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The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen the 10 Best Leonard Cohen Lyrics, by Lemuria's Alex Kerns

Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Lyrics of by Leonard Cohen The 10 best Leonard Cohen lyrics, by Lemuria's Alex Kerns. It’s been 10 years since New York-based indie-punk trio Lemuria wrote their debut . Entitled Get Better , and written in the wake of vocalist, drummer and Alex Kerns losing his father, the album a powerful exploration of grief and sorrow – the essence of which borrowed from the blueprint laid out by Leonard Cohen, and his of love, loss and humanity. It was also the album which allowed Kerns to hone his songwriting abilities most keenly. “Listening back I find a sanctuary, a place where nothing is permanent, where feelings are tempered with time and glass becomes sand,” Kerns explains now. “Now that you know the setting, it may give some of the lyrics more clarity. Themes rooted in stress and clouded with numbness simultaneously. Time might not expire the feelings the decade old songs document, but it provides proof of your ability to pivot.” To mark the album’s 10th year, Kerns pays tribute to his chief inspiration, Leonard Cohen, and remembers the impact he had on his own songwriting. ‘All I ever learned from love is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you’ “The verses to Leonard Cohen’s most popular , Hallelujah, change frequently over the half-century-long career that he left us. This always seemed faithful to his character, because his songs feel like a journal, kept as he aged, matured and desperately searched for the meaning of life. This lyric appears on the live album, Songs From The Road, recorded in 2009. Cohen could’ve meant a lot of things with this line, but he keeps his songs on the sharp cusp of focus and abstract. Just enough focus to guide your emotions, just abstract enough to step into the music yourself and give it your own purpose.” ‘I don’t mean to suggest that I loved you the best, I can’t keep track of each fallen robin’ “From the song Chelsea Hotel . The lyrics are very ambiguous, but definitely about sex. Have you ever had a relationship that felt more like a sport? Cohen is never afraid to project his flaws, and in this song it seems like he’s surrendering.” ‘I will not be held like a drunkard under the cold tap of facts’ “I’m cheating here, this is actually pulled from one of his poems titled What I’m Doing Here . It reminds of those instances when you realise the truth at the 11th hour. When you’re blinded by the sparkle of a sharp sword you no longer have control of. A reminder to proceed with caution, especially when your guard has been retired.” ‘Like a baby, stillborn. Like a beast with his . I have torn everyone who reached out for me’ “This is from the song , which is frequently and understandably mistaken as a original because Cash puts a lot of himself into the songs he chooses to cover. These lyrics display a primal view of a defect, to put it harshly, that drives a person to be an artist.” ‘We’re spending the treasure that love cannot afford’ ”[This is from] Leaving The Table , a lullaby from his final album . He wrote and recorded this album in his hospital chair with the help of his son. Maybe I shouldn’t call it a lullaby, because really it’s a goodbye. When you hear this line in context with the remainder of the song, Cohen shows his somber feelings of the emotional distance he has with the expanding younger generation of his family. Those sad feelings balanced with his relief to finally be completing his life.” ‘If the sea were sand alone, and the flowers made of stone, and no one that you hurt could ever heal. Well that’s how broken I would be, what my life would seem to me, if I didn’t have your love to make it real’ “I’m realising as I make this list, I like love songs. A lot. Is it selfish to rely on somebody else to remain grounded? I think most people would say yes. Either way, I wish I would’ve written this song for my lover, because behind oblivion is some of the most intense romance. [From] If I Didn’t Have Your Love , another gem from his final album.” ‘I have to die a little between each murderous thought. And when I’m finished thinking, I have to die a lot’ “Depending on my mood, the song Almost Like The Blues is either about persevering, or admitting you’re a coward. I guess admitting you’re a coward is a way of persevering, as long as you don’t drown with that realisation.” ‘A kite is a fish you already caught, in a pool where no fish come’ “This is from his poem A Kite Is A Victim . We control anything that will let us, and we insult hard work accomplished by insisting there’s a better way. We distribute longer leashes to the things we’re ashamed to control. These might not be the themes Cohen intended, but if he was concerned with controlling the reader he would’ve given this poem a shorter leash.” ‘As he died to make men holy, let us die to make things cheap’ “Throughout his career, Cohen explores religion often. He spent a portion of his twilight years as a Buddhist monk. I thought this line from the song Steer Your Way was a very stark and deserved accusation toward the values of modern Christianity in the western world.” “I have to deal with envy when you choose the precious