I see you in windows
That open so wide
There's nothing beyond them
And no one inside
You kick off your sandals
And shake out your hair
The salt on your shoulders
Like sparks in the air
There's silt on your ankles
And sand on your feet
The river too shallow
The ocean too deep
You smile at your suffering
The sweetest reprieve
Why did you leave us?
Why did you leave?
You kick off your sandals
And shake out your hair
It's torn where you're dancing
It's torn everywhere
It's torn on the right
And it's torn on the left
It's torn in the centre
Which few can accept
It's torn where there's beauty
It's torn where there's death
It's torn where there's mercy
But torn somewhat less
It's torn in the highest
From kingdom to crown
The messages fly
But the network is down
Bruised at the shoulder
And cut at the wrist
The sea rushes home
To its thimble of mist
The opposites falter
The spirals reverse
And Eve must re-enter
The sleep of her birth
And up through the system
The worlds are withdrawn
From every dominion
The mind stood upon
And now that it's over
And now that it's done
The name has no number
Not even the one
Come gather the pieces
All scattered and lost
The lie in what's holy
The light in what's not
The story's been written
The letter's been sealed
You gave me a lily
But now it's a field
You kick off your sandals
And shake out your hair
It's torn where you're dancing
It's torn everywhere
It’s Torn was written by Sharon Robinson & Adam Cohen & Leonard Cohen.
It’s Torn was produced by Adam Cohen.
‘Torn’ was started a decade ago with Sharon Robinson—with whom he had written many songs and with whom he toured—but it really took a hold in Berlin with concert pianist and composer Dustin O'Halloran. It has chord signatures borrowed from my father’s song from decades earlier ‘Avalanche.’ Again, it...