LEONARD COHEN: It’s 4 in the morning, the end of December.
TOM WAITS: All night long on the broken glass
COHEN: I’m writing you now just to see if you’re better
WAITS: Livin’ in a medicine chest
COHEN: New York is cold , but I like where I’m living
WAITS: Mediterranean hotel sprawled across a roll top desk
COHEN: There’s music on Clinton Street all through the evening
WAITS: The monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan / They paint the donkey blue if you pay*
COHEN: I hear that you’re building your little house deep in the desert
WAITS: I got a telephone call from Istanbul
COHEN: You’re living for nothing now
WAITS: My baby’s coming home today!
[PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE (They Might Be Giants): If you’ve got a date in Constantinople she’ll be waiting in Istanbul!]
COHEN: I hope you’re keeping some kind of record
WAITS: Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?
COHEN: Yes. And…Jane came by with a lock of your hair.
WAITS: Get me out of town
COHEN: She said that you gave it to her
WAITS: Is what Fireball said
COHEN: That night that you said you’d get clear.
WAITS [thinking]: …
COHEN: Did you ever get clear?
DONKEY [thinking]: …
COHEN: The next time I saw you, you looked so much older. Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder.
WAITS: Never trust a man in a blue trenchcoat
COHEN: You’d been to the station to meet every train, and you came home without Lili Marlene.
WAITS: Never drive a car when you’re dead.**
___
*If you choose to paint your ass, please use a non-toxic paint.
**Painting animals to match your outerwear is also ill-advised, regardless of name recognition.
