About Leonard Cohen

Man, Cale's performance was just stunning, really takes me back... 😍

It’s rare to find singer-songwriters who are truly this sincere and stripped back—and out of the few who actually exist, Leonard Cohen is easily number one. He isn't interested in shouting calls to rebellion or launching critiques at society; instead, he just pours out these completely purified emotions... it's almost intuitive, really. He has this incredible sense for humanity—for both our inherent weaknesses and our capacity for greatness.

Perhaps his most beautiful reflections are...

...I smile when I'm angry.
I cheat and I lie.
I do what I have to do
To get by.
But I know what is wrong,
And I know what is right.
And I'd die for the truth...

Well said!🙂
But let's be honest—it's not like Cohen doesn't have songs where he takes a sharp, critical look at society and practically calls for a revolution!😁
He probably belongs in that first category: poets who write exclusively about love, raw emotion, and sex.😁 But then there’s also this other thing... let's just say:

The tales of the sidewalk belong to me, while the voices from downtown just laugh.
The Cadillacs are creeping through the dark tonight, moving right through the poison gas.
And here I am, leaning out from my window sill in this charming old hotel I picked out.
It’s a delicate balance, isn't it? One hand gripping the edge of the abyss, and the other holding onto a single, beautiful rose.
I know people are saying it’s all over and that war is inevitable, but don't believe everything you hear!
The cities have been split right down the middle, and the middlemen? They’ve vanished entirely.
But allow me to pose the question once more, oh children of the twilight!
All these self-proclaimed hunters screaming at the top of their lungs right now—do they really think they're speaking for the rest of us?

And if you dare address me as "brother" at this stage,
Forgive me if I inquire.
Forgive me if I inquire.
When everything finally settles into dust.
I will kill you if I must.
I will help you if I must.
When everything finally settles and turns to dust.
I will help you if I must.
I will kill you if I must.
And heaven help our uniforms!
Man of Peace or Man of War.
The peacock unfurls its magnificent fan! It is a spectacular display of pure, unadulterated confidence.

I feel like I’ve reinvented myself a hundred times over!
I have lost my wife and my children.
But honestly, I have so many friends!
I have all of America!

An old man, tucked away in an attic.
They kept us hidden away for the night.
The Americans took him!
It happened exactly as expected. He passed away without any surprises.

Oh, the wind! It’s really picking up now—just blowing through everything!
The wind is howling right through the graveyards now.
Freedom is just around the corner!
Then we shall emerge from the shadows.

I finally managed to break into the penitentiary!
I found my place in the chain.
Even damnation is poisoned with rainbows.
All those courageous young men.
They’re standing by right now, just waiting for a single sign.
Which mercenary is going to be pulling the trigger just to collect a paycheck?

Step into this furnace! I am asking you right now to take the plunge!
You, whom I simply cannot betray.
To all of you who have been crushed under the weight of authority: hang in there!
To those of you who are nowhere to be found all day!
You people act like kings just to build a legacy for your kids.
It’s a striking image, isn't it? It feels like something straight out of a classic American fable. You have this beggar, someone who should be empty-handed, yet their palm is heavy with cash. It’s such a sharp, vivid contradiction!
The hand of your lover is mere clay.

Step into the fire! I am asking you right now to brave the heat and venture into this furnace!

Field Commander Cohen was easily our most vital asset in the intelligence game.
Wounded in the line of duty.
It's like parachuting acid directly into a high-stakes diplomatic cocktail party!
It’s time to call it like it is: I am urging Fidel Castro to finally walk away from those battlefields and abandoned castles. There comes a point where you have to stop fighting the wind and just find some peace.
Walk away from it all and face it like a man.
Let's return to the ordinary. There is a certain charm in the mundane, don't you think? It’s like coming home after a whirlwind tour of the coast to find everything exactly where you left it—uncomplicated and perfectly still. Sometimes, the most profound moments aren't found in the grand spectacles, but in the quiet, unremarkable stretches of life. Let's settle back into the everyday.
Think of those endless stretches of time—like sitting in sterile hospital waiting rooms or standing in massive lines for concert tickets.
Silver bullet suicides—it’s a chilling concept, isn't it? It brings to mind those moments where everything feels like a sudden, irreversible snap. Much like a single, decisive strike in a high-stakes thriller, this phenomenon represents a terrifyingly efficient end. It's an intense and heavy subject, but one that demands our attention.
And those messianic ocean tides!
And those intense, racial roller-coaster rides.
And then there are those other varieties of sheer boredom masquerading as profound poetry.

