989 – Leonard Cohen – Story of Isaac (1969)

Escrita por Leonard Cohen, foi gravada em outubro de 1968 e lançada no disco Songs from a room, em 7 de abril de 1969. É baseada na história do Velho Testamento, em que Deus pede que Abraão sacrifique seu filho Isaac.

Foi regravada por Judy Collins e Suzanne Vega, entre outros artistas.

Leonard Cohen cantou e toou violão clássico, Ron Cornelius tocou violão e guitarra, Bubba Flower tocou banjo, baixo, violino e violão e Charlie Daniels tocou baixo, violino e violão.

A letra:

The door it opened slowly,
My father he came in,
I was nine years old.
And he stood so tall above me,
His blue eyes they were shining
And his voice was very cold.
He said, "I've had a vision
And you know I'm strong and holy,
I must do what I've been told."
So he started up the mountain,
I was running, he was walking,
And his axe was made of gold.

Well, the trees they got much smaller,
The lake a lady's mirror,
We stopped to drink some wine.
Then he threw the bottle over.
Broke a minute later
And he put his hand on mine.
Thought I saw an eagle
But it might have been a vulture,
I never could decide.
Then my father built an altar,
He looked once behind his shoulder,
He knew I would not hide.

You who build these altars now
To sacrifice these children,
You must not do it anymore.
A scheme is not a vision
And you never have been tempted
By a demon or a god.
You who stand above them now,
Your hatchets blunt and bloody,
You were not there before,
When I lay upon a mountain
And my father's hand was trembling
With the beauty of the word.

And if you call me brother now,
Forgive me if I inquire,
"just according to whose plan?"
When it all comes down to dust
I will kill you if I must,
I will help you if I can.
When it all comes down to dust
I will help you if I must,
I will kill you if I can.
And mercy on our uniform,
Man of peace or man of war,
The peacock spreads his fan.

A versão de Leonard Cohen:

A versão de Judy Collins:

A versão de Suzanne Vega: