Be still, my beating heart...

>>...I'm told I look cute even in gum-boots.<<

Fractelle, I'm upping the offer of G&T on the terrace to a gently chilled bottle of M. Roederer's finest...

Surely you mean Louis Roederer, Pericles?

In which case Manolo's or Blunnies?

That's the man.

>>Surely you mean Louis Roederer, Pericles?<<

Apologies, I was being unnecessarily formal

>>In which case Manolo's or Blunnies?<<

Bring both, we'll see how the evening unfolds...

CJ:”I think that this is a pretty straightforward Cohen song - it's an optimistic plea that the USA has to lead the world to true democracy (i.e. 'rule by the people' as opposed to the flawed versions that currently exist) by overcoming its own gross inequalities and internal hatreds, tinged by the irony that the world's foremost "democracy" is from that ideal in practice.”

So really he’s being sarcastic?

But it’s the references to “dock on the bay”, “Sermon on the Mount”, “heart of Chevrolet” that I don’t get.

It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Love love love this new one…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d-8hxLMOcg

Pericles

Of course "Monsieur", how very gauche of me.

Now I am intrigued, I believe in choices especially as disparate as Manolo's and Blunnies.

Piper

I think that 'ironic' works better than sarcastic in the world of Cohen.

"Dock on the Bay" is probably a reference to Otis Redding's "sittin on the dock of the bay"

" Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the 'Frisco bay
'Cause I've had nothing to live for
And look like nothin's gonna come my way

So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes

Sittin' here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home

Now, I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Oooo-wee, sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

(whistle) "

which, to me, is a song about ennui.

"heart of Chevrolet" - America's past dominance of car industry, production line.

"sermon on the mount" - so many Americans love to quote Jesus, but don't actually act on his words; conundrum.

This is just my interpretation - CJ and others may well see it differently - such is the power of the poet.