounds like bubblegum

when you’re waiting

for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

Waiting for the miracle

there’s nothing left to do.

I haven’t been this happy

since the end of World War II.

Nothing left to do

when you know that you’ve been taken.

Nothing left to do

when you’re begging for a crumb.

Nothing left to do

when you’ve got to go on waiting,

waiting for the miracle to come.

I dreamed about you, baby.

It was just the other night.

Most of you was naked,

ah, but some of you was light.

The sands of time were falling

from your fingers and your thumb

and you were waiting

for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

Ah baby, let’s get married,

we’ve been alone too long.

Let’s be alone together,

let’s see if we’re that strong.

Yeah, let’s do something crazy,

something absolutely wrong

while we’re waiting

for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

Nothing left to do

when you know that you’ve been taken.

Nothing left to do

when you’re begging for a crumb.

Nothing left to do

when you’ve got to go on waiting,

waiting for the miracle to come.

When you’ve fallen on the highway

and you’re lying in the rain,

and they ask you how you’re doing,

of course you say you can’t complain –

if you’re squeezed for information,

that’s when you’ve got to play it dumb:

You just say you’re out there waiting

for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

Be For Real

by Frederick Knight

Are you back in my life to stay

Or is it just for today

Oh, that you’re gonna need me?

If it’s a thrill you’re looking for

Well, Honey, I’m flexible. Oh, yeah.

Just be for real won’t you, Baby

Be for real oh, Baby

You see I, I don’t want to be hurt by love again

So you see I’m not naive.

I just would like to believe

Ah, what you tell me.

So don’t give me the world today

And tomorrow take it away.

Don’t do that to me, darling.

Just be for real won’t you, Baby

Be for real won’t you, Baby

Been hurt so many times

You see I, I don’t want to be hurt by love again.

(I don’t give a damn about the truth, Baby

Except for the naked truth. Oh yeah)

Just be for real won’t you, Baby

Be for real won’t you, Baby

No, no, no, no

It’s just that I, I don’t want to be hurt by love again.

(Thanks for the song, Mr. Knight.

Closing Time

So we’re drinking and we’re dancing

and the band is really happening

and the Johnny Walker wisdom running high

And my very sweet companion

she’s the Angel of Compassion

she’s rubbing half the world against her thigh

And every drinker, every dancer

lifts a happy face to thank her

the fiddler fiddles something so sublime

All the women tear their blouses off

and the men they dance on the polka-dots

and it’s partner found, it’s partner lost

and it’s hell to pay when the fiddler stops

it’s closing time

Yeah the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it’s partner found, it’s partner lost
and it’s hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it’s closing time

Ah we’re lonely, we’re romantic

and the cider’s laced with acid

and the Holy Spirit’s crying, “Where’s the beef?”

And the moon is swimming naked

and the summer night is fragrant

with a mighty expectation of relief

So we struggle and we stagger

down the snakes and up the ladder

to the tower where the blessed hours chime

And I swear it happened just like this:

a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss

the Gates of Love they budged an inch

I can’t say much has happened since

but closing time

I swear it happened just like this:

a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss

the Gates of Love they budged an inch

I can’t say much has happened since

but closing time

I loved you for your beauty

but that doesn’t make a fool of me –

you were in it for your beauty too

And I loved you for your body

there’s a voice that sounds like G-d to me

declaring, declaring, declaring that your body’s really you

And I loved you when our love was blessed

and I love you now there’s nothing left

but sorrow and a sense of overtime

And I miss you since our place got wrecked

and I just don’t care what happens next

looks like freedom but it feels like death

it’s something in between, I guess

it’s closing time

Yeah I miss you since the place got wrecked

by the winds of change and the weeds of sex

looks like freedom but it feels like death

it’s something in between, I guess

it’s closing time

Yeah we’re drinking and we’re dancing

but there’s nothing really happening

and the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night

And my very close companion

gets me fumbling, gets me laughing

she’s a hundred but she’s wearing something tight

And I lift my glass to the Awful Truth

which you can’t reveal to the Ears of Youth

except to say it isn’t worth a dime

And the whole damn place goes crazy twice

and it’s once for the Devil and once for Christ

but the Boss don’t like these dizzy heights –

we’re busted in the blinding lights

busted in the blinding lights

of closing time

The whole damn place goes crazy twice

and it’s once for the Devil and once for Christ

but the Boss don’t like these dizzy heights –

we’re busted in the blinding lights

busted in the blinding lights

of closing time

Oh the women tear their blouses off

and the men they dance on the polka-dots

it’s closing time

And it’s partner found, it’s partner lost

and it’s hell to pay when the fiddler stops

it’s closing time

I swear it happened just like this:

a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss

it’s closing time

The Gates of Love they budged an inch

I can’t say much has happened since

but closing time

I loved you when our love was blessed

I love you now there’s nothing left

but closing time

I miss you since the place got wrecked

by the winds of change and the weeds of sex

Anthem

The birds they sang

at the break of day

Start again,

I heard them say,

Don’t dwell on what

has passed away

or what is yet to be.

Ah the wars they will

be fought again

The holy dove

she will be caught again

bought and sold

and bought again;

the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

We asked for signs

the signs were sent:

the birth betrayed,

the marriage spent;

yeah, the widowhood

of every 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,

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’s how the light gets in.

