During her over two decade recording career, jazz vocalist Madeline Peyroux has established herself as a skillful interpreter of other people’s material. Her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem” is a prime example of that ability.
“Anthem” is the title track of her recently released album, and is one of two covers to appear on the album (the other is Paul Eluard’s WW2 poem “Liberté’”). Recording for the album started during the 2016 US presidential US elections. As a result it is definitely the most political album that Peyroux ever released. Peyroux successfully created a collection of songs that were “consciously not too preachy.”
“Anthem” originally appeared on Leonard Cohen’s 1992 album The Future, which is probably the most political album Cohen ever released. It fits the definition of being socially conscious without being preachy. The lyrics features Cohen’s poetic knack of exploring dark subject matter while still holding out a sense of hope.
The song includes one of Cohen’s most powerful lines: “There is a crack, a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.”
Even with imperfect and broken systems there is room for the light. It is up to people to emit that light and be a source for change.