Listening comprehension

Listening comprehension
We invite you to practise your listening comprehension with Leonard Cohen. We’ve decided to focus
on his song ‘Suzanne’, as it is probably his best-known composition.
To watch the video, click the ‘Play’ button. When you’re done listening to the song, check the
transcript below to evaluate your comprehension.
‘Suzanne’ was inspired by Cohen’s platonic relationship with dancer Suzanne Verdal, who was then
married to Armand Vaillancourt, a handsome sculptor and a friend of Leonard Cohen’s. The song’s
lyrics describe the rituals that Cohen and Suzanne enjoyed when they met. ‘Suzanne’ is a very
spiritual song – it is about the meeting of spirits. In an interview with journalist Kate Saunders,
Suzanne Verdal said, “I think the river is the river of life and that river, the St Lawrence River that
we shared, tied us together. And it was a union. It was a spirit union.” She continues, “I would
always light a candle and serve tea and it would be quiet for several minutes, then we would speak.
And I would speak about life and poetry and we’d share ideas.”
Suzanne – © Leonard Cohen and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
You want to travel blind
And you know she can trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.
Yes, and Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
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From his lonesome wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said, “All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them”
Oh, but he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
[Come with me now]
And you want to travel with him
You want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.
Now Suzanne takes your hand
She leads you to the river
Ah, she’s wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Amid the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
They will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you know she will find you
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.
Vocabulary
a wavelength = une longueur d’ondes
blind = à l’aveuglette, sans repère
lonesome = déserté
drowning = qui se noie
forsaken = abandonné, esseulé
rags = des loques, des haillons
amid = au milieu de, parmi
seaweed = les algues
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Toute reproduction des exercices est interdite. Les professeurs d'anglais sont autorisés à les imprimer pour les
utiliser pendant leurs propres cours exclusivement.