I really loved this post and recognized some of my own journey to secularity here. I will add that Songs of Leonard Cohen was released on Dec. 27, 1967. Imagine that. Like a mic drop on one of the most amazing years in music in terms of firsts and advances. And Suzanne is a song that conflates the unknowable aspect of another with the unknowable aspect of Jesus. So that album is Xmas music for me
Glad you dug it. I figured I wasn't alone on this particular path—especially here on MusicStack.
I discovered LC thru a bandmate when I briefly lived in Europe after college. Our grunge band Dope (not the more famous nu metal band...) did a heavy/dirge-y version of "Suzanne."
Nice piece! As an essentially lifelong atheist, I have even less of an explanation for my attraction to music with religious themes or at least the combination of sounds often associated with such music. I remember taking a Mahalia Jackson album out of the library when I was in high school (probably because Brian Eno mentioned he liked gospel music) and feeling a deep connection. I could go on, but here's a playlist that overlaps somewhat with your list - enjoy! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LYzcFT3UJ50WlY9OIpiZP?si=43cb6e3682a74210
Replacements 'Can't Hardly Wait' has Jesus as a co-pilot that only smokes OPs (other peoples) as the narrator suggests he never buys smokes Merry Christmas & all the best for '26
Great post, and I agree completely about that passage from "Suzanne" being one of my favorite parts of any Leonard Cohen song (which is a very high bar).
[Edited to add] I also thought about "Armageddon Days Are Here Again" by The The which is even farther away from being a secular hymn than Terry Allen's song, but does make a couple of mentions of Jesus (I hadn't seen this video before and it's good): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6wa-qOb8eI
Good choice; they're both good, but the Terry Allen is more fun and more related to the theme.
Thinking about the broader description of music that provides a window into thinking about things that you don't personally feel. I recently wrote about how "The Last Chance" was a formative song for me. It is a secular song that deals with a variety of religious themes including the reoccurring image that the action is taking place in a dive bar where, "Mahalia boomed a gospel song." Most memorably, at the climax, there is this line,
"Sam turned away and began to find a dance with his feet / Like a child taking its first steps / While Mahalia sang on, her voice intense / With the joy and pain of believing."
Also this morning I was really impressed reading Joe Bonomo's tribute to John Prine's "Christmas In Prison" which also describes a certain feeling of the sublime which I hope connects to this post.
". . . the singer finds himself ... beseeching time to wait while throwing in a cocky, half-believed boast that he’ll outlast “old mother nature” herself, begging his girl to run to him, the two of them rolling as a timeless, impossible river in his imagination. 'The brain is wider than the sky' Emily Dickinson observed a hundred or so years before this moment"
I really enjoyed both pieces. Brought this Merle Haggard song to mind. If you haven't checked it out—or the excellent Phoebe Bridgers cover from a couple of years ago—here are the YT links:
I know the Merle Haggard song, but I hadn't heard Phoebe Bridgers cover. Thank you.
It's been covered by a lot of people, and you prompted me to listen to a couple of other versions. I particularly liked Over The Rhine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyoWECxopmc
I love how the first verse of "Suzanne" deals with the concrete particulars ("feeds you tea and oranges...") of being with a specific person. And then how the second verse, which you quoted, jarringly widens the scope with poetic imagery of Jesus and the ocean. It's my favorite of Leonard Cohen's perilous attempts to cross the abyss between the sacred and the profane.
That dichotomy always struck me too. I decided that he was talking about how a sublime relationship with a single other person cracked something open inside of him, which is beautiful.
I really loved this post and recognized some of my own journey to secularity here. I will add that Songs of Leonard Cohen was released on Dec. 27, 1967. Imagine that. Like a mic drop on one of the most amazing years in music in terms of firsts and advances. And Suzanne is a song that conflates the unknowable aspect of another with the unknowable aspect of Jesus. So that album is Xmas music for me
Glad you dug it. I figured I wasn't alone on this particular path—especially here on MusicStack.
I discovered LC thru a bandmate when I briefly lived in Europe after college. Our grunge band Dope (not the more famous nu metal band...) did a heavy/dirge-y version of "Suzanne."
