B i o g r a p h y (by Bruce Eder)
One of the most interesting and enduring, if not the most successful singer/songwriters of the late '60s, Leonard Cohen retained a substantial following for decades to come, along with the attention of critics who long since ceased worrying about new works by most of his contemporaries. Cohen was born nearly a decade earlier than the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, and a year before Elvis Presley, but his personal, social, and intellectual background couldn't be more different from any rock stars of any generation; nor can he be easily compared even with any members of the generation of folk singers that came of age in the 1960s. He didn't start performing or recording until he was in his mid-30s, after he had already written several books. As an established novelist and poet, his literary accomplishments far exceed those of Bob Dylan, though as a performer, his rather monotone voice is less appealing than Dylan's singing. Leonard Cohen was born into a middle-class Jewish family in the Montreal suburb of Westmount. His father, a clothing merchant, died when Cohen was nine years old. Cohen was raised in a progressive environment, and was encouraged to express himself at an early age. He took up the guitar at age 13, initially as a way to impress a girl, but within a year or two was singing his own songs at local cafes. He majored in English at McGill University, and despite average grades, won the McNaughton Prize in creative writing before graduating in 1955. His first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies, was published the following year, and became a critical success. Two more books of his poetry followed, along with an attempt to join the family business and a stint at Columbia University, but primarily Cohen wrote; his work was popular enough to pay him a modest royalty which, when coupled with government-sponsored literary grants and a family legacy, allowed him to live comfortably. He also lived a very free lifestyle, involving many women, experiments with LSD when it was still legal, and travels around the world. Cohen became almost as well-known in Canada for his iconoclastic behavior as his writing, and only seemed to benefit from these extra-literary activities, in terms of recognition, especially in America. Two novels, The Favorite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966), solidified his reputation in mid-decade. He had written songs ever since his mid-teens, and even these began attracting attention. Judy Collins, one of the top folk talents to emerge during the mid-'60s, cut a version of Cohen's "Suzanne" that proved extremely popular, garnering considerable radio airplay and becoming one of her most popular numbers; and she persuaded Cohen to join her on the folk song circuit. He made his debut during the summer of 1967 at the Newport Folk Festival, followed by a pair of sold-out concerts in New York City and an appearance singing his songs and reciting his poems on the CBS network television show Camera Three. At around the same time, actor/singer Noel Harrison brought "Suzanne" onto the pop charts with a recording of his own.
Cohen was signed to Columbia Records, and in early 1968 his first album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen, was released. Despite its spare production and melancholy subject matter — or, very possibly because of it — the album was an immediate hit by the standards of the folk music world and the budding singer/songwriter community. College students by the thousands bought it; in its second year of release, the record sold over 100,000 copies. The Songs of Leonard Cohen was as close as Cohen ever got to mass audience success. His next album, Songs From a Room (1969), was characterized by a similar spirit of melancholy, but was less well-received commercially and critically. The album did have a pair of tracks, "Bird on a Wire" and "The Story of Isaac," that became standards rivalling "Suzanne." Cohen's third album, Songs of Love and Hate (1971), showed a slackening of interest in his work, as his following retreated to well-established cult status, despite the presence of the acclaimed songs "Joan of Arc" and "Famous Blue Raincoat." Leonard Cohen: Live Songs was released in 1973. Despite the critical misgivings about his vocal abilities, Cohen always had enough of a following to justify another long-player every other year or so. Meanwhile, in 1973, his music became the basis for a theatrical production called Sisters of Mercy, conceived by Gene Lesser and loosely based on Cohen's life, or at least a fantasy version of his life. A three-year lag ensued between Songs of Love and Hate and Cohen's next album, and most critics and fans just assumed he'd hit a dry spell. His 1974 release New Skin for Old Ceremony seemed to justify his fans' continued faith in his work. The new songs were still depressing and bleak, but also surprising in the language and their revelations. Columbia Records released The Best of Leonard Cohen in 1975. In 1977, Cohen reappeared with Death of a Ladies' Man. Cohen's most controversial album, Death of a Ladies' Man was produced by the reclusive and enigmatic producer Phil Spector and suffered from the worst attributes of Cohen's and Spector's work; it was overly dense and self-consciously imposing in its sound, and it virtually bathed the listener in Cohen's depressive persona, still limited in presentation to a monotone delivery. Cohen's next two albums, Recent Songs (1979) and Various Positions (1985, Passport Records), attracted relatively little attention despite their strong respective song lineups. I'm Your Man (1988, Columbia), however, benefitted from the release a year earlier of Jennifer Warnes' Famous Blue Raincoat, a collection of Cohen's best work presented by a singer with a very attractive voice; it sold very well and served to remind the public of the worth of Cohen's music. Cohen rose to the occasion with I'm Your Man, introducing humor (albeit rather black humor) to his mix of pessimism and poetic conceits, with the result that the album was his best-selling record in more than a decade. Four years later, Cohen released The Future, an album that dwelt on the many threats facing mankind in the coming years and decades. Not the stuff of pop charts or MTV heavy rotation, it attracted Cohen's usual coterie of fans, and enough press interest as well as sufficient sales, to justify the release in 1994 of his second concert album, Live.
