Banjo
Broken Banjo: Leonard Cohen's Dark Symphony of Loss and Redemption
Lyrics
There’s something that I’m watching
There is something significant that has captured my attention
Means a lot to me
This holds great importance to me
There’s something that I’m watching
Reiteration of the significance of the observed phenomenon
Means a lot to me
Emphasizing the personal importance of what is being observed
It’s a broken banjo bobbing
A broken banjo is floating or moving rhythmically
On the dark infested sea
The banjo is on a dark and contaminated sea
It’s a broken banjo bobbing
Repetition of the broken banjo image on the troubled sea
On the dark infested sea
Reiterating the presence of the broken banjo in a challenging environment
Don’t know how it got there
Uncertainty about how the banjo ended up there
Maybe taken by the wave
Suggesting the possibility of being taken by a wave
Don’t know how it got there
Reiteration of the uncertainty surrounding the banjo's arrival
Maybe taken by the wave
Continuing the suggestion that the banjo might have been taken by a wave
Off of someone’s shoulder
The banjo might have fallen off someone's shoulder
Or out of someone’s grave
Or it could have come out of someone's grave
Off of someone’s shoulder
Repeating the uncertain origins, either from a shoulder or a grave
Or out of someone’s grave
Reiterating the ambiguous source of the broken banjo
It’s coming for me darling
The broken banjo, a metaphor, is approaching the speaker
No matter where I go
Regardless of the speaker's location, the broken banjo is drawing near
It’s coming for me darling
Reiteration of the banjo's inexorable approach
No matter where I go
Regardless of the speaker's movements, the banjo is pursuing
Its duty is to harm me
The broken banjo has a duty to cause harm to the speaker
My duty is to know
The speaker's duty is to understand or acknowledge this impending harm
Its duty is to harm me
Reiteration of the banjo's duty to harm the speaker
My duty is to know
Reiterating the speaker's duty to be aware of the harm
There’s something that I’m watching
Returning to the initial observation, something of great significance is being monitored
Means a lot to me
The observed phenomenon holds considerable meaning for the speaker
There’s something that I’m watching
Reiteration of the personal importance of what is being watched
Means a lot to me
Emphasizing once again the significance of the observed phenomenon
It’s a broken banjo bobbing
Repetition of the broken banjo image on the troubled sea
On the dark infested sea
Reiterating the presence of the broken banjo in a challenging environment
It’s a broken banjo bobbing
Repetition of the broken banjo image on the troubled sea
On the dark infested sea
Reiterating the presence of the broken banjo in a challenging environment
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