Pjesmu Suzan Leonard Koen je napisao šezdesetih godina prošlog vijeka za pjevačicu Džudi Kolins. Pjesma se pojavila na njenom albumu U mom životu (1966) ali i na prvom albumu samog Koena Pjesme Leonarda Koena (1967).
Leonard Cohen je u intervjuu za BBC izjavio da je pjesma posvećena susretu sa Suzan Verdal, koja je tada bila djevojka skulptora Armanda Vailankurta, u Montrealu. Doista, mnogi stihovi opisuju različite elemente grada, uključujući i njegove rijeke (Sen Lorens) i malu kapelu u blizini luke, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (doslovno Gospa od dobre pomoći), koja je okrenuta prema izlazećem suncu u jutarnjim satima, kao što je to opisano u pjesmi.
Suzanne Verdal je u intevjuu za CBC News 2006. tvrdila da ona i Koen nikada nisu imali seksualne odnose, suprotno onome što neke interpretacije pjesme sugerišu. Koen je i sam izjavio da je on samo zamišljao da vodi ljubav sa njom.
Suzan Verdal
Frank Dejvi u tekstu – Leonard Koen i Bob Dilan: poezija i pop muzika, o ovoj pjesmi kaže:
“Suzanne” je izgleda još jedna pesma o bjekstvu iz stvarnosti pomoću droga, poput Dilanovih “Mr Tambourine Man” ili “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” Bitlsa. Ali to bjekstvo je ambivalentno žensko i halucinogeno, dok sam pjesnik traži spas u ljubavnom iskustvu. U prvom susretu sa egzotičnom Suzen Koen kaže da ćeš znati:
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust her
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.
(Da si oduvijek bio njen ljubanik/ I želiš da putuješ sa njom/ I želiš da je pratiš slijepo/ I želiš da joj vjeruješ/ Jer si svojim umom dotakao njeno savršeno tijelo)
Kako se iskustvo sa Suzen produbljuje, poželjećeš da hodaš po vodi kao Isus. Pri kraju pjesme Suzen uzdiže do ljepote najrazličitije kontradiktorne realnosti ovoga svijeta – “smeće i cvijeće” – i kroz ljubav nas sve dovela do savršenstva – “jer je svojim umom dotakla tvoje savršeno tijelo”. Njoj se može prići, od nje se može otići, “možeš provesti noć pored nje” u halucinaciji; ona je uvijek “milosrdna sestra”, nikada pohlepna supruga.
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said “All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them”
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.
Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.