I am certain that you have endured significant hardship, my friend.
But bear with me for just a moment:
It’s the little things that truly weigh on a soldier's heart. It isn't just the grand battles or the heavy gear; it's the quiet moments of reflection. Think of it like a sudden thunderstorm hitting a clear afternoon in Chicago—it catches you completely off guard and leaves everything feeling heavy and damp. One moment you're moving forward, and the next, you're just trying to find shelter from the weight of it all.
He’ll make a killer smile.
I'm leaving, Captain. I must go.
I must go, there's blood upon your hand.
I must go, there's blood upon your hand.
"A solid foundation to build upon."
I'm on the side that's always lost.
I'm on the side that's always lost.
I'm on the side that's always lost.
I'm on the side that's always lost.
And I've read the Bill of Rights.
And part of it was actually true.
Yet, there wasn't a single ounce of weight left to carry.
So, I'm laying it all out for you!

Everybody Knows that the game is rigged.
Everyone seems to be walking around with their fingers tightly crossed!
Everybody Knows that the war is over.
Everybody Knows the good guys lost.
Everybody Knows the fight was rigged.
It’s the classic American struggle: the cycle keeps spinning where the underprivileged remain stuck in place while wealth continues to snowball at the top. It's like a rigged game of Monopoly where one player starts with all the properties and everyone else is just fighting over the leftover nickels.
That’s just the way the cookie crumbles!
Everybody Knows
Everybody Knows that the boat is leaking.
Everybody Knows that the captain lied.
It seems like everyone is carrying around this sense of being broken lately. It’s a universal weight, isn't it? Like a cracked windshield that you just keep driving with, hoping the damage doesn't spread. We all have those moments where things feel fractured.
It’s like they just lost their father or their dog.

It seems like everyone is just talking to their own pockets these days!
Everyone craves a box of chocolates. It’s a universal desire!
And a single, long-stemmed rose.
Everybody Knows

You wouldn't recognize me if I walked right past you in the street. You don't know me from the wind!
You simply won't, and the truth is, you never have.
I am the little Jew.
Who actually penned the Bible? It’s one of those massive, sweeping questions that makes you feel like you're staring into a canyon! If you look at it from a historical perspective, it isn't just one person sitting down with a quill and a dream. It’s more like a grand, multi-generational relay race where different authors passed the torch through the centuries. You have various prophets, leaders, and scholars all contributing their pieces to the puzzle over a vast stretch of time. It’s a monumental collection of diverse voices working toward a single, cohesive narrative!
I have witnessed the rise and fall of entire nations.
I have listened to their accounts; I have heard every single one of them.
But let's be honest: love is the only engine of survival!
Your servant is reporting for duty; the word has been received.
Let's be blunt about this: let's lay it out plain and cold.
It’s finished. It isn't happening.
Is there anything else?
And just like that, the gears of heaven grind to a halt.
It feels like you can practically sense the sting of the devil's riding crop!
Brace yourselves for what’s coming next!
It’s straight-up murder.

Things are about to take a turn for the worse. It feels like everything is starting to slip through our fingers!

There is going to be a total shattering of the old ways!
The Western Code.
Brace yourselves! Your private life is about to undergo a massive, sudden explosion. It’s like a sudden market crash or a lightning bolt hitting a quiet suburb—one minute everything is calm, and the next, total chaos!
There will be phantoms.
Expect nothing but fire on the open road ahead!
And the white man keeps on dancing!
You're going to encounter a woman.
Upside down! It’s a complete perspective shift! Think about it—when you flip your world on its head, everything looks different. It’s like looking at a skyscraper from the sidewalk versus looking at it from a helicopter. Suddenly, the ground isn't the foundation; it's the ceiling! It's an absolute rush!
Her features were hidden beneath the folds of her fallen gown.
And every one of those mediocre little poets.
Coming around!
I am attempting to channel the essence of Charles Manson! It’s quite an intense exercise, isn't it? Think of it like trying to paint a masterpiece using only shadows and lightning bolts—it requires a certain kind of dark energy to get the texture just right. One must capture that frantic, unsettling rhythm!
And the white man's dancing!

