Aurora sang this one in a gallery in Montreal. 40 artists was invited to contribute to the three months Leonard Cohen instalment in early 2017. Not only musicians. It's really an honor that Aurora was invited. This phone recording is all that exists of this performance (36.1)
"I did this song for an installation at a museum in Montreal, I covered it in one of the rooms in his memory and it was really an honour. It was all of his life and achievements as pieces of art in the museum, and they asked artists to showcase his art so that people could see those that he influenced.
“I really love this song. I know that he speaks of the Second World War and I think that’s not often spoken about, considering how much pain it brought the world. Also, in art and music we don’t really paint or sing much about it but it’s important that people talk about it, because it’s something we carry on our shoulders and we did it to each other as a species.
“I think about it a lot, but it’s good to distance ourselves from the memory too. I have a few songs about the matter, though some are more obvious than others." (^36.2)
"His voice came into my life very early. I think I was in my mom's belly the first time I heard his music. Just listening to his voice — it calms me down and it reminds me of my mom. It's the same softness and delicateness, and also the warmth I feel like he has. His music and his words are just such a great contribution to this planet." (^36.3)
Aurora did three Cohen performances to honor him these few months after his passing. This is the second one. The last one will be introduced in the next song story -"Famous Blue Raincoat"
Thanks to lindcarsten
for making the recording sound lovely.
Sources
36.1 - Mac installation
36.2 - Interview at TheLineOfBestFit
36.3 - Aurora at NPR, interview
Original video by "Half The Seed Away" on YouTube