Is this what you wanted?
Hey, long time no see! Last weeks had been rough but I'm here with brand-new analysis. It was just out of my expectations how this song connects with A HUGE AMMOUNT of tlsp songs. Yes, I know that that specific one is a cover. But should be a reason why they chose it not only as a song to perform but also as the one to make a music video for?
As always, I can't even imagine what's going on in Alex or Miles mind so it's just my interpretation.
You were the promise at dawn
I was the morning after
Remember "And if you're bothered, I don't want your prayers. Save it for the morning after" from Teddy Picker? Really Miles-shaped (incredible @misskattylashes pointed an opportunity of Kane experiencing a catholic guilt in this post).
Also, according to Genius, can be meaningfully connected with "Do I Wanna Know"
You were Jesus Christ my Lord
I was the money lender
I personally like to think about these specific lines in context of crime fiction. Jesus Christ is a pure good while money lander in every gangster movie I've ever seen causes BIG troubles. Always portraited as the worst of all the bad guys
You were the sensitive woman
I was the very reverend Freud
Okey. Sensitive woman (?) means that she can be easy leaded by someone's ideas. But what about Freud? Sigmund Freud is a former father of psyhoanalysis. His analysis of dreams (dream synopsis) as wish fulfillments provided him with models for the clinical analysis of symptom formation and the underlying mechanisms of repression (proves my previous theory from line one).
The main tenets of classical psychoanalysis are as follows:
Human behavior, experience, and cognition are largely determined by internal and usually irrational drives;
attempts to understand these drives lead to psychological resistance in the form of defense mechanisms ("I’ve got this ego mechanic" from Pottion approaching has really similar meaning)
But why revended? Sigmund had really questionable ideas and methods. I think that it can hint us to Reverend Musical Instruments. Commonly known as Reverend Guitars, is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Turner compares himself as a musician to the famous psyhologist. Both too courageous with their ideas.
You were the manual orgasm
I was the dirty little boy
Manual means something which is made by instructions. Right, how it should be. Man+woman if you dare. While Alex, singing that song, is some kind of the tempting serpent.
And is this what you wanted
To live in a house that is haunted
By the ghost of you and me?
"I just wanted to be one of those ghosts you thought that you could forget" from Start treatment, extremely Milex song, talks about regret about for own actions. Turner is the only ghost there. While in "Is this what you wanted?" there are two ghosts. Someone who is invisible for audience (not for Milex fandom, through) but is clearly here, haunts the narrative since first AM album( I'm talking about you, "You probably couldn't see for the lights...").
The word haunted can also be connected with my beloved "Dracula Teeth" but EYCTE in general is really mystically-centered.
You were Marlon Brando
I was Steve Mcqueen
Genius sugests that these two can be included because of connections with mafia during their acting ages. And I really can't imagine why did Leonard Cohen chose them. But for you to know: Marlon Brando was clearly bisexual (confirmed publicly and wasn't ashamed of it) while Steve Mcqueen was always known as the main macho man of his time — similar to Alex during AM era, you know?
You were K.Y. Jelly
I was vaseline
Can I not comment on this line? Yes? Thank you
You were the father of modern medicine
I was Mr. Clean
So, my interpretation of these words is that the singer views himself only as a beautiful but useless picture while his partner is a hidden gem, genius. Knowing how Alex speaks loftily about Miles, it's really them-coded
You where the whore and the beast of Babylon
I was Rin Tin Tin
Let's discuss the Whore of Babylon.
...We know the Whore of Babylon is the High Priesthood because she wears “purple and scarlet” (the vestment colors of the Jerusalem priests) and she is adorned in precious stones. Outfit, as I see it, really similar to the one Miles wearing in "Is this what you wanted" mv.
The “Whore of Babylon” refers to how the Jewish priesthood has become a “whore” or “prostitute” providing her intimate services not to God but to pagan Rome. A widely regarded indication of whether a person was a pagan or a Christian was their partaking in ritual sacrifice. Not only the bloody mess but also sexual practices, when the gender of partner isn't the most important thing.
The end of Revelation 17 explain how the Beast will eventually turn on the Whore of Babylon and make her dead. The duality of throughts here: you want it but you should destroy that specific part of your personality.
Rin Tin Tin was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, that became an international star in motion pictures. The trained dog was an immediate box-office success and went on to appear in 27 Hollywood films, gaining worldwide fame. And yes, that's how the industry works. Not only for dogs but also for people celebrities: just train them right and there will be a goldmine.
While The whore and the beast of Babylon is something sublime, Tin Tin is just another entertainer
...You got old and wrinkled
I stayed seventeen
Another vampire problem, don't care, haha. But speaking seriously, this line can also be connected with fame. Throughout the song we can hear the singer speaking about his fate as a part of people's entertainment routine. So in their minds he'll always be "seventeen" (young) while his partner lives a normal live
You lusted after so many baby
I lay here with one
You defied your solitude
I came through alone
Spoke about Milex dynamic with some person and made a conclusion that it can easily be a discription of them. Of course none of us know how is was/is but let's accept that as a theory
You said that you could never love me
I undid your gown...
"Could never love" because of internal homophobia. But at the end of the day the singer knows what he wants and how to get it
It was a GREAT fun to analys Cohen's lyrics, especially from tlsp perspective. Hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed the writing process
I’m someone who often wonders why they chose to cover certain songs this has certainly given me something to think about. 🙌. There’s definitely many lines in the song that relate to them and Alex (as a massive Cohen fan) must have made that connection.
