Before I can discard the verse, I have to write it… I can’t discard a verse before it is written because it is the writing of the verse that produces whatever delights or interests or facets that are going to catch the light. The cutting of the gem has to be finished before you can see whether it shines.
– Leonard Cohen in Paul Zollo’s Songwriters on Songwriting – excerpt here.
Leonard, always the poet, always the sage, knows about “cutting the gem.”
Oh I love this. Thanks for sharing.