few, who’ve left their pride on the other side of coming back to you” “Cohen isn’t afraid to sing about the feelings a lot of us are ashamed to admit. When read without the musical accompaniment and his emotive voice, the words on paper can be selfish and mean. Placed into context [the track Coming Back To You ], they’re incandescent with humanity.” Lemuria will be touring Get Better this summer. Catch them on the dates below: Links. Established in 1995, an information resource including a discography, filmography, photos, analyses, cover versions and tribute , unpublished poems, and updates about Cohen events and tours. Visit the Site » The Leonard Cohen Forum. Discussion board with over 16,000 Cohen-related topics. Visit the Site » French Leonard Cohen site. All the works of Leonard Cohen in French, including discussion board, reviews, interviews, photos and tour reports. Visit the Site » The Leonard Cohen Concordance. Can’t remember the title of that Cohen poem about the flower growing out of the hand? Use this search engine of Leonard’s songs, poems and prose. Visit the Site » Cohencentric: Leonard Cohen Considered. Blog with a unique perspective on Leonard Cohen’s music and career ranging from critical analyses to satiric pieces. Visit the Site » Christof Graf’s leonardcohen.de the Cohenpedia – Websites. German resource including information on Cohen’s life and work, songs, albums, books, concerts, interviews, latest news, links and everything about the world tour. Visit the Site » Diamonds in the Lines: Leonard Cohen. Leonard’s spoken or sung introductions to songs and additional verses to songs Leonard included during his concerts. Visit the Site » Leonard Cohen Facebook Page. Official Band/Musician page. Visit the Site » Chords of Leonard Cohen. Information on all albums with lyrics and a song index plus downloadable chords for songs. Visit the Site » Arlene’s Leonard Cohen Scrapbook. Photos, videos, reports and details of events, tributes and concerts involving Leonard and his work. Visit the Site » I Can’t Forget. Chronicling the Leonard Cohen Fan Events since 2002 with photos. Also includes photos from some concerts during the 2008-2010 World Tour. Visit the Site » Leonard Cohen (Chinese Site) Streaming the latest news about Leonard and his activities. Includes polls, fan questions and information on press in China and around the world. Special section with photos and videos and a section devoted to Leonard’s women. Visit the Site » Leonard Norman Cohen – Poeta Piosenki. A Polish resource which includes the latest news, a bibliography of books about Leonard, a comprehensive discography, and information on Leonard’s poetry, books, concerts in Poland and documentaries about Leonard. Visit the Site » UNED – Exposición virtual Leonard Cohen. A virtual exhibition dedicated to Leonard Cohen in Spanish, includes a chronology, discography, translated songs and poems, interviews, articles, listing of people important in Leonard’s life, and a bibliography of books about Leonard. Visit the Site » Leonard Cohen | Halls of Fame. Dedicated to the documentation of the Hall of Fame awards and other honors Leonard Cohen has received throughout his career. Visit the Site » . SONGS OF LOVE AND HATE LIVE PERFORMANCES. Songs of Love and Hate was Leonard Cohen’s 3rd studio album, and released on March 19th, 1971. Although this album was not an immediate commercial success, this album quickly became a milestone in Cohen’s career, and was considered “iconic”, even now, 50 years later. To celebrate this important history, we gathered here a few anecdotes on the songs of this album: 1. AVALANCHE. The first song on the album, “Avalanche” was produced by . Johnston also produced Leonard’s previous album, . The song made ’ s’ “25 Songs That Are Truly Terrifying.” The song “finds Cohen playing his classic role of stygian bard to perfection. Over rolling flamenco guitar and swelling strings, he portrays a hunchback living at the bottom of a gold mine: ‘Your laws do not compel me/To kneel grotesque and bare,’ he sneers. Even as the song edges into dark obsession and, eventually, pure horror (‘It is your turn, beloved/It is your flesh that I wear’), Cohen’s voice maintains a trancelike composure.” – Rolling Stone , October 15, 2019. Artist first covered the song on his 1984 album . Consequence of Sound said about the cover, “This time around, Cave opts for a more minimalist approach, paring away the dark atmosphere of the first cover to leave a delicate ballad brimming with melancholy.” – January 10, 2015. When asked by Steven Blush who has done the best job with his music and who has butchered it, Leonard turns the question on its head. He said, “There have probably been some who have butchered it, but I’ve generally liked the job that people have done with it. I guess you could say Nick Cave butchered my song, ‘Avalanche,’ and if that’s the case, let there be more butchers like that.” — Seconds , June/July 1993. 