Nice piece! As an essentially lifelong atheist, I have even less of an explanation for my attraction to music with religious themes or at least the combination of sounds often associated with such music. I remember taking a Mahalia Jackson album out of the library when I was in high school (probably because Brian Eno mentioned he liked gospel music) and feeling a deep connection. I could go on, but here's a playlist that overlaps somewhat with your list - enjoy! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LYzcFT3UJ50WlY9OIpiZP?si=43cb6e3682a74210
Thanks for sharing! Glad you enjoyed this one.
Replacements 'Can't Hardly Wait' has Jesus as a co-pilot that only smokes OPs (other peoples) as the narrator suggests he never buys smokes Merry Christmas & all the best for '26
Love that track! Hope you have a happy holiday.
Also greatly appreciated this well written post.
It certainly resonates. Thank you.
Thanks so much! Happy it connected with a few people since it’s a little outside the scope of my usual newsletters.
Personal Jesus? Jesus Is Just Alright? Spirit In The Sky probably doesn't count but I think of it like this too. Fun post.
Great suggestions! And thank you.
Great post, and I agree completely about that passage from "Suzanne" being one of my favorite parts of any Leonard Cohen song (which is a very high bar).
I have to mention Terry Allen's song about someone being carjacked by Jesus, "Gimme A Ride To Heaven" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puoD11r9_58
[Edited to add] I also thought about "Armageddon Days Are Here Again" by The The which is even farther away from being a secular hymn than Terry Allen's song, but does make a couple of mentions of Jesus (I hadn't seen this video before and it's good): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6wa-qOb8eI
Thanks! I’ll definitely check out that Terry Allen track.
Good choice; they're both good, but the Terry Allen is more fun and more related to the theme.
Thinking about the broader description of music that provides a window into thinking about things that you don't personally feel. I recently wrote about how "The Last Chance" was a formative song for me. It is a secular song that deals with a variety of religious themes including the reoccurring image that the action is taking place in a dive bar where, "Mahalia boomed a gospel song." Most memorably, at the climax, there is this line,
"Sam turned away and began to find a dance with his feet / Like a child taking its first steps / While Mahalia sang on, her voice intense / With the joy and pain of believing."
https://earnestnessisunderrated.substack.com/p/one-song-the-last-chance
Also this morning I was really impressed reading Joe Bonomo's tribute to John Prine's "Christmas In Prison" which also describes a certain feeling of the sublime which I hope connects to this post.
". . . the singer finds himself ... beseeching time to wait while throwing in a cocky, half-believed boast that he’ll outlast “old mother nature” herself, begging his girl to run to him, the two of them rolling as a timeless, impossible river in his imagination. 'The brain is wider than the sky' Emily Dickinson observed a hundred or so years before this moment"
https://joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhile-eternity
Sorry...I meant I hadn't heard the Terry Allen track before.
And thanks for the links...off to do some reading!
I understood that, I was trying to say that the Terry Allen was a good choice to add to your, "to be listened" queue.
Thank you for reading!
I really enjoyed both pieces. Brought this Merle Haggard song to mind. If you haven't checked it out—or the excellent Phoebe Bridgers cover from a couple of years ago—here are the YT links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsUm_5jHhJ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNfK819vnrQ&list=RDwNfK819vnrQ&start_radio=1
I know the Merle Haggard song, but I hadn't heard Phoebe Bridgers cover. Thank you.
It's been covered by a lot of people, and you prompted me to listen to a couple of other versions. I particularly liked Over The Rhine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyoWECxopmc
I love how the first verse of "Suzanne" deals with the concrete particulars ("feeds you tea and oranges...") of being with a specific person. And then how the second verse, which you quoted, jarringly widens the scope with poetic imagery of Jesus and the ocean. It's my favorite of Leonard Cohen's perilous attempts to cross the abyss between the sacred and the profane.
That dichotomy always struck me too. I decided that he was talking about how a sublime relationship with a single other person cracked something open inside of him, which is beautiful.