The song's lyrics are a loose interpretation, in English, of the Spanish poem "Pequeño vals vienés" by Federico García Lorca, which was first published in his "Poeta en Nueva York".
The song's lyrics are a loose translation, into English, of the Spanish poem "Pequeño vals vienés" by the famous Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (one of Cohen's favorite poets). The poem was first published in Lorca's seminal book "Poeta en Nueva York".