WILD SWAN
(album lyrics by Joanna Wallfisch. All other lyrics belong to Leonard Cohen. Norma Winstone, Pete Townsend, Hafiz)
1. Nights Are Made For Dreaming
Nights are made for dreaming,
Any dream will do.
Nights are made for dancing
Until the morning dew.
This night I dream of you,
A sparkle in my mind.
I close my eyes and make a wish
And wait for what I find.
This night the rain is falling,
The stars are hidden well.
The moon conceals it's every step,
Yet, even I can tell
That this night is made for loving,
My night I give to you.
And we shall dance together
Until the morning dew...
3. Wild Swan
Sleepless nights spent walking
Through the leafless parks of Brooklyn
A Wild Swan glides and watches
The dance of two hearts dreaming.
Our eyes were wildly tracing
All of the shadows of the trees
The winter spell of Christmas
Has brought us to our knees
The glow of his reflection
His black eyes burning through me.
The silence of his moving
The way he disappears
Into the cold dark winter
He left me with no tears.
This Wild Swan never knew me,
Though we loved for many years.
We went East to find the sunrise
Since this night and day were one.
But too cold we gave up and went home
We slept through the rising sun.
Now in the light of day
The very same trees sway
But no shadows trace our footsteps
All our dreams have flown away.
For it seems that this Wild Swan
Was a dream before our eyes,
A vision of desire felt beneath the Brooklyn skies.
The glow of his reflection
His black eyes burning through me.
The silence of his moving
The way he disappears
Into the cold dark winter
He left me with no tears.
This Wild Swan never knew me,
Though we loved for many years.
5. Leopard Print Shoes
She with her red ruby lipstick,
Poised like a bird on the wire,
She with her leopard print shoes on
Her eyes flashing green were on fire.
He with his gold buttoned blazer,
He'd smile if his jeans weren't too tight.
He caught her eyes in the mirror
Of the unisex toilet that night.
The look on the face of East London,
Two Panthers about to break free.
She with her auburn curls fallen
Just to the hook of her nose
Uttered a word from her perfect red lips
As a petal might fall from a rose.
He with his designer mustache
A quivering on his top lip.
He reached out his signet ring finger
And followed the line of her hip.
The look on the face of East London,
Two Panthers about to break free.
Flashing like Egyptian emeralds,
Dashing at wild cat speed.
Crashing to earth in the morning,
The aftermath of the stampede.
They with their artistic apathy
Running amok in the street,
Leopard Print heels causing havoc,
Pipe cleaner jeans looking sweet.
He with his swallow tattoos
And she with her flashing green eyes,
They met their boho-chic ending
When a wild cat ate them alive.
The look on the face of East London,
Two Panthers about to break free.
Flashing like Egyptian emeralds,
Dashing at wild cat speed.
Crashing to earth in the morning,
The aftermath of the stampede.
7. The Sea
The sea, the sea, oh beautiful sea.
My love, to see, how it captures me.
The sea, oh sea, the powerful sea.
Will you relent, and just let me be?
The ocean is a powerful beast,
It loves you with its wrath.
Welcomes you with waving arms
And takes you in one breath.
Beautiful Ocean, oooh.
Beautiful Ocean, oooh.
The deep, the shining blue of you,
The taste, the touch and thrill of you,
The tipping and the tide of you,
The deepest blue, near black of you.
And as you dip me in your arms,
You bend and twist me with your charms.
Oh how long for more, yet breathless calm,
Relent I plead, I mean no harm.
You take and drown me, smother and smooth.
I take your lead, I feel your groove.
And with each wave I close my eyes,
Your sandy grounds are my new skies.
Beautiful Ocean, oooh.
Beautiful Ocean, oooh.
The deep, the shining blue of you,
The taste, the touch and thrill of you,
The tipping and the tide of you,
The deepest blue, near black of you.
The sea, oh sea, my sea,
How I love you, will you love me?
The sea, oh sea, never will be
For ocean, beast, forever is free...