Music Touches the Soul

A love song inspired by the Holocaust?

The hauntingly beautiful love song, Dance me to the End of Love by Leonard Cohen, indeed was inspired by the Holocaust.
The 70s icon explained in a radio interview that the song came to him after hearing that a string of Jewish violinists, awaiting their own fate, were forced to play classical music in the death camps while their fellow prisoners were being burnt in the crematoria.

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love

Only Leonard Cohen could pull off a song like that; poet, songwriter, and singer, whose philosophical lyrics speaks of so many facets of life - love, life, and death; politics, faith, and also depression, which as a sensitive artist, he struggled with.

We recently watched the TV Series A Small Light that tells the story of Miep Gies, a Dutch woman who for over two years sheltered the Frank family from the Nazis, risking her life and that of her husband. Sadly the only survivor of the Frank family, was the father, Otto Frank.
His daughter Anne, kept diaries of that horrific period, and I'm looking forward to visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam when we visit our son towards the end of July.

^{Photo by Philip Myrtorp on Unsplash}

I love the music of Ed Sheeran, and on the other end of the spectrum, really enjoy listening to the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Hearing them perform together, combining opera and pop in the beautiful Ed Sheeran song, Perfect, can only end up being a sublime Perfect Symphony by Ed Sheeran & Andrea Bocelli

Both artists have immense admiration for each other's music, and that factor as well as the friendship between the two artists, led to this collaboration.

Absolute perfection!

Seeing Lady Gaga in an acting role in A Star is Born, as Ally, a waitress, and hearing Bradley Cooper as Jack, a famous country rock singer, sing the duet Shallow, by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper was a real treat. Ally becomes an overnight sensation with the help of Jack, but sadly he could not overcome his alcohol and drug addiction, and the movie has a tragic ending. There were other beautiful songs in this movie as well.

Tell me something, boy
Aren't you tired trying to fill that void?
Or do you need more?
Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore?
I'm falling
In all the good times, I find myself longing for change
And in the bad times, I fear myself
I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now

I cannot imagine a world without music, it brings joy and touches the soul.

I hope you enjoyed my song choices, as my participation in Three Tune Tuesday #TTT, a concept by @ablaze.