Bring back the Berlin Wall!
It’s a fascinating comparison! Think of it like two different types of architects trying to rebuild a crumbling skyscraper. On one hand, you have the iron-fisted dictator, and on the other, the spiritual revolutionary. It’s a study in absolute power versus absolute faith. One seeks to control the physical world through sheer force, while the other attempts to reshape the human soul from the inside out. It’s quite a striking contrast!
Give me Christ!
Or just give me Hiroshima.
Eliminate another embryo immediately!
Let's be honest: we aren't exactly big fans of children, anyway.
I've seen the future, baby!
It’s straight-up murder.

Keep moving forward, keep sailing!
Oh, mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Beyond the Reefs of Greed
Navigating the Storms of Hatred
Keep moving forward, keep pushing ahead, just keep sailing!

It’s hitting the States first!
It is truly the ultimate breeding ground for both the absolute best and the absolute worst.
It's finally arrived! They really have covered the whole spectrum now.
And the gears of progress are turning! It’s all about having the right machinery for change.
And this is exactly where they find that deep, spiritual thirst!
It’s finally happened. The family is officially fractured.
And just like that, it’s arrived—that moment when the lonely find their voice.
It’s simple, really: the heart just has to open.
At its very core:
Democracy is finally making its way back to the heart of America!

Both sides are driving this movement—men and women alike.
Oh darling, we’re going to rediscover that magic together very soon.
We’re headed straight for the depths!
The river is going to weep.
And the mountains themselves are going to shout Amen!
It’s approaching with the unstoppable force of a massive tidal surge!
Underneath the moon's rhythmic pull.
Imperial, mysterious.
In an amorous array!
Democracy is finally making its way back to the United States! It’s an incredible feeling to watch the gears of our republic start turning again. Much like watching a classic engine finally roar back to life after years of being stalled in a garage, there is a palpable sense of momentum building across the country. We are witnessing a revitalization of the American spirit!

Keep moving forward, just keep sailing!

I’m a sentimentalist at heart, if you catch my drift!
I have a deep affection for this country, but honestly, I just can't stomach the local scene.
I don't lean toward the left, nor do I align with the right.
I’ve decided to stay in tonight! There is something truly wonderful about a quiet evening at home.
Getting lost in that tiny, hopeless little screen.
But I'm as stubborn as a stack of heavy-duty trash bags!
Time itself possesses an incredible power; it simply refuses to decay.
I might be a bit of a wreck, but I’m still standing tall!
This tiny, unruly bouquet!
Democracy is finally making its grand entrance into the United States! It’s an incredible feeling to see it happening right before our eyes.

stormyviper11, so you were one of those die-hard fans at the concert too!😁 Hallelujah was absolutely stunning.😍 Aside from that particular cover, there are two other versions out there that I actually prefer over the original—like R.E.M.'s "First We Take Manhattan."🙏 I love Concrete Blonde's "Everybody Knows"... honestly, we could probably add a few more tracks like that to the list!

Ashley Smith5 As specified by:
Just one of the guys in the crowd at the concert.😁

Oh, come on—it wasn't exactly a ghost town. It was actually pretty decent, just a little on the thin side. 😁

I wasn't even on this forum back then—so I never got the chance to share how incredible Cale's concert actually was. 😍

Personally, I think both versions are incredible—especially Jeff Buckley's cover of Cohen's Hallelujah. 🙏

Ashley Smith5 said:There are actually two covers that I dig more than the original—R.E.M.'s "First we take Manhattan" 🙏 and Concrete Blonde's "Everybody Knows"... honestly, there might be even more out there.

😍 😍 😍
I don't know the second one (though I think I heard a killer cover of it recently), but...
To be honest, I'm not really a huge R.E.M. fan.
I absolutely love the original version of this track.
But yeah, they definitely managed to nail it even better than Cohen himself, and for me, it’s probably the most convincing recording of their entire career (maybe tied with a live one with Billy Bragg...), so yeah.

I remember that Cale concert like it was yesterday. It was basically a giveaway prize for him and Byrne's show a few days later—you just had to email the factory at a specific time.
Out of the 20 people who scored tickets to every single show, about 7 or 8 of us were part of the same crew (🙏 basically coordinating when to hit send on those emails).

