r harness
and the wind going wild
in the trees,
and it ain't exactly prison
but you'll never be forgiven
for whatever you've done
with the keys.
O baby I waited...
It's dark now and it's snowing
O my love I must be going,
The river has started to freeze.
And I'm sick of pretending
I'm broken from bending
I've lived too long on my knees.
Then she dances so graceful
and your heart's hard and hateful
and she's naked
but that's just a tease.
And you turn in disgust
from your hatred and from your love
and comes to you
light as the breeze.
O baby I waited...
There's blood on every bracelet
you can see it, you can taste it,
and it's Please baby
please baby please.
And she says, Drink deeply, pilgrim
but don't forget there's still a woman
beneath this
resplendent chemise.
So I knelt there at the delta,
at the alpha and the omega,
I knelt there like one who believes.
And the blessings come from heaven
and for something like a second
I'm cured and my heart
is at ease
Always
(by Irving Berlin)
Oh friends, [...] don't matter if you're a man or a woman. If you're in
love with somebody, these are the words that you got to learn to say. Now
listen carefully. Here it comes...
I'll be loving you always
with a love that's true, always
When the thing you've planned
needs my helping hand,
I will understand, always, always
Days may not be fair, always
Yeah but that's when I'll be there, always
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year, but always.
I said that I'll be loving you, always
with a love that's true, always.
When the thing you've planned
needs my helping hand,
I will, I will understand, always, always
(Oh that's pretty... that's pretty too... Oh darling)
The days may not be fair, always
Yeah but that's when I'll be there, always
Not for just a second, or a minute, or an hour,
Not for just a weekend and a shake down in the shower,
Not for just the summer and the winter going sour,
But always, always, always
(Ok if you don't want to quit, let's try it one more time)
I'll be loving you, always
with a love that's true, always.
When the thing you've planned
needs my helping hand,
I will understand, I will, I will understand, always, always
The days may not be fair, always
(Don't worry, baby)
That's when I'll be there, always
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year, but always.
Tacoma Trailer
(Instrumental)
* Other songs performed/written by Cohen but not recorded by him *
Store Room
I am less than happy with the lyrics transcribed here,
if you can suggest corrections, by all mean do so. (DE)
I love you, without caring whom you love.
My hands below the belt, or my hands above
in the arms of other men,
or in my bed again.
It's just a man,
Taking what he needs,
>From the store room,
Store room, store room.
I love to see you sitting there upon your throne,
your preachers all around you
being bored, and your prophet straight and tall.
And yet they'll undermine it all.
Just a man, just a man,
taking what he needs,
from the store room,
store room, store room.
Yeah, Shakespeare said it all, then he said no more
and he left me feeling just like a two bit whore.
Well the silence broke my heart, but yes
I spread my legs apart.
It's just a man...
?????
?????
The hermit in the Wild,
the parent in the child.
Just a man...
Oh my love, let us unpin you,
???? you done, bringing more:
the mother and the father, the daughter and the son.
But should one refuse to come, it does not subtract the sum
It's just a man...
It's not a (due?) of burning pounds that ruins your mind
like a spoon that you turn and you turn and you don't unwind,
Though these wars that you did not stop,
they don't tear your sleep apart.
It's just a man...
???? that keeps you up,
What a (moon?) coming like a headlight through the window
Not the thumbnail of a screen, (?)
No best way to dream (?)
It's just a man...
Now the woman by your side is she awake?
But there's nothing you want to give her,
and there's nothing that you really want to take.
You don't even try to prove that the noisy neighbor's making love. (?)
It's just a man...
I love you without caring whom you love...
Priests
(Written around 1968, but never recorded)
And who will write love songs for you
when I am lord at last
and your body is some little highway shrine
that all my priests have passed,
that all my priests have passed?
My priests they will put flowers there,
they will stand before the glass,
but they'll wear away your little window, love,
they will trample on the grass,
they will trample on the grass.
And who will aim the arrow
that men will follow through your grace
when I am lord of memory
and all your armour has turned to lace,
and all your armour has turned to lace?
The simple life of heroes,
and the twisted life of saints,
they just confuse the sunny calendar
with their red and golden paints,
with their red and golden paints.
And all of you have seen the dance,
that God has kept from me,
but he has seen me watching you
when all your minds were free
when all your minds were free.
And who will write love songs for you...
My priests they will put flowers there...
