The Italian Renaissance comes to life in “Thanks for the Dance,” the title track to Leonard Cohen’s posthumous LP, released last fall.
Directed by photographer Harley Weir, the clip features Girl Meets World actress Rowan Blanchard as a bride, slowly sliding down a grassy hill with her silk veil trailing behind her. Model Lily Cole later appears as Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, her red curly hair surrounding her as she poses with three infants. “There is a rose in your hair/Your shoulders are bare,” the late legend sings over stripped-down guitar. “You’ve been wearing this costume forever.”
The clip is the latest in a series titled Nowness, a collaboration between Cohen’s estate and Sony Music Canada in which artists interpret tracks from Thanks for the Dance. The video released on Tuesday follows “Happen to the Heart.”
“I’m a huge fan of Leonard Cohen,” Weir said in a statement. “His lyrics are so raw and yet so warm. I am honored to be a part of his legacy.”
Thanks for the Dance features Beck, the National’s Bryce Dessner, Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry, Feist and more. It arrived three years after Cohen’s death in November 2016 and was produced by Cohen’s son Adam, who also worked on You Want It Darker.