My Personal Legend

內行人第一次聽Leonard Cohen的音樂就馬上知道他吸食cocaine 。那種頹廢委靡的音符，漩渦般的將情感吸入一種無法觸及邊際的境界，有點美麗、有點暈、有點醉意、有點純淨，讓我想起遠離賭城裡的Nicholas Cage，來到了拉斯維加斯，為的就是要 drink himself to death。

-初識Leonard Cohen是因為陳玉慧的文字。
-有天晚上近午夜到西門町總督戲院看Cohen的紀錄片:I'm Your Man。
-去阿根廷旅行帶著Cohen的小說Beautiful Losers, 他的自敘描述他如何躲到希臘的小島上放逐，在烈陽底下中暑的狀態裡完成這部當時不賣座的小說。朋友說，Cohen的小說太過意識流，大多數人看不懂，他只有靠作詞作曲成名，文字精簡，容易被吸收。
-去阿根廷得途中路過洛杉磯，在Pasadena的Barnes & Noble書店裡找到Cohen的詩歌與歌詞的精選輯。
-一年前在誠品信義店找到Cohen的黑膠唱片，每次聽著透過喇叭傳出的音樂，感覺我和他有某種連結。

"In my Secret Life", "A Thousand Kisses Deep", my 2 favorite songs.

A Thousand Kisses Deep

from The Essential Leonard Cohen

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it's done -
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it's real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,
I'm back on Boogie Street.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck.
I blessed our remnant fleet -
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,
I'm back on Boogie Street.
I guess they won't exchange the gifts
That you were meant to keep.
And quiet is the thought of you,
The file on you complete,
Except what we forgot to do,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat . . .