>       Re: Famous Blue Raincoat
>       I never interpreted "my brother" literally, which some people
> were in favour of doing. I took it to imply a bond, perhaps
> sarcasticlly referring to the common woman.
As I've mentioned, this is one song where I like to look for the
meaning in every phrase. Taking the man addressed in the song to be
literally the singer's brother or at least someone very close explains
why the singer would be "writing you now just to see if you're better"
to someone he obviously still harbors a lot of anger for. I guess it
doesn't have to be a literal brother but it is someone important enough
to the singer that he cannot break the contact. I think that adds to
the poignancy of the song. I like to think of the other person as his
brother. At any rate, I don't take the "my brother" to be a sarcastic
reference to their both having been involved with the same woman.


>       Re: Cohen and Dylan
>       A friend of mine once summed up the difference between Cohen
> and Dylan thus: consider each lying in a gutter, with peopel walking
> by kicking them, and perhaps even spitting on them. To this situation
> they respond quite differently.
> Cohen says: "Indeed, I have behaved badly. I do deserve this. Forgive me."
> Dylan says: "I'm gonna get these bastards for spitting on ME !"
>
I like that :-)

Hi everyone.
        Well, I've just joined the group, and have just finished
reading the past postings. Some comments:


        Re: Famous Blue Raincoat
        I never interpreted "my brother" literally, which some people
were in favour of doing. I took it to imply a bond, perhaps
sarcasticlly referring to the common woman.


        I though Jennifer Warnes ruined the song, lyurically, by
changing it. It's a mans song. No matter how beautiful her voice and
singing, and no matter how moody the sax intro., for me it is a man's song.


        Re: Cohen and Dylan
        A friend of mine once summed up the difference between Cohen
and Dylan thus: consider each lying in a gutter, with peopel walking
by kicking them, and perhaps even spitting on them. To this situation
they respond quite differently.
Cohen says: "Indeed, I have behaved badly. I do deserve this. Forgive me."
Dylan says: "I'm gonna get these bastards for spitting on ME !"

Hi Everyone.
        Things seem slow on the Laughing Lennie front, so here's
something that I keep forgetting to post.


        A friend of a friend works for the Bay Guardian newspaper in
San Francisco. Some woman put an ad in which read (roughly):


        SWF 31 seeks male with the sensuality of Leonard Cohen and
        power of Iggy Pop. ....


Well, she received a letter, with a photo of Iggy and Cohen sitting
together on a couch. The letter said


        Dear SWF,
                We are pleased to have entered your thoughts.
        If you are ever in Montreal you can call me on .... Iggy doesn't
        have a phone, but his address is ....


It was signed Leonard Cohen...maybe Iggy Pop as well. This is from memory.
Scobie looked at it and is pretty certain that it is Cohen's signature.
I think he recognised the number, too. Anyone who wants a copy can have it.