2008/07/12 Zurich
First day
There's a law
My first day in the dining car was on the route Lucerne-Interlaken.
I thought of a woman I met on a plane in 2005 and for whom I traveled to Lucerne twice.
I didn’t meet anybody in the dining car, though some of the encounters were definitely congenial.
The comfort of being a servant is a comfort that surpasses many other comforts.
While changing back into my plain clothes I listend to Leonard Cohen’s “The Law”:
“Now my heart's like a blister
From doing what I do
If the moon has a sister
It's got to be you
I'm going to miss you forever
Tho' it's not what I planned
There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand.”
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9 comments 
I know, I am a servant too. Nevertheless that song is too poetic for me - it is about leaving I suppose -, I do not really understand what he means about a law, an arm, a hand and the rest of it.
Cohen was in Belgium the other day, I heard it too late so I didn't go.
I hope your new job works out fine.
I hope your new job works out fine.
Jan T
Nothing can ever be *too* poetic. But there are many things that are not poetic enough, even though poetry, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.I would say that the singer of the song feels put down by the Law, which is personified by a hand (of the father) and an arm, and points at what one should do. Often, that is different from what one wants to do.
I saw Leonard Cohen yesterday evening at Westerpark, Amsterdam. He looked old, he sang beautifull and at the end, he left the stage dancing.
What about the link between Law and Arm (weapon) and Hand (of God, no doubt)
@RH CdG (&Dens)
Thanks for elaborating poetic images.
(And Ramses Shaffy was in Belgium, Sint-Niklaas)
Thanks for elaborating poetic images.
(And Ramses Shaffy was in Belgium, Sint-Niklaas)
I see that in the song, Cohen calls the sequence, Law, Arm, and Hand, "the chain of command". That's nice.
Yes, now I have read the lyrics too, I understand more of it (also due to the explanations).
(A very appropriate text for me too, by the way.)
(A very appropriate text for me too, by the way.)
@Arnon
Most likely you already know this, but on browsing YouTube (yes, I searched on your name, I admit): a girl made a trailer for the Asielzoeker as a final exam project.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffE1HWxcVgg
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