There's an old song that I first learned when I was about 16, sitting at the Cadillac Restaurant on Peel Street in Montreal. And I always hoped that I'd be able to grow up one day and sing this song in front of people. And »Lo and Behold« I see there is a happy end. I forgot the second verse, so I constructed a new one with all the respect for the first. (From Diamonds in the Lines.)

Why was this song incuded as bonus track? My wild guesses:
1) It's a waltz. Leonard loves waltzes. We love waltzes done by Leonard.
2) It's a longtime favourite of Leonard's. He's performed it through the years, and may have even performed it with The Buckskin Boys.
3) It's a song that Leonard has adapted through writing a verse for it himself.
4) The song relates to love and loss - two prominent themes with Leonard.
5) The song is consistent with others on the album, as a look into the [and his] past.
6) The song ends the album with a 'lift' in sound - one that actually inspires me to want to return to the beginning.

For the ones who wonder why »Tennessee Waltz« is included, this may be the key: »Tennessee Waltz« takes us back to 1985 when Cohen was more able to sing and recalls the time he and his wife spent in Nashville. Namely, it seems to me that »Tennessee Waltz« might have described his relationship with Suzanne during the Nashville times; »The Letters« also describe the same kind of rejection he endured from her in »Hallelujah«. »There For You« I think refers to the Divine Beloved, not a woman.

song index