2. LAST YEAR’S MAN. London’s Corona Academy provided the children’s vocals on “Last Year’s Man.” Leonard has never performed this particular song in front of a live audience. On the back cover of 1975’s The Best Of Leonard Cohen, Leonard says, “I don’t know why but I like this song. I used to play it on a Mexican twelve-string until I destroyed the instrument by jumping on it in a fit of impotent fury in 1967. The song had too many verses and it took about five years to sort out the right ones. I like the children in this version. I always wait for them if I have to listen to it.” In ’s review of the album, they name “Last Year’s Man,” along with “Avalanche” and “,” demonstrating Leonard in “his finest, subtlest form…[These songs] alone justify the album’s classic status. Despite its relative flaws, it’s an indispensable document in the development of one of the 20th century’s most enduring artists. Cohen potently captures the pull between safety and the unknown, love and freedom, spirituality and sensuality: a panoramic view of human experience, rendered through the work of one exceptional artist.” — Brian Howe, May 4, 2007. Sputnik Music says, “’Last Year’s Man’ uses the chord sequence to great effect. The major chords are immediately countered with the minor chords in such a way that it leads the listener on an emotional rollercoaster; the major chords are placed in the sequence in a way that lifts the soul, whereas the minor chords brings it crashing back down; and the fact that soul was lifted just seconds previously makes the crash all the more bitter. The lyrics are depressing in nature; it talks about failure, and desperation amounting to nothing. It is very hard not to be moved at some core point of the soul by this song (as long as you pay attention to the lyrics), and the chords echo the lyrics to tremendous effect. This song really does leave the listener very low.” – Gur Samuel, October 9, 2005. 3. DRESS REHEARSAL RAG. “Dress Rehearsal Rag” was featured in the 2003 film by Bernar Hébert, based on the novel by Leonard Cohen. The film was produced by Michel Ouellette for Cine Qua Non Films. “’Dress Rehearsal Rag’… contains the sort of symbolistic lyrics that makes one wonder how the hell Cohen manages to get through life. It was certainly very depressing, with the use of incredibly screwed-up images. Cohen’s voice was its usual melancholic self, but seemed more hypnotic than ever. The overall quality of the track was brilliant.” – Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker , January 2, 1971. Leonard met with in the mid- hoping she would record one of his songs. He played Collins three different songs, “She promptly snapped up one for her next album: ‘Dress Rehearsal Rag.’ ‘Talk about dark,’ she told [Sylvie] Simmons, ‘a song about suicide. I attempted suicide myself at fourteen, before I found , so of course I loved it. We were desperately looking for something unusual for my album and when I heard ‘Dress Rehearsal Rag,’ that was it.” Collins released the song in 1966. – I’m Your Fan: The . “There are songs like ‘Dress Rehearsal Rag’ that I recorded once and I will never sing. Judy Collins did a very beautiful version of it, better than mine. I would never do that song in concert, I can’t get behind it.” – Leonard Cohen, SongTalk , April 1993. 4. DIAMONDS IN THE MINE. Prior to his performance of “Diamonds In The Mine” in Munich in March 1985, Leonard explained that the song was “an old song about how little there is. Even when there was a lot, there was little. But now that there is little, there’s even less.” Background vocals for “Diamonds In The Mine,” as well as all other songs on the album were provided by Corlynn Hanney and Susan Mussmano. Both women also toured with Leonard in 1970. “Diamonds In The Mine” appears on Leonard’s album, Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 , on both record and DVD. Francis Mus points out in her book, The Demons of Leonard Cohen , that normally Leonard just uses his background singers to “..enhance certain passages or to support his voice, but every now and then they are brought into the universe of his songs as fully fledged characters. In ‘Diamonds In The Mine’ he wants to inform his audience that his relationship can no longer be salvaged. ‘You tell them now,’ he sings in a commanding tone of voice, and to reinforce his message he has his backing singers repeat the verse.” 5. LOVE CALLS YOU BY YOUR NAME. “Love Calls You By Your Name” was a minor rewrite of an unpublished 1967 song called “Love Tries to Call You by Your Name.” Leonard introduced the song “Love Calls You By Your Name” to his Berlin audience in 1974 by explaining, “Here’s a song that searches out the middle place between the beginning and the end of things.” Allegedly, in the song when Leonard calls out “Where are you, Judy?” and “Where are you, Anne?”, these were references to women he had relationships with in the mid-1950s. — Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: The Early Years. The string was provided by , who provided both the string and horn for songs on the album and acted as conductor. 6. FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT. In 1976, Cohen tells the tale of his blue raincoat. “I had a good raincoat then, a Burberry I got in London in 1959. Elizabeth thought I looked like a spider in it . . . . It hung more heroically when I took out the lining, and achieved glory when the frayed sleeves were repaired with a little leather . . . . I knew how to dress in those days. It was stolen from Marianne’s loft in New York sometime during the early ’70s. I wasn’t wearing it very much toward the end.” – Vogue , November 11, 2016. Speaking about the song “Famous Blue Raincoat,” Leonard told the BBC “The problem with that song is that I’ve forgotten the actual triangle. Whether it was my own – of course, I always felt that there was an invisible male seducing the woman I was with – now whether this one was incarnate or merely imaginary, I don’t remember… but secretly I’ve always felt that there was something about the song that was unclear.” — Leonard, BBC Radio 1 programme broadcasted August 7, 1994. singles out “Famous Blue Raincoat” as one of Cohen’s best melodies. “Leonard is not known for his great melodies, but he actually is a great melody writer,” she told Songfacts . “If you take the words off and just listen to the melodies, he’s really, really good. It’s just not known, because we’re so distracted by the poetry.” In 1987, Warnes released an entire album of Cohen’s songs called Famous Blue Raincoat. – Songfacts. Paul Zollo asked Leonard about the song “Famous Blue Raincoat” and Leonard confessed, “That was one I thought was never finished. And I thought that Jennifer Warnes’ version in a sense was better because I worked on a different version for her, and I thought it was somewhat more coherent. But I always thought that that was a song you could see the carpentry in a bit. Although there are some images in it that I am very pleased with. And the tune is real good. But I’m willing to defend it, saying it was impressionistic. It’s stylistically coherent. And I can defend it if I have to. But secretly I always felt that there was a certain incoherence that prevented it from being a great song.” – SongTalk , April 1993. In a Rolling Stone readers’ poll from November 2014, “Famous Blue Raincoat” was voted as the third favourite Leonard Cohen song, only surpassed by “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah.” 7. SING ANOTHER SONG, BOYS. This is the only live song appearing on the studio album Songs Of Love And Hate . “Sing Another Song, Boys” was recorded during Leonard’s performance at the on August 30, 1970. The performance would later appear on Leonard’s Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 album and DVD. Before performing “Sing Another Song, Boys,” in Frankfurt in May 1970, Leonard told the audience, “This is a song about a man and a woman… The song pertains to dissect the intimate connections in the ordinary relationship. Coming to no satisfactory conclusions, the author of the melody abandons it and begins another song. Hence the title, ‘Let’s Sing Another Song, Boys.’ At which point, in the author’s mind, he envisions the audience rising to its feet, their throats burning, and singing the new song which speaks of the end of all the tyrannies that we place upon each other in the living room, and the song is completed with a great triumphant march on the Bastille.” Alan Attwood describes this song as “a raucous, shambolic, ranting wreck of a song, which ends with a well-oiled Leonard chanting instead of singing… But it has these lines: Ah, they’ll never, they’ll never ever reach the moon, At least not the one that we’re after. “Not the one we’re after… I’ve always loved that… I still play the song from time to time. It’s a toe-tapper.” — Stereo Stories , July 1969 (Although the album came out in 1971, Leonard was performing it live in concert prior) . plays guitar as well as most others on the album. He also toured with Leonard in 1970 and would go on to form his own band and release the Grammy-award winning hit, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” 8. JOAN OF ARC. Before performing “Joan Of Arc” in Paris in October 1974, Leonard told the audience, “This song was written for a German girl I used to know. She’s a great singer; I love her songs. I recently read an interview where she was asked about me and my work. And she said, ‘I was completely unnecessary.’ Anyhow, I hope she’s not here. This song came through her.” The German singer Leonard spoke of is believed to be , who sang with . “I was thinking more of this sense of a destiny that human beings have and how they meet and marry their destiny… I don’t want to suggest in that song that what she really wanted was to be a housewife. What I mean to say is that as lonely and as solitudinous as she was, she had to meet and be embraced by her destiny… Seen from the point of view of the women’s movement she really does stand for something stunningly original and courageous.” – Leonard in a 1988 interview with John McKenna of RTÉ. “Another track told a tale of Joan of Arc – as she was being burned. Cohen personified the flames, it was all very emotional – again very simple musically – but more effective than anything I’ve ever heard him do.” — Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker , January 2, 1971. “It was a strange song indeed,” Cohen said of the song, “It was out of myself and contained the notion of reverence. When I recorded that song I will admit to having a strong religious feeling. I don’t think it’ll happen again.” — New Musical Express , March 10, 1973. Kathleen Kendall asked Leonard if “Joan Of Arc” was a sexist song and he explained, “It might be, but I think it is on the side of women. But more accurately, I think it is just a song about the total gift of total giving and the total consummation of the spirit in that kind of experience. It takes in the whole shot to