God is alive, magic is afoot
(Lyrics by Cohen, recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1969)
God is alive, magic is afoot
God is alive, magic is afoot
God is alive, magic is afoot
God is afoot, magic is alive
Alive is afoot, magic never died
God never sickened
Many poor men lied
Many sick men lied
Magic never weakened
Magic never hid
Magic always ruled
God is afoot, God never died
God was ruler
Though his funeral lengthened
Though his mourners thickened
Magic never fled
Though his shrouds were hoisted
The naked God did live
Though his words were twisted
The naked magic thrived
Though his death was published
Round and round the world
The heart did not believe
Many hurt men wondered
Many struck men bled
Magic never faltered
Magic always lead
Many stones were rolled
But God would not lie down
Many wild men lied
Many fat men listened
Though they offered stones
Magic still was fed
Though they locked their coffers
God was always served
Magic is afoot, God is alive
Alive is afoot
Alive is in command
Many weak men hungered
Many strong men thrived
Though they boast of solitude
God was at their side
Nor the dreamer in his cell
Nor the captain on the hill
Magic is alive
Though his death was pardoned
Round and round the world
The heart would not believe
Though laws were carved in marble
They could not shelter men
Though altars built in parliaments
They could not order men
Police arrested magic and magic went with them
Mmmmm.... for magic loves the hungry
But magic would not tarry
It moves from arm to arm
It would not stay with them
Magic is afoot
It cannot come to harm
It rests in an empty palm
It spawns in an empty mind
But magic is no instrument
Magic is the end
Many men drove magic
But magic stayed behind
Many strong men lied
They only passed through magic
And out the other side
Many weak men lied
They came to God in secret
And though they left Him nourished
They would not tell who healed
Though mountains danced before them
They said that God was dead
Though his shrouds were hoisted
The naked God did live
This I mean to whisper to my mind
This I mean to laugh within my mind
This I mean my mind to serve
Til' service is but magic
Moving through the world
And mind itself is magic
Coursing through the flesh
And flesh itself is magic
Dancing on a clock
And time itself
The magic length of God
God is alive, magic is afoot...
Die Gedanken sind frei
(reportedly performed by Cohen at some stage)
(apparently completely/partly performed by Cohen)
Die Gedanken sind frei! Wer kann sie erraten?
Sie fliegen vorbei wie naechtliche Schatten.
Kein Mensch kann sie wissen,
kein Jaeger erschiessen
mit Pulver und Blei.
Die Gedanken sind frei!
[Thoughts are free! Who can guess them?
They fly along like nightly treasures
No man can know them
No hunter can shoot them
With powder and lead
Thoughts are free!]
Ich denke, was ich will und was mich begluecket,
doch alles in der Still und wie es sich schicket.
Mein Wunsch und Begehren
kann niemand verwehren,
es bleibet dabei:
Die Gedanken sind frei!
[I think about what I want and what makes me happy
But everything quietly, and just how it comes.
To my wish and desire
Nobody can oppose,
It stays this way:
Thoughts are free!]
Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker,
das alles sind rein vergebliche Werke,
mit Pulver und Blei.
Die Gedanken sind frei!
[And if they lock me in a dark dungeon
That is something that can be forgiven
Cause my thoughts
Tear up the bars
And walls.
Thoughts are free!]
Ich denke, was ich will und was mich begluecket...
[I think about what I want and what makes me happy...]
Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker...
[And if they lock me in a dark dungeon...]
Ich liebe den Wein, mein Maedchen vor allen,
sie tut mir allein am besten gefallen.
Ich bin nicht alleine
bei meinem Glas Weine,
mein Maedchen dabei:
Die Gedanken sind frei!
[I love wine, my girl most of all,
Only me she pleases best
I am not alone
With my glass of wine
My girl is with me:
Thoughts are free!]
Drum will ich auf immer den Sorgen entsagen
und will mich auch nimmer mit Grillen mehr plagen.
Man kann ja im Herzen
stets lachen und scherzen
und denken dabei:
Die Gedanken sind frei!
[That's why I will never worry anymore
And I will never tease myself with whims anymore
Because in one's heart
One can keep laughing and joking
While thinking
Thoughts are free!]
Do I have to dance all night
I'm Forty-One, the moon is full,
you make love very well.
You touch me like I touch myself,
I like you Mademoiselle.
You're so fresh and you're so new,
I do enjoy you, Miss.
There's nothing I would rather do
than move around just like this
But do I have to dance all night?
But do I have to dance all night?
Ooh tell me, Bird of Paradise,
do I have to dance all night?
You never really have to tell me what
you really think of me - alright.
Let's say I'm doing fine,
but do I have to dance all night?
Do I have to dance all night?...
I learned this step a while ago.
I had to practice it while everybody slept.
I waited half my life for you, you know,
I didn't even think that you'd accept.
And here you are before me in the flesh
saying ``Yes, yes, yes!''
But do I have to dance all night?...
I learned this step a while ago...
But do I have to dance all night?...
Tennessee Waltz
(First verse is the traditional, second verse by Cohen)
I was dancin' with my darlin'
to the Tennessee Waltz
when an old friend I happened to see.
I introduced him to my darlin'
and while they were dancin'
my friend stole my sweetheart from me.
I remember the night
and the Tennessee Waltz
'cause I know just how much I have lost.
Yes, I lost my little darlin'
the night they were playing
that beautiful Tennessee Waltz
I remember the night...
She goes dancin' with the darkness
to the Tennessee Waltz
and I feel like I'm falling apart
and it's stronger than drink
and it's deeper than sorrow
this darkness she left in my heart
I remember the night...
That beautiful Tennessee Waltz
Misty Blue
(outtake from the Recent Songs sessions)
Oh but it's been such a long, long time.
Thought I'd got you off my mind.
Looks like I can't, just the thought of you
turns my whole world a misty blue.
Just the mention of your name
fans the flicker to a flame.
I can't forget the things we used to do.
My whole world turns misty blue.
You know I should forget you
I really should,
and heaven knows that I tried.
But when I told you,
when I said that we were through
deep in my heart I lied
Baby, oh what a long, long time.
Thought I'd get you off my mind.
Oh but I can't, just the thought of you
turns my world misty blue
And the very mention of your name
fans the flicker to a flame.
I think of things we used to do,
my whole world turns misty blue.
Song of Bernadette
(co-written with Jennifer Warnes, recorded by
Warnes on her album Famous Blue Raincoat)
There was a child named Bernadette
I heard the story long ago
She saw the Queen of Heaven once
And kept the vision in her soul
No one believed what she had seen
No one believed what she heard
That there were sorrows to be healed
And mercy, mercy in this world
So many hearts I find
Broke like yours and mine
Torn by what we've done and can't undo
I just want to hold you
Won't you let me hold you
Like Bernadette would do
We've been, we fall, we fly
We mostly fall, we moostly run
And every now and then we try
To mend the damage that we've done
Tonight, tonight I cannot rest
I've got this joy inside my breast
To think that I did not forget
That child, that song of Bernadette
So many hearts I find...
To love somebody
(originally by the Bee Gees)
There's a light, a very special light,
never ever shone on me.
I would like my whole life to be,
with someone like you...
with someone... with someone like...
You don't know what it's like,
You don't know what it's like,
to love somebody,
to love somebody,
the way I love you.
There's a way, a very special way,
To look at each and every single thing.
Ah, but what good would that bring,
if I ain't got you...
if I ain't... if I ain't got you.
You don't know what it's like,
I don't think you really, really know what it's like,
to love somebody,
to love somebody,
the way I love you,
the way I love you.
There's a light, a special kind of light,
never ever shone on me.
I would like my whole life to be,
with someone like you...
with someone... with someone like...
Baby, you don't know what it's like,
You, you just don't know what it's like,
to love somebody,
to love somebody,
the way I love you.
You don't know what it's like,
I don't think you really, really know what it's like,
to love somebody,
to love
the way I love you.
Whither thou goest
(from the Book of Ruth)
Whither thou goest I will go
Whither thou lodgest I will lodge
Thy people shall be,
My people.
Whither thou goest I will go
Whither thou goest I will go...
Whither thou goest I will go...
Way down deep
(co-written with Jennifer Warnes, recorded by Warnes
on her album The Hunter)
way down, way way down
way way down deep
you're got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you're got me way down, way down deep
I wander with you in my sleep
I'm way down, way way down,
way way down deep
it came to me this morning
I was walking down the street
was like my soul could taste you
and God, you tasted sweet
finally I can breathe again
finally I can speak
I've got you in the glory place
I've got you way down deep
I've got you way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you're got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you're got me way down, way way down,
I wander with you in my sleep
I'm way down, way way down,
way way down deep
it's a funny feeling
but I cannot say I mind
I know that I'm dealing with
a love that's far from blind
I see every single angle
I look before I leap
how else can I put it
when you're got me way down deep
you've got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you've got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you've got me way down, way down deep
I wander with you in my sleep
I'm way down, way way down,
way way down deep
don't matter what we gave away
was nothing we could keep
don't matter what we gave away
you know that talk is cheap
forgive me if I hate you
you're a liar and a thief
but I've got you in the glory place
I got you way down deep
you've got me way down, way way down...
don't matter if the road is long
don't matter if it's steep
don't matter if the moon goes out
and darkness is complete
don't matter if we lose our way
I know we;re gonna meet
I've got you in the glory place
I've got you way down deep
you've got me way down, way way down..
* Bibliography *
Books
- Poems
- Let Us Compare Mythologies, 1956.
- The Spice-Box of Earth, 1961.
- Flowers For Hitler, 1964.
- Parasites in Heaven, 1966.
- Selected Poems, 1956-1968, 1968.
- The Energy of Slaves, 1972.
- Death of a Lady's Man, 1978.
- Book of Mercy, 1984.
- Stranger Music, 1993.
