Talk Amongst Yourselves: Chelsea Hotel

Something is stuck in my head, so you know what that means. . .

DISCUSSION TIME!!!

The song is “Chelsea Hotel” by Leonard Cohen. What? You don’t know it?

Well, here at blatherblahg we believe that sharing is caring, so here you go—3.01 minutes of free music, courtesy of playlist.com:

http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#chelsea%20hotel/all/1

So, go listen and then we can talk.

Seriously, stop reading and go listen.

Now.

Okay, so I don’t know any of the backstory on this song. My take on it is straight out of my brain.

There are a couple hooks in this song for me. One is the image of the Un-Beautiful People, resentful yet defiant

And clenching your fist for the ones like us

who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,

you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,

we are ugly but we have the music."

This is made even more poignant when juxtaposed by the preceding lines (I think this is one of those songs that is good upon first listen, but it’s the repeat plays that really make the song.)

You told me again you preferred handsome men

but for me you would make an exception.

Of course, what hooked me first and hardest was the chorus.

Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,

you just turned your back on the crowd,

you got away, I never once heard you say,

I need you, I don't need you,

I need you, I don't need you

and all of that jiving around.

I love the character here. Somebody who doesn’t play the usual yo-yo games.

For some reason, the first time I heard this song I thought of Janis Joplin. Just a random thing there.

In these lines he’s ostensibly talking about someone who rejects the game, walks away from the crap and doesn’t get trapped in the b.s. But the character he’s singing too also seems to be exactly the kind of person who would fall prey to that kind of trap. She’s railing against the gifts given to the beautiful and lucky, and making grand statements about what kind of person she is in opposition---people who are angry are often envious, and when given an “in” are desperate to take it.

So maybe when she “got away” it wasn’t from the falsehood, but fell in with the phonies.

I also wonder if he means she died. The ultimate get-away.

I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best,

I can't keep track of each fallen robin.

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,

that's all, I don't even think of you that often.

Then the closing lines. Is he being honest—this is a strong memory he has, but he’s not particularly sentimental about it or attached to this person?

Or is he using the old writer’s trick of stating exactly the opposite of what he means. Is there a term for this device? When you state plainly the opposite of what you mean, usually contrasted against a narrative that lead in one direction only to be overturned by a contradictory statement or tone.

Two other examples of this that I can think of are The Police’s “Can’t Stand Losing You” and Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire’s “Pathetique.” (the wonderfully plaintive closing of “I'm over you, so come on come on ... come on back to me, ok?
Alright.”)

Questions? Answers? Who will pay the dancers?