(Credits; Far Out / Adrian Thomson)
The Greek poet Constantine P Cavafy, or Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis, was a little-known, aloof figure during his own time (1863-1933), but in the Nick Drake fashion, he managed to win the respect of some of his more famous contemporaries; heavy hitters like EM Forster and TS Eliot. A generation later, a young Leonard Cohen also took notice.
Back in the late 1960s, when Cohen was a published poet still adjusting to a transition into songwriting, he bought a house in Greece and spent much of his time there. “In a way, I feel it is my country,” he told a reporter in 1968. “I don’t feel like a tourist there.”
Somewhere along the way, Cohen was introduced to the poems of Cavafy, most of which hadn’t been published until long after the poet’s death. Translated into English, they often covered themes and ideas similar to the ones Cohen was most interested in, particularly love and sex and the complications brought on by the combination. Unlike the notorious ladies man Cohen, however, Cavafy was a gay man living a mostly closeted and frustrated life, working as a bureaucrat in Alexandria, Egypt, for decades while pursuing his deeper desires under the cover of night or through the escape of his private writing.
Cavafy often used historic places and characters from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian history as reference points in his work, and one such poem from 1911, titled ‘The God Abandons Antony’, became a particular favourite of Cohen, directly inspiring one of his own songs nearly a century later, 2001’s ‘Alexandra Leaving’.
In Cavafy’s original text, the central character is the famous ancient Roman general Marc Antony, who is facing a terrible military defeat in the city of Alexandria. The speaker of the poem is essentially giving Antony a pep talk, telling him to face his own demise not with whining or self-pity, but to bid farewell to the city with a sense of honour and appreciation.
“As one long prepared, and graced with courage,” Cavafy writes, “say goodbye to her, the Alexandria that is leaving.”
On Cohen’s 2001 album Ten New Songs, he and his collaborator Sharon Robinson use ‘The God Abandons Antony’ as a very clear foundation for the track ‘Alexandra Leaving’, in which Cohen swaps the idea of losing a city for the more relatable one of losing a woman.
“And you who had the honour of her evening / And by that honour had your own restored / Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving / Alexandra leaving with her lord.”
When Ten New Songs was released, the majority of listeners were unaware of the inspiration for ‘Alexandra Leaving’, as no specific mention was made of it in the liner notes. Cohen addressed that directly on his website (in French) shortly thereafter, however, setting the record straight, as translated here:
“I am very sorry that I neglected to cite Constantine P. Cavafy, and his great poem, ‘The God Abandons Anthony’, as the inspiration for my song ‘Alexandra Leaving’,” Cohen wrote. “The work of Cavafy has touched and influenced me for many years. Even as I write this, there is a picture of him above my desk. Please accept my apologies. Sincerely, L Cohen.”
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