Are there two Mount Everests?: the mutual adoration of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan
The music that we listen to varies depending on what we want to get out of it. If people want to be taken out of their body and zone out for a moment, instrumental music is the best place to go, given there is no specific emotion assigned to it so it’s easy to get lost in. However, when we want poetry and to be able to connect with the words of a track, we turn to wordsmiths, and there are no two better wordsmiths than Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.
Though they might have written about different subject matters, their lyricism was at the heart of everything they did, and their success is the result of people everywhere being able to connect with what they were saying on a deep and personal level. It turns out it wasn’t only the public who enjoyed their music. They were big fans of one another as well, which is hardly surprising considering the number of parallels between the two.
One thing that the two singers do incredibly well is reflection. They can look at the world and reflect on what is happening properly and beautifully. They could articulate how they felt about people, politics and emotions in a way that sounded honest and was easy to get on board with.
Nobody recognised their talents more than they recognised one another, which led to a sweet friendship built on mutual respect and fandom.
Leonard Cohen’s favourite Bob Dylan song
Cohen never shied away from showing his admiration for Bob Dylan. When Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, Cohen described the win as “Like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain.” Despite the fact they were compared a lot, there wasn’t any competition between the two, so they were happy to simply listen to each other’s music and enjoy it.
Cohen liked several tracks of Dylan’s, but one that particularly stood out was the lengthy and obscure ‘Brownsville Girl’. Over ten minutes long, the song shows just how much of a genius Bob Dylan was when it came to creating exciting pieces with a novel-like approach to them.
Bob Dylan thought Leonard Cohen was a genius
Dylan reciprocated the praise that Cohen showed for him. “When people talk about Leonard,” he said, “they fail to mention his melodies, which to me, along with his lyrics, are his greatest genius. Even the counterpoint lines, they give a celestial character and melodic lift to every one of his songs.”
One track of Cohen’s that Dylan had such a strong affinity towards was ‘Hallelujah’, a song he was so drawn to that he even covered it himself. “It’s a beautifully constructed melody that steps up, evolves, and slips back, all in quick time. But this song has a connective chorus, which, when it comes in, has a power all of its own,” said Dylan when describing his love for the hit. “The ‘secret chord’ and the point-blank I-know-you-better-than-you-know-yourself aspect of the song has plenty of resonance for me.”
Leonard Cohen was in awe of Bob Dylan playing live
Bob Dylan has always had a reputation for his excellent live shows. Even though his approach to a setlist and never having a cemented selection of songs to sing might turn some people away, those who have attended his shows find him to be one of the most interesting musicians out there. Cohen recalls going to see him live and the otherworldly experience.
Even though many people couldn’t understand the tracks that were played a lot of the time, Dylan was able to establish a connection with the audience that made them feel a part of something bigger. Cohen commented on this, saying, “Something else was going on, which was a celebration of some kind of genius that is so apparent and so clear and has touched people so deeply that all they need is some kind of symbolic unfolding of the event,” he said, “It doesn’t have to be the songs. All it has to be is: remember that song and what it did to you. It’s an extraordinary event.”
Something often built into creative people means they have to be the best, so when another artist is compared to them, they see it as a competition. It’s sweet that Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen never succumbed to this rivalry, as they could enjoy one another’s music and the fact that it existed rather than compete against one another.
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