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, 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’s how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

That’s how the light gets in.

That’s how the light gets in.

Democracy

It’s coming through a hole in the air,

from those nights in Tiananmen Square.

It’s coming from the feel

that this ain’t exactly real,

or it’s real, but it ain’t exactly there.

From the wars against disorder,

from the sirens night and day;

from the fires of the homeless,

from the ashes of the gay:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It’s coming through a crack in the wall,

on a visionary flood of alcohol;

from the staggering account

of the Sermon on the Mount

which I don’t pretend to understand at all.

It’s coming from the silence

on the dock of the bay,

from the brave, the bold, the battered

heart of Chevrolet:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It’s coming from the sorrow in the street,

the holy places where the races meet;

from the homicidal bitchin’

that goes down in every kitchen

to determine who will serve and who will eat.

From the wells of disappointment

where the women kneel to pray

for the grace of G-d in the desert here

and the desert far away:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on

O mighty Ship of State!

To the Shores of Need

past the Reefs of Greed

through the Squalls of Hate

Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on

It’s coming to America first,

the cradle of the best and of the worst.

It’s here they got the range

and the machinery for change

and it’s here they got the spiritual thirst.

It’s here the family’s broken

and it’s here the lonely say

that the heart has got to open

in a fundamental way:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It’s coming from the women and the men.

O baby, we’ll be making love again.

We’ll be going down so deep

that the river’s going to weep,

and the mountain’s going to shout Amen!

It’s coming like the tidal flood

beneath the lunar sway,

imperial, mysterious,

in amorous array:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on

O mighty Ship of State!

To the Shores of Need

past the Reefs of Greed

through the Squalls of Hate

Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on

I’m sentimental, if you know what I mean:

I love the country but I can’t stand the scene.

And I’m neither left or right

I’m just staying home tonight,

getting lost in that hopeless little screen.

But I’m stubborn as those garbage bags

that Time cannot decay,

I’m junk but I’m still holding up

this little wild bouquet:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Light As The Breeze

She stands before you naked

you can see it, you can taste it

and she comes to you

light as the breeze

Now you can drink it or you can nurse it

it don’t matter how you worship

as long as you’re

down on your knees

So I knelt there at the delta,

at the alpha and the omega

at the cradle of the river

and the seas

And like a blessing come from heaven,

for something like a second,

I was healed, and my heart

was at ease

O baby I waited

so long for your kiss

for something to happen

oh – something like this

And you’re weak and you’re harmless

and you’re sleeping in your harness

and the wind going wild

in the trees

And it ain’t exactly prison

but you’ll never be forgiven

for whatever you’ve done

with the keys

O baby I waited

so long for your kiss

for something to happen

oh – something like this

It’s dark now and it’s snowing

O my love, I must be going

The river has started to freeze

And I’m sick of pretending

I’m broken from bending

I’ve lived too long

on my knees

Then she dances so graceful

and your heart’s hard and hateful

and she’s naked

but that’s just a tease

And you turn in disgust

from your hatred and from your love

and she comes to you

light as the breeze

O baby I waited

so long for your kiss

for something to happen

oh – something like this

There’s blood on every bracelet

you can see it, you can taste it

and it’s Please baby

please baby please

And she says, Drink deeply, pilgrim

but don’t forget there’s still a woman

beneath this

resplendent chemise

So I knelt there at the delta

at the alpha and the omega

I knelt there

like one who believes

And like a blessing come from heaven

and for something like a second

I was cured and my heart

was at ease

Always

by Irving Berlin

Oh friends, ...don’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. If you’re in love

with somebody, these are the words that you got to learn to say. Now

listen carefully. Here it comes...

I’ll be loving you always

with a love that’s true, always

When the thing you’ve planned

needs my helping hand,

I will understand, always, always

Days may not be fair, always

Yeah, but that’s when I’ll be there, always

Not for just an hour,

Not for just a day,

Not for just a year, but always.

I said that I’ll be loving you, always

with a love that’s true, always

When the thing you’ve planned

needs my helping hand,

I will, I will understand, always, always

(Oh that’s pretty... that’s pretty too... Oh darling)

The days may not be fair, always

Yeah but that’s when I’ll be there, always

Not for just a second, or a minute, or an hour,

Not for just a weekend and a shake down in the shower,

Not for just the summer and the winter going sour,

But always, always, always

(Ok if you don’t want to quit, let’s try it one more time)

I’ll be loving you, always

with a love that’s true, always

When the thing you’ve planned

needs my helping hand,

I will understand, I will, I will understand, always, always

The days may not be fair, always

(Don’t worry, baby)

That’s when I’ll be there, always

Not for just an hour,

Not for just a day,

Not for just a year, but always.

(c) 1992 Leonard Cohen, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada Company

“Waiting For The Miracle” (c) Leonard Cohen, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada Company, and Robinhill Music (Sharon Robinson)

“Be For Real” (c) 1975 Irving Music and Two-Knight Music

“Always” (c) 1925 by Irving Berlin. Renewed.

Courtesy of Menart, an exclusive Sony dealer for Croatia

Reprinted here with written permission