The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen

by Leonard Cohen

When his first album made him an unlikely star in the late 1960s, Leonard Cohen was hailed as the new poet of song. His melodies were hauntingly melodic but his lyrics were like no one else's - poignant, romantic, mystical and darkly comic. Already a poet and a novelist, Cohen had found another calling in song..."The Songs of Leonard Cohen", "Songs from a Room" and "Songs of Love and Hate" were the titles of his first three albums. Eight more would follow over the next 40 years. In this collector's edition, can be found the lyrics to over 100 of those classic songs, many of them now recorded by new generations of singers that include U2, Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson. This unique collection demonstrates why.

Genres: Poetry, Music, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2009

About the author

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963.

Cohen's earliest songs (many of which appeared on the 1968 album Songs of Leonard Cohen) were rooted in European folk music melodies and instrumentation, sung in a high baritone. The 1970s were a musically restless period in which his influences broadened to encompass pop, cabaret, and world music. Since the 1980s he has typically sung in lower registers (bass baritone, sometimes bass), with accompaniment from electronic synthesizers and female backing singers.

His work often explores the themes of religion, isolation, sexuality, and complex interpersonal relationships.

Cohen's songs and poetry have influenced many other singer-songwriters, and more than a thousand renditions of his work have been recorded. He has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008 for his status among the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters".

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died...

He could have written it yesterday. Goodbye, Mr. Cohen. Thank you for everything.

[Tassa DeSalada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leonard Cohen was an amazing talent! His poetry and prose dive headfirst into the deepest darkest depths of the human psyche, and bring those animalistic urges to the forefront. He taps into our human condition with just a handful of words. His words are so true and inspirational and on target, that his audience has no choice but to agree with him and his message. Leonard Cohen was a genius, with bohemian traits, and a rawness that gets to the heart of matters, especially sexy ones.

[Arthur Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder

— LC, The Future

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's not much to say here, a near complete anthology of Cohen's lyrics is as good as it gets. Accompanied by extremely useful blurbs by Graham Vickers, every song is presented clearly and explained with great detail (albeit I will say some songs could have been further expanded upon). I chose to read this while listening to each song (which took a while) and recommend anyone interested in getting the full Cohen experience do the same. There is something immortal about Cohen's lyrics and writing - and this is a great window into that timeless sublimity.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, the clue is in the name, here. This book brings together a bunch of lyrics by Leonard Cohen, who happens to be one of my favourite singer/songwriters, and then alphabetises them by title. It makes it a little bit reminiscent of his poetry collections, although there’s also something undefinable that separates the two. It’s weird, because a lot of his songs are based on his poems, and yet the two definitely feel different.

Perhaps the best thing about this book was the fact that at the bottom of each of the songs, there was a little note that detailed the history of the song and any further information, along with where it was released.

The only downside was that there were a few typos, including stuff that any decent proofreader should pick up on. We’re talking about sentences that suddenly cut out in the middle, a bit like.

[Marlène · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je ne repars que très rarement les mains vides du rayon "musique" de ma bibliothèque. Un peu perdu entre la biographie de Justin Bieber et un "beau" (je m'étouffe un peu là, alors les guillemets ont un poids tout particulier) livre sur One Direction, les mots "lyrics" et "Cohen" semblaient me lancer un grand appel à l'adoption temporaire d'un recueil de chanson et poèmes, histoire de lui offrir un petit break, loin des effets capillaires et cris suraigus de pré-adolescentes.
Un break pour le livre et un grand plaisir pour moi.
Plus d'une centaine de textes, entre grands succès, chansons plus obscures, poèmes jamais mis en musiques ou chantés par d'autres mais jamais Cohen lui-même. Je me suis laissée porter par la mélancolie, parfois à peine teintée d'humour, occasionnellement drôle et irrévérencieuse, les histoires d'amour qui, pour citer les Ritas, finissent mal en général, l'infidélité (la sienne aussi), la lâcheté (de Cohen souvent) de certaines ruptures et la douleur de voir son amour perdre sa lumière ou simplement la lassitude. Je me suis aussi laissée surprendre par certains textes aux mots religieux et aux thèmes loin de toute foi, et inversement, comme une absence de termes religieux portant un message qui lui l'est sans équivoque...
Des mots à lire à voix haute, d'autres à murmurer mais souvent, rien ne vaut la voix de Leonard Cohen pour saisir leur portée ou leur musicalité.
J'ai eu plaisir à lire ces chansons que j'aimais déjà, ou à en découvrir d'autres. Notamment "The Ballad of the Absent Mare" (1979) qui semble-t-il est basée sur les 10 étapes menant à l'éveil spirituel Bouddhiste, mais que je préfère lire comme une histoire d'amour...
Pour les lecteurs connaissant la musique mais pas bien la vie de l'homme (comme moi!), chaque texte est suivit de deux ou trois lignes indiquant album/recueil de poèmes, date, inspirations et thèmes chers à Cohen, ou encore leur rapport avec l'actualité de l'époque de l'écriture ou interprétation.
Un bon recueil pour découvrir le génie de Leonard Cohen, sa poésie, ses mots, pour mieux se (re)plonger dans sa musique...

[Wes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hoped for more but what did I really expect, this is a great book to dip into for reference but lyrics with out a tune just is so wrong. Did discover a few good lyrics that made me revisit the CD's but not that many. Give me the Dylan or Paul Simon lyrics anyday.

[Clarissa Dalloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before being beautiful songs, Cohen's works are fantastic poems full of moving images. I've really loved reading them.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Amazon review -

Fun Book.

There ought to be more books like this.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been a long time since I listened to or read any Leonard Cohen. The poetry for the most part is wonderful, which is given greater meaning with the few comments at the end of each poem/lyric. These comments set the place, year or tone of his work. The scattered photos are an extra bonus.

Certainly worth a read for Cohen fans.
There is also mention of his time in the Greek Isles.

[Rebecca Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good compilations of Cohen's songs through _Dear Heather_. The collection includes songs he composed but never recorded or performed himself. Each song has a short blurb at the end discussing its context and quality.

[Mobina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been by my side for a long time now I read a poem or two every day. Really enjoyed

[Loki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous poetry - not as good as listening to it, but almost!