"Democracy" is a song by Canadian musician

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

featuring Jeff Fisher, first released on Cohen's 1992 album '' The Future''. The lyrics discuss the failings and the promise of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in the United States. The song was written approximately during the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

, which led Cohen to question where democracy came from. Cohen stated that it was "a song of deep intimacy and affirmation of the experiment of democracy" in the United States.

Composition and release

"Democracy" was released as the sixth song on

's 1992 album '' The Future''. It features American musician Jeff Fisher, who received multiple credits on the album. The song begins with drums played at a high tempo in the rhythm of a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

, which persist through the song. It uses musical elements of

heartland rock Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. The g ...

. The 1992 version of the song is 7:14 long. It appears on several subsequent Cohen compilations, including '' More Best of Leonard Cohen''. The lyrics of the released version comprise a small subset of the more than eighty verses that Cohen wrote. The song was written a few years before its release, approximately during the

, at a time when Cohen said he found himself reflecting on what democracy meant and where progress was being made toward it. Cohen stated in a 1993 interview: "I had to ask myself 'Where is democracy coming? What is democracy?' ndthat's when I came upon the line 'Democracy is coming othe USA' which of course has an irony 'What do you meant to say, that it is not there already?' Well no. It isn't really there already, it is the ideal, it is the fate. Nonetheless, Cohen stated that the song was not ironic, saying "It's a song of deep intimacy and affirmation of the experiment of democracy in this country".

Reception and analysis

The lyrics of "Democracy" discuss the failings and the promise of democracy in the United States of America. ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' contrasted "Democracy" with " Born in the USA", writing that Cohen uses a similar musical style to express "clear-eyed optimism" about the country's future, despite his description of the US as "the cradle of the best and the worst". According to music scholar Jeffrey Spear, "Democracy" implies that democracy will come to the US when it has moved past "the Reefs of Greed / through the Squalls of Hate", learned to include the Other, and overcome a history of division and persecution. Cohen refers specifically to racial division, the " patriarchal family", and the treatment of the

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, suggesting, according to Spear, that the country must come to terms with the

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is th ...

which says that the "meek will inherit the earth". The song posits that the movement for democracy in the US will arise from the grassroots, from "social and political disorder" and from those experiencing deprivation. Cohen makes reference, for instance, to

ghost towns A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

left behind in the American heartland by corporate flight. Other drivers the song names are the collapse of autocratic communist governments, man-made environmental catastrophe, and the "wars against disorder" fought by a "nominally democratic" US state. According to political scientist Laura Grattan, Cohen places his hope not only in the ideal of democracy, but also in the "people that must carry forth its promise". "Democracy" implies that people in the US are isolated from one another and from society at large, and offers the promise of democracy as a unifying force to overcome that alienation.

References

{{authority control Leonard Cohen songs 1992 songs