Story of Isaac Leonard Cohen
THE STORY OF ISAAC- Leonard Cohen
The do[Am]or it opened slo[F]wly, my fa[Am]ther he came i[F]n
I was ni[G]ne ye[F]ars o[E]ld
And he st[Am]ood so tall above [F]me, b[Am]lue eyes they were sh[F]ining
And his vo[G]ice was ve[F]ry co[E]ld
He sa[C]id, "I've had a vis[C/G]ion and you kn[C]ow I'm strong and h[C/G]oly
I must d[D]o what I[C]'ve been to[B]ld"
So he star[F]ted up the mou[Bb]ntain, I was run[F]ning, he was wal[Bb]king
And his a[F]xe was ma[G]de of g[A]old
Well, the trees they got much smaller, the lake a lady's mirror
We stopped to drink some wine
Then he threw the bottle ove, broke a minute later
And he put his hand on mine
Thought I saw an eagle but it might have been a vulture
I never could decide
Then my father built an altar,he looked once behind his shoulder
He knew I would not hide
You who build these altars now to sacrifice these children
You must not do it anymore
A scheme is not a vision and you never have been tempted
By a demon or a god
You who stand above them now, your hatchets blunt and bloody
You were not there before
When I lay upon a mountain and my father's hand was trembling
With the beauty of the word
And if you call me brother now, forgive me if I inquire
"Just according to whose plan?"
When it all comes down to dust I will kill you if I must
I will help you if I can
When it all comes down to dust I will help you if I must
I will kill you if I can
And mercy on our uniform, man of peace or man of war
The peacock spreads his fan
NOTE: use the standard Cohen picking style (see Winter Lady)
(from Songs From a Room, 1968)
(sent by Harlan at harlant@hawaii.edu)
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