Today I heard Leonard Cohen’s Anthem sung by the Bella Nove choir in Uxbridge, Ontario. Later, I looked up the lyrics so I could read them slowly and thoughtfully, and Google led me to this article in QUARTZ. The quote in the article’s title has been used often and in many circumstances, and I have always liked it. I found the words in the article that follows both interesting and moving, so I share them with you.
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in: The story of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”
by Cassie Werber
Leonard Cohen, the legendary 82-year-old Canadian poet and singer who died yesterday, is well-known for a set of powerful lyrics from his song “Anthem,” off the 1992 album The Future. The message of hope in darkness is particularly striking for many in the wake of the US election:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
The day has been beautiful, but it’s turning chilly, so I take my husband outside in a wheelchair, bundled in a cozy comforter and wearing a winter touque on his head. I’m nearly finished with the hour and a half of mowing — having stopped periodically to check on him and move him close to where I’m working – when I make that turn. I’m freezing cold, and there, across the lawn, I see my tall, once-athletic husband, huddled beneath his blanket. He stares into the deepening dusk, seemingly oblivious, when I wave at him. When I get close, I notice that his teeth are chattering despite the puffy comforter.