Frontier Partisans

The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire

She Steps On The Moon When She Paws At The Sky

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moon-horse-21268609Don’t mind me — I’m just sitting here tearing up as I listen to Emmylou Harris’s gorgeous interpretation of a Leonard Cohen gem. Songwriters are often called poets and it’s not really true. In Cohen’s case, it’s as true as can be. Adios, maestro, and thank you.

“Ballad Of The Absent Mare”

Say a prayer for the cowboy
His mare’s run away
And he’ll walk til he finds her
His darling, his stray
but the river’s in flood
and the roads are awash
and the bridges break up
in the panic of loss.
And there’s nothing to follow
There’s nowhere to go
She’s gone like the summer
gone like the snow
And the crickets are breaking
his heart with their song
as the day caves in
and the night is all wrong Did he dream, was it she
who went galloping past
and bent down the fern
broke open the grass
and printed the mud with
the iron and the gold
that he nailed to her feet
when he was the lord And although she goes grazing
a minute away
he tracks her all night
he tracks her all day
Oh blind to her presence
except to compare
his injury here
with her punishment there

Then at home on a branch
in the highest tree
a songbird sings out
so suddenly
Ah the sun is warm
and the soft winds ride
on the willow trees
by the river side

Oh the world is sweet
the world is wide
and she’s there where
the light and the darkness divide
and the steam’s coming off her
she’s huge and she’s shy
and she steps on the moon
when she paws at the sky

And she comes to his hand
but she’s not really tame
She longs to be lost
he longs for the same
and she’ll bolt and she’ll plunge
through the first open pass
to roll and to feed
in the sweet mountain grass

Or she’ll make a break
for the high plateau
where there’s nothing above
and there’s nothing below
and it’s time for the burden
it’s time for the whip
Will she walk through the flame
Can he shoot from the hip

So he binds himself
to the galloping mare
and she binds herself
to the rider there
and there is no space
but there’s left and right
and there is no time
but there’s day and night

And he leans on her neck
and he whispers low
“Whither thou goest
I will go”
And they turn as one
and they head for the plain
No need for the whip
Ah, no need for the rein

Now the clasp of this union
who fastens it tight?
Who snaps it asunder
the very next night
Some say the rider
Some say the mare
Or that love’s like the smoke
beyond all repair

But my darling says
“Leonard, just let it go by
That old silhouette
on the great western sky”
So I pick out a tune
and they move right along
and they’re gone like the smoke
and they’re gone like this song

Comments

  1. Saddle Tramp says

    Excellent choice with Emmy Lou singing it.
    What a way to finish out this tumultuous week then here on Veterans Day. Just got off the phone with my Dad wishing him a happy Veterans Day. You no doubt will have an appropriate post for it I am sure. I spent this last Memorial Day at the flag covered National Cemetery in Santa Fe, NM walking those hallowed hills. I also went to the Fort Bayard National Cemetery and visited that lonely monument to the Buffalo Soldiers on this almost ghost town of a base. Everyone should have those experiences. I have been to the Los Angeles National Cemetery many times. History. Valor. Hallowed ground. The only sound was the clanging of the flagpole halyard clips. Respect given to respect deserved.

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  2. Saddle Tramp says

    Thanks Jim,

    Also, realized my error. Should have said “post” or “fort” and not base referring to Fort Bayards ghostly status. Growing up I had military privileges at any military installation in the world until turning 21. I went to far more bases than posts.

    As far as poet lariats go, I think I first heard that assigned to Guy Clark as the poet larit of Texas.
    Yes, we could easily go on about who qualifies as a poet or what qualifies as poetry. I say the following tongue in cheek: Does one require a poetic [license] to be certified? The debate continues…
    Then we get on to who among them qualifies as the [one].
    We will save that for another day. I do appreciate your compliment for Leonard to the highest level your opinion will allow. Afterall it is not a foot race…

    Long live Leonard Cohen and rememberance of Veterans!!

    Reply

  4. john roberts says

    Interesting how a Canadian Jewish guy wrote such a hymn to the Western horse. Just like another Jewish New Yorker, Aaron Copeland, created the American idiom of classical music, including ballets like “Rodeo “and “Billy the Kid,” Then two Jewish kids, Siegel and Schuster, created Superman, the ultimate American superhero. And two other Jewish teenagers wrote “Hound Dog,” first for Big Mama Thornton but soon to be made famous by Elvis. It seems some people appreciated what America (plus Canada) gave them better than others.

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  6. Saddle Tramp says

    To John Robert: Good point!

    To Jim C: Bob Dylan most certainly. Our Mark Twain of singers.

    In addition:

    Perhaps the exemplar of Jewish cowboys would be Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. Also noteworthy is that Leonard Cohen’s first band was THE BUCKSKIN BOYS. He also moved to Nasheville in pursuit of his love of country and western music. His nod to Hank Williams in his TOWER OF SONG dignifies his opinion all the more so.
    Also, check out the film McCABE & MRS. MILLER. A perfect matchup of film and music if there ever was one. A anti-western, revisionist western film or call it what you will. A damn good film is what I call it.
    The Jewish diospora adapted and adopted as it went bringing a unique expression to wherever it arrived.
    Bound to get a few cowboys with the bargain. We need our myths. Damn glad for it!!

    Reply

    • JimC says

      Oh hell yes! I saw Kinky Friedman give the keynote address at a Folk Alliance conference in Austin years ago. My ribs hurt for a day from it.

      Reply

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