Happens to the Heart

I was always working steady But I never called it art I was funding my depression Meeting Jesus reading Marx Sure it failed my little fire But it’s bright the dying spark Go tell the young messiah What happens to the heart There’s a mist of summer kisses Where I tried to double-park The rivalry was vicious And the women were in charge It was nothing, it was business But it left an ugly mark So I’ve come here to revisit What happens to the Heart I was selling holy trinkets I was dressing kind of sharp Had a pussy in the kitchen And a panther in the yard In the prison of the gifted I was friendly with the guard So I never had to witness What happens to the Heart A page from one of Leonard Cohen's diaries. A page from one of Leonard Cohen's diaries. I should have seen it coming You could say I wrote the chart Just to look at her was trouble It was trouble from the start Sure we played a stunning couple But I never liked the part It ain't pretty, it ain't subtle What happens to the Heart Now the angel's got a fiddle And the devil’s got a harp Every soul is like a minnow Every mind is like a shark I've opened every window But the house, the house is dark Just say Uncle, then it's simple What happens to the heart I was always working steady But I never called it art The slaves were there already The singers chained and charred Now the arc of justice bending And the injured soon to march I lost my job defending What happens to the Heart I studied with this beggar He was filthy he was scarred By the claws of many women He had failed to disregard No fable here no lesson No singing meadowlark Just a filthy beggar blessing What happens to the heart I was always working steady But I never called it art I could lift, but nothing heavy Almost lost my union card I was handy with a rifle My father's .303 We fought for something final Not the right to disagree Sure it failed my little fire But it's bright the dying spark Go tell the young messiah What happens to the heart