be man and woman.” — WBAI Radio, December 4, 1974. Memories. Frankie Lane, he was singing Jezebel I pinned an Iron Cross to my lapel I walked up to the tallest and the blondest girl I said, Look, you don't know me now but very soon you will So won't you let me see I said "won't you let me see" I said "won't you let me see Your naked body?" Just dance me to the dark side of the gym Chances are I'll let you do most anything I know you're hungry, I can hear it in your voice And there are many parts of me to touch, you have your choice Ah but no you cannot see She said "no you cannot see" She said "no you cannot see My naked body" So We're dancing close, is playing Stardust Balloons and paper streamers floating down on us She says, You've got a minute left to fall in love In solemn moments such as this I have put my trust And all my faith to see I said all my faith to see I said all my faith to see Her naked body. Lyrics submitted by afbailey. Memories Lyrics as written by Leonard Cohen. Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc. Lyrics powered by LyricFind. 3 Comments. General Comment A great theme of Leonard Cohen's seems to be modern man's agonized longing for God or some transcendent ideal that pre- rational-scientific-materialistic man had to orient his life - I think you can see that in Hallelujah but that's what this entire song, too, is about. The vulgarization of the traditional divine ideal is clear in the "Iron Cross" and "Jezebel" and the traditional image of God in heaven is reduced to "Stardust" and "Balloons and paper streamers floating down on us." The "tallest and blondest girl" is a representation of the ideal and Leonard Cohen goes up to her/it/God but he's incapable of pure and self- transcending love. Instead, all he can see is the material, not the spiritual - "her naked body," which is all he can attempt to summon with his pathetic faith (LC actually sings "pathetic faith" at the end in a live version), the pathetic faith of modern man. What really kills me about LC is how clearly the agonized longing comes through via his voice: "I know you're hungry, I can hear it in your voice." I sure can LC, I sure can. Nostalgia: 8 Of The Greatest Leonard Cohen Lyrics. Leonard Cohen, iconic singer, songwriter, novelist and poet died on Nov. 7, 2016, leaving fans across the globe reeling at the news. With a career that spanned more than 50 years, the gravelly-voiced troubadour had an unrivaled way with words and became one of Canada’s greatest literary giants. “Unmatched in his creativity, insight and crippling candor, Leonard Cohen was a true visionary whose voice will be sorely missed,” his manager Robert Kory wrote in a statement. “I was blessed to call him a friend, and for me to serve that bold artistic spirit firsthand, was a privilege and great gift. He leaves behind a legacy of work that will bring insight, inspiration and healing for generations to come.” News of his death at 82 has led to an outpouring of grief from family, friends and fans on social media. His son, Adam, had released a statement to Rolling Stone : “My father passed away peacefully at his home in with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was one of his greatest records. He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humour.” Watch as media mogul Moses Znaimer inducts the legendary Leonard Cohen into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at The 1991 JUNO Awards in Vancouver. His soulful, lonely lyrics and gritty, raw vocals (“Only in Canada could somebody with a voice like mine win Vocalist of the Year,” he once joked) will be greatly missed. And there’s no denying that Cohen’s death has certainly struck a chord. Here, drawn from a catalogue that spans six decades, are some of Cohen’s finest lyrics. “Maybe there’s a God above But all I’ve ever learned from love Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya And it’s not a cry that you hear at night It’s not somebody who’s seen the light It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.” —Hallelujah (1984) “Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in.” —Anthem (1992) “Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in to be free.” —Bird on the Wire (1979) “If you want a father for your child Or only want to walk with me a while across the sand I’m your man.” —I’m Your Man (1988) “Well my friends are gone and my is grey I ache in the places where I used to play And I’m crazy for love but I’m not coming on I’m just paying my rent every day Oh in the I said to : how lonely does it get? Hank Williams hasn’t answered yet But I hear him coughing all night long A hundred floors above me In the Tower of Song.” —Tower of Song (1988) “Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin Dance me through the panic ’til I’m gathered safely in Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove Dance me to the end of love.” —Dance Me To The End Of Love (1984) “We met when we were almost young deep in the green lilac park You held on to me like I was a crucifix, as we went kneeling through the dark.” —So Long, Marianne (1967) “Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder You’d been to the station to meet every train, and You came home without Lili Marlene.” —Famous Blue Raincoat (1971)

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