Cale was absolutely magnificent, and Byrne's set a few days after that was easily one of the best shows I've ever seen. Pure joy. 🙏

Ah Byrne, the one and only Byrne😢

Some of us weren't lucky enough to win those sweepstakes; instead, we had to make the agonizing choice between Cale & Byrne😁

I remember it like it was yesterday😁 when I got a late-night text from a friend describing the setlist and the electric atmosphere at the Byrne concert... oh man😁

But it doesn't matter now—the main thing is that I finally heard Hallelujah live😍 😁

Yeah, those giveaway contests hit the jackpot perfectly... 🙂 Two incredible shows in just a few days, and I didn't spend a single dime.

I remember, even though Hallelujah blew me away, the absolute peak of the night—almost felt like a religious experience—was when Cale decided to throw Frozen Warnings into the setlist. 😍 I seriously didn't see that coming. And then Over Her Head... Man, it was stunning.

But honestly, none of it could quite touch the sheer intensity of Lazy during the Byrne concert. Those ten or fifteen minutes of pure, frantic rhythm... it felt like—and I know this might sound sacrilegious to write out like this—but it felt like Byrne had finally stumbled upon that ultimate, hypnotic groove he’d been chasing since his days with Talking Heads. 🙂

Actually, it was just as hypnotic as the stuff those other two icons nailed so effortlessly on the first Tom Club album. 😉

Yes, Frozen Warnings was quite a surprise😁
Cale isn't Nico, but there were certainly similarities👍
...such a haunting piece of work😁

Back to the point at hand... I had to dig deep to find it, but this whole thread actually inspired me to write that blog about Cohen back in the day... 😁

What has become of Cohen😁 ...just one erotoman🤣

It's all about a certain man in his later years, a 73-year-old😁

Dana Anderson4 .. yeah, thanks.. honestly thinking about checking it out.
There’s a little bit of stuff on Amazon, but still..
Forget the DVD.. "I'm Your Man".. right?

Grace Carter80 said:not a DVD... I'm Your Man... right?

So you're interested in Cohen... let me think. I'll get back to you. 😁

😉

It’s all coming back to me now... wait, let me wrap my head around this first...
So, I’m actually pretty into books—this is what I’ve got on hand... plus, most of this was basically gifted to me. Fresh stuff, too...
Anyway, how’s everyone doing?

Cheers! 🤷

Man, Leonard Cohen is just incredible. I think I own pretty much every album he’s ever dropped—maybe I'm missing one or two, but I definitely have all the studio stuff. I mostly find myself spinning those first four albums over and over, though I've dipped into The Futurists from '92 a bit... and maybe a little bit of Ten New Songs too.

That early era is hands down my favorite. That's the real Cohen for me... just him, his guitar, maybe some bass here and there, or some strings. And god, the songwriting... those melodies are so captivating, even if they do loop sometimes. You know, tracks like >, >, or >... honestly, most of them don't even bother with a chorus.

There's just so much to dive into when it comes to Cohen. I was checking out that new biography, >, and wow... looks like it's actually doing pretty well on the charts.

Andrew Stewart2 said:Man, Cohen is incredible. Even though I own almost all his albums (maybe missing one or two, but I think I have the full studio run), I mostly stick to those first four, plus some of The Futurists from '92. And a little bit of Ten New Songs.

That early era is my favorite—that's the real Cohen, just him and a guitar, maybe some bass or strings thrown in. He’s a brilliant lyricist, and his melodies are fascinating, even if they can be repetitive at times (think Seems so long ago, Nancy; Story of Isaac; songs without choruses, in my opinion).

There is so much to discuss regarding Cohen. That new biography, Various Positions, is quite interesting, and I see it's actually selling pretty well too.

Well, you basically rejected him for me right out of the gate! I can't stand repetitive melodies that lack a chorus. If he wants to win me over with that style, he’s got to be absolutely flawless at it. I know a few of his tracks, sure, but he just doesn't grab me... I remember watching this old Canadian comedy sketch once, if I recall correctly: "Leonard Cohen - Music Through the Four Seasons!" It was this impersonator singing for every season, but every single song sounded exactly the same—just dark and gloomy regardless of whether it was summer or winter. That was ages ago, but it still gives me a good laugh.

Man, I know you wouldn't dig it. But honestly, if you're just looking for catchy pop tunes, you won't find much here... You gotta really listen to the lyrics, or even just sit down and read them, they're actually worth the effort.

Cohen is one of the absolute greats 👍

ziggystardust said:But that's just how it is—if you're mainly looking for catchy tunes, there isn't much here for you.

I mean, Cohen has these incredible melodies, a killer voice, stunning delivery, and lyrics that just hit different!

hallelujah 🙏 🙏 🙏