Alexandra

Album: Song for Our Daughter (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In 2001, Leonard Cohen recorded "Alexandra Leaving," based on Constantine P. Cavafy's 1911 poem "The God Abandons Antony." Whereas Cavafy's work is based around the Roman general Antony being besieged in the city of Alexandria by Octavian, Cohen's version is centered on a woman named Alexandra.

    Marling wrote this song about her fascination with Cohen's attitudes towards women. "As much as I love him, I'm obsessed with his idea of women and how they become these facades," Marling explained to Mojo magazine. "I wanted to imagine what it's like to survive that passionate projection."
  • The song starts off with a riposte to Leonard Cohen's "Alexandra Leaving," as Marling wonders where Cohen's lover went after she left.

    What became of Alexandra
    Did she make it through
    What kind of woman gets to love you?


    Marling explained to the BBC that there's no mention in Cohen's song of Alexandria's interior life that's anything more than being alluring. "That's interesting to me as an autonomous young songwriter who has an interior life, and who has been projected on and survived, what can be quite an overwhelming passionate experience," she explained. "So I wanted to give Alexandra a voice of her own, or to find out what happened to Alexandra and the consequences of surviving that relationship."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.