- Novels
- The Favourite Game, 1963.
- Beutiful Losers, 1966.
Albums
Cohen's
- The Songs of Leonard Cohen, 1967-68.
- Songs from a Room, 1969.
- Songs of Love and Hate, 1970-71.
- Live Songs, 1971-73.
- New Skin for the Old Ceremony, 1973-74.
- The Best of Leonard Cohen/Greatest Hits, 1975.
- Suzanne
- Sisters of Mercy
- So long, Marianne
- Bird on the wire
- Lady Midnight
- The Partisan
- Hey, that's no way to say goodbye
- Famous blue raincoat
- Last year's man
- Chelsea Hotel #2
- Who by fire
- Take this longing
- Death of a Ladies' Man, 1977.
- Recent Songs, 1979.
- Various Positions, 1984.
- I'm Your Man, 1988.
- The Future, 1992-93.
- Live in concert, 1994.
- Dance me to the end of love (Toronto, 17/6/93)
- Bird on the wire (Toronto, 17/6/93)
- Everybody knows (Vancouver, 29/7/93)
- Joan of Arc (Toronto, 17/6/93)
- There is a war (Toronto, 17/6/93)
- Sisters of Mercy (Toronto, 17/6/93)
- Hallelujah (Austin, 31/10/88)
- I'm your man (Toronto, 17/6/93)
- Who by fire? (Austin, 31/10/88)
- One of us cannot be wrong (San Sebastian, 20/5/88)
- If it be your will (Austin, 31/10/88)
- Heart with no companion (Amsterdam, 19/4/88)
- Suzanne (Vancouver, 29/7/93)
Bootlegs
- Diamonds in the Mine Field,
Recorded Live in Montreaux, Switzerland, 1985.
- Bird on the wire
- The Law
- Hey, that's no way to say goodbye
- There is a war
- Who by fire
- Dance me to the end of love
- Diamonds in the minefield
- Night comes on
- Gypsy's wife
- Hallelujah
- A singer must die
- The Stranger Song
- Chelsea Hotel #2
- Famous blue rain coat
- [???].
- Bird on the wire
- So long, Marianne
- Who by fire
- Hey, that's no way to say goodbye
- Store room
- One of us cannot be wrong
- Lady Midnight
- There is a war
- I tried to leave you
- Diamonds in the mine
- Chelsea Hotel #2
- Stranger song
- Lover lover lover
- Sisters of Mercy
- Tonight will be fine
- Above the Soul,
Recorded Live in Los Angeles, 18/4/93.
- First we take Manhattan
- Ain't no cure for love
- Coming back to you
- Dance me to the end of love
- Democracy
- Waiting for the miracle
- The Future
- I'm your man
- Bird on the wire
- Everybody knows
- Avalanche
- Suzanne
- Tower of song
- I can't forget
- For the Love of Cain,
Recorded Live in Zürich, 21/5/93.
- Dance me to the end of love
- It is murder (The Future)
- Ain't no cure for love
- Bird on the wire
- Everybody knows
- First we take Manhattan
- Crumbs of love
- Chelsea Hotel
- Tower of song
- Democracy
- Waiting for the miracle
- I'm your man
- Joan of Arc
- Closing time
- Take this waltz
- Sisters of Mercy
- Hallelujah
- Right before your eyes (I tried to leave you)
- So long, Marianne
Cohen's songs performed by others
- I'm Your Fan, 1991.
- Who by fire, The House Of Love
- Hey, that's no way to say goodbye, Ian McCulloch
- I can't forget, Pixies
- Stories of the street, That Petrol Emotion
- Bird on the wire, The Lilac Time
- Suzanne, Geoffrey Oryema
- So long, Marianne, James
- Avalanche, Jean-Louis Murat VI
- Don't go home with your hard on, David Mc Comb &er; Adam Peters
- First we take Manhattan, R.E.M.
- Chelsea Hotel, Llyod Cole
- Tower of song, Robert Forster
- Take this longing, Peter Astor
- True love leaves no traces, Dead Famous People
- I'm your man, Bill Pritchard
- A singer must die, Fatima Mansions
- Tower of song, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Hallelujah, John Cale
- Fabrizio De Andrè
(Italian editions)
- Nancy
- Suzanne
- Giovanna D'Arco
* Sources *
This lyrics collection compiled from various sources by
Dean Engelhardt
(dean@cs.adelaide.edu.au)
Special thanks to Maurice Maes, Rheal Nadeau, Jo Meachem, Kjetil Dimmen,
Brian Cameron, and Rudi Schmid.
The original edition was modified, LaTeXed and then Webbed by
Giovanni Pensa
(pensa@ghost.dsi.unimi.it)
And, of course, suggestions and corrections are welcomed.
Giovanni Pensa (pensa@dsi.unimi.it)