L’immortelle «Suzanne»

Cette traduction/interprétation de «Suzanne» est vraiment superbe; et la voix de Greame Allwright lui va comme un gant.

J’écoute parfois la version originale de mon vieux CD (1975!) : «The best of Leonard Cohen»...

Dans le livret, Cohen présente sa chanson ainsi :
“I wrote this in 1966. Suzanne had a room on a waterfront street in the port of Montreal. Everything happened just as it was put down. She was the wife of a man I knew. Her hospitality was immaculate. Some months later I sang it to Judy Collins over the telephone. The publishing rights were lost in New York City but it is probably appropriate that I don’t own this song. Just the other day I heard some people singing it on a ship in the Caspian Sea.”

Lyrics: 

Suzanne takes you down
To her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her.
And you know that she’s half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China.
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body
       with you mind.

And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower,
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said, “All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them.”
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human,
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone.
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body
       with his mind.

Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters.
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour.
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers.
There are heroes in the seaweed,
There are children in the morning,
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever.
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she’s touched your perfect body
       with her mind.

Project Seven Music © 1967