»The Faith« is an outtake from 1979. It’s the same melody as a Quebecois folk song called, »The Lost Canadian«; but Leonard never used it because he couldn’t move the sections around to fit the verses he’d written. He often played me a cassette recording of the track, and I always said he ought to put it on the record. The tape was still in Columbia’s archives. But when Leanne found it, the emulsion had started to disintegrate after years in storage. Fortunately it was salvaged by a special overnight baking process. Then it was downloaded into Protools and rearranged. Finally, Leonard wrote new lyrics for it. I think of »The Faith« as a companion piece to »If It Be Your Will«. I'm so honored to have sung on it.

»Vilanelle For Our Time«, with its line »This is the faith by which we start«, prefigures »The Faith«, which talks of »the sea so deep and blind.« The sea is a central figure in Leonard's work harking back to the sailor's church in Montreal where I'm confident some priest used Jesus's walking on water to connect him to that same deep and blind sea. And Leonard, in Ten New Songs blesses his remnant fleet and consents them to be wrecked. »Undertow« advances this metaphor by suggesting that the sinking can begin to occur at an early age »with a child in my arms and a chill in my soul.«

»The Faith« – the title indicates the song deals with religious issues. As has been pointed out in some other threads there is a close relationship between a mystic's Faith and »romantic love«. So the »love« the song is talking to might be G-d. Maybe we should reconsider »The Faith« in the context of theodicy?
Then there is the gnostic dicussion about whether this world hasn't been created by G-d but by a demon of evil intent. Addressing the »creator« as »love« might seem a bit far-fetched, but i don't consider it impossible. (Just remember the line from »Story Of Isaac«: »you never have been tempted by a demon or a god«.)
So maybe the recurring question is »Aren't you tired of this evil world you created, my demon or my god?« This indeed – looking at the history of the theodicy discussion – is the recurring question. (Form corresponding to intent?)

The line about the filling of the graves for some reason reminds me of the line from »Coming Back To You« – »Since you are a shining light there are many that you see.« I would like to capitalize You as I'm confident that it refers the entity Cohen calls »G-d«. The song, »Coming Back To You« is so often looked at as a romantic love song, but I'm convinced that it is a dialogue with »G-d«. I guess that it is simply, »the so many« repetition that convinces me that it belongs with its current connection.

I agree that »love« stands for »G-d«, or rather a godlike figure that exists in every culture. An image of a creator and ruler of material and time. It begins with creation (the sun rising from the sea) and ends with expectation of inevitable decline or uncreation (»The sea so deep and blind/Where still the sun must set/And time itself unwind«). In between is the rise of humanity, invention of tools (»the club, the wheel«), philosophy (»the mind«) and religion. But this also led to separation from the Truth which is in unity rather than diversity (cross, star, minaret). I think the blood he refers to in »the blood, the soil, the faith« is bloodline in the families and tribes, the soil is another symbol of unity between those who live on the same land, but also their separation from those who do not, and the most unfortunate separation is between those of different faith. I think Leonard feels we all came from the same essence (G-d or whatever you want to call it) to which we'll all go back to when the sun sets, and our minds will form one mind again just like the times will no longer be separated and lost, but rather joined into one always (»time itself unwind«).

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