By The Rivers Dark
Leonard Cohen · Complete Studio Albums Collection [2011]
I wandered on.
I lived my life
in Babylon.
And I did forget
My holy song:
And I had no strength
in Babylon.
By the rivers dark
Where I could not see
Who was waiting there
Who was hunting me.
And he cut my lip
And he cut my heart.
So I could not drink
From the river dark.
And he covered me,
and I saw within,
My lawless heart
And my wedding ring.
I did not know
And I could not see
Who was waiting there,
Who was hunting me
By the rivers dark
I panicked on.
I belonged at last
To Babylon.
Then he struck my heart
With a deadly force,
And he said, "This heart"
It is not yours."
And he gave the wind
My wedding ring:
And he circled us
With everything.
By the rivers dark,
In a wounded dawn,
I live my life
In Babylon.
Though I take my song
From a withered limb,
Both song and tree,
They sing for him.
Be the truth unsaid
And the blessing gone,
If I forget
My Babylon.
I did not know
And I could not see
Who was waiting there.
Who was hunting me.
By the rivers dark,
Where it all goes on:
By the rivers dark,
In Babylon.
By The Rivers Dark
Leonard Cohen's "By The Rivers Dark" stands as a haunting centerpiece within his expansive discography, embodying the poet's signature blend of spiritual introspection and melancholic observation. Recorded for the comprehensive "Complete Studio Albums Collection," the track exemplifies Cohen's mastery of the art song and folk traditions, utilizing sparse instrumentation to amplify the weight of its lyrics. The piece reflects his recurring thematic preoccupation with the intersection of the sacred and the profane, often drawing upon biblical imagery to explore human vulnerability. As a definitive work from his later career, the recording captures his distinctive baritone and the atmospheric production that characterized his final years, cementing its place alongside other iconic tracks in his catalog.