leonard cohen in 1979 tarihli recent songs adlı albümünde yer alan bir şarkı,sözleri de şöyledir;

i came so far for beauty
i left so much behind
my patience and my family
my masterpiece unsigned
i thought i'd be rewarded
for such a lonely choice
and surely she would answer
to such a very hopeless voice
i practiced all my sainthood
i gave to one and all
but the rumours of my virtue
they moved her not at all
i changed my style to silver
i changed my clothes to black
and where i would surrender
now i would attack
i stormed the old casino
for the money and the flesh
and i myself decided
what was rotten and what was fresh
and men to do my bidding
and broken bones to teach
the value of my pardon
the shadow of my reach
but no, i could not touch her
with such a heavy hand
her star beyond my order
her nakedness unmanned
i came so far for beauty
i left so much behind
my patience and my family
my masterpiece unsigned

(ex - 13 Ağustos 2002 00:00)

cohen forumunda bu şarkıyla ilgili güzel bi yaklaşım var;

ı think that this song is more about a spiritual journey, than about success (or lack of it) in the world, or maybe it's about both.

ı think the term "beauty" might refer, probably simultaneously, to several things: it might refer to the narrator's longing to create beautiful works of art to express what is in his heart; & ı think that leonard's art is totally interwined with his spiritual quest, which brings me to the following:

"beauty", in the teachings of kabbalah, is one of the ten sefirot (which, to put simply & briefly, are a sequence of energy fields, representing qualities one needs to absorb & master, if one wishes to connect with the light - the ultimate source of creation). the sixth & central sefirah is called tiferet/beauty, & is also called rahamim/compassion. tiferet/beauty is born from the union of the 2 previous (meaning above them on the tree of life) sefirot - hesed/love & gevurah/power (also known as din/judgment). hesed/love & gevurah/power - also referred to as mercy & judgment - are considered two poles of the divine energy, & for the world to function properly, both are needed - they balance each other, which is why tiferet/beauty is also considered the trunk of the sefirotic body - a central channel or balancing force. tiferet/beauty is also a descendant (or, shall we say, grandchild!) of hokhmah/wisdom & binah/understanding (because those two gave birth to love & power). also, through the sefirah tiferet/beauty, the light of the creator is channeled downward & the spiritual aspirations of human beings are channeled upward; tiferet/beauty is considered the heart of the tree of life (which is composed of the 10 sefirot) in kabbalistic teachings.

so, ı think the key aspects here, in terms of what "beauty" may represent in lc's lyrics, would be: a balance between love & power, or between mercy & judgment; the channel through which the light of the creator & humankind unite with each other; the very heart of the tree of life; & the union of wisdom & understanding; also, interesting to note is that the other name for tiferet/beauty is rahamin/compassion.

my sense of it is that leonard's art is both a means of seeking & an expression of, his search for, among other things "beauty" . . .& ı think the lyrics of came so far express, that, as well as all that he has left/sacrificed/etc. ı think "masterpiece" might refer simply to his "life" - meaning his life in "this world"; his domestic/family life; his life in the physical/earthly realm; & his spiritual life - all of it, as they are all interwined. that "masterpiece" being "unsigned" might signify that there is much that is unfinished/unresolved in his "worldly" life, because he kept "leaving" it, in order to pursue "beauty", in all of its multiple facets (art, love, spiritual balance, etc.); it could also mean that his spiritual quest (which is not really separate from his "worldly" life) is still unfinished.

(penisinde felsefe yazan adam - 12 Kasım 2012 05:53)