Go No More A-Roving Because Of The Letters Undertow Morning Glory On That Day Villanelle for Our Time There For You Dear Heather Nightingale To A Teacher The Faith Tennessee Waltz (Live)
Songs of Leonard Cohen
Suzanne
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river You can hear the boats go by You can spend the night beside her And you know that she's half crazy But that's why you want to be there And she feeds you tea and oranges That come all the way from China And just when you mean to tell her That you have no love to give her Then she gets you on her wavelength And she lets the river answer That you've always been her lover And you want to travel with her And you want to travel blind And you know that she will trust you For you've touched her perfect body with your mind. And Jesus was a sailor When he walked upon the water And he spent a long time watching From his lonely wooden tower And when he knew for certain Only drowning men could see him He said "All men will be sailors then Until the sea shall free them" But he himself was broken Long before the sky would open Forsaken, almost human He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone And you want to travel with him And you want to travel blind And you think maybe you'll trust him For he's touched your perfect body with his mind. Now Suzanne takes your hand And she leads you to the river She is wearing rags and feathers From Salvation Army counters And the sun pours down like honey On our lady of the harbour And she shows you where to look Among the garbage and the flowers There are heroes in the seaweed There are children in the morning They are leaning out for love And they will lean that way forever While Suzanne holds the mirror And you want to travel with her And you want to travel blind And you know that you can trust her For she's touched your perfect body with her mind. Master Song
I believe that you heard your master sing When I was sick in bed. I suppose that he told you everything That I keep locked away in my head. Your master took you travelling, Well at least that's what you said. And now do you come back to bring Your prisoner wine and bread? You met him at some temple, where They take your clothes at the door. He was just a numberless man in a chair Who'd just come back from the war. And you wrap up his tired face in your hair And he hands you the apple core. Then he touches your lips now so suddenly bare Of all the kisses we put on some time before. And he gave you a German Shepherd to walk With a collar of leather and nails, And he never once made you explain or talk About all of the little details, Such as who had a word and who had a rock, And who had you through the mails. Now your love is a secret all over the block, And it never stops not even when your master fails. And he took you up in his aeroplane, Which he flew without any hands, And you cruised above the ribbons of rain That drove the crowd from the stands. Then he killed the lights in a lonely Lane And, an ape with angel glands, Erased the final wisps of pain With the music of rubber bands. And now I hear your master sing, You kneel for him to come. His body is a golden string That your body is hanging from. His body is a golden string, My body has grown numb. Oh now you hear your master sing, Your shirt is all undone. And will you kneel beside this bed That we polished so long ago, Before your master chose instead To make my bed of snow? Your eyes are wild and your knuckles are red And you're speaking far too low. No I can't make out what your master said Before he made you go. Then I think you're playing far too rough For a lady who's been to the moon; I've lain by this window long enough To get used to an empty room. And your love is some dust in an old man's cough Who is tapping his foot to a tune, And your thighs are a ruin, you want too much, Let's say you came back some time too soon. I loved your master perfectly I taught him all that he knew. He was starving in some deep mystery Like a man who is sure what is true. And I sent you to him with my guarantee I could teach him something new, And I taught him how you would long for me No matter what he said no matter what you'd do. I believe that you heard your master sing While I was sick in bed, I'm sure that he told you everything I must keep locked away in my head. Your master took you travelling, Well at least that's what you said, And now do you come back to bring Your prisoner wine and bread? Winter Lady
Trav'ling lady, stay awhile Until the night is over. I'm just a station on your way, I know I'm not your lover. Well I lived with a child of snow When I was a soldier, And I fought every man for her Until the nights grew colder. She used to wear her hair like you Except when she was sleeping, And then she'd weave it on a loom Of smoke and gold and breathing. And why are you so quiet now Standing there in the doorway? You chose your journey long before You came upon this highway. Trav'ling lady stay awhile Until the night is over. I'm just a station on your way, I know I'm not your lover. Stranger Song
It's true that all the men you knew were dealers Who said they were through with dealing Every time you gave them shelter I know that kind of man It's hard to hold the hand of anyone Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender, Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender. And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind You find he did not leave you very much Not even laughter Like any dealer he was watching for the card That is so high and wild He'll never need to deal another He was just some Joseph looking for a manger He was just some Joseph looking for a manger And then leaning on your window sill He'll say one day you caused his will To weaken with your love and warmth and shelter And then taking from his wallet An old schedule of trains, he'll say I told you when I came I was a stranger I told you when I came I was a stranger. But now another stranger seems To want you to ignore his dreams As though they were the burden of some other O you've seen that man before His golden arm dispatching cards But now it's rusted from the elbows to the finger And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter Yes he wants to trade the game he knows for shelter. Ah you hate to see another tired man Lay down his hand Like he was giving up the holy game of poker And while he talks his dreams to sleep You notice there's a highway That is curling up like smoke above his shoulder. It is curling just like smoke above his shoulder. You tell him to come in sit down But something makes you turn around The door is open you can't close your shelter You try the handle of the road It opens do not be afraid It's you my love, you who are the stranger It's you my love, you who are the stranger. Well, i've been waiting, I was sure We'd meet between the trains we're waiting for I think it's time to board another Please understand, I never had a secret chart To get me to the heart of this Or any other matter When he talks like this You don't know what he's after When he speaks like this, You don't know what he's after. Let's meet tomorrow if you choose Upon the shore, beneath the bridge That they are building on some endless river Then he leaves the platform For the sleeping car that's warm You realize, he's only advertising one more shelter And it comes to you, he never was a stranger And you say ok the bridge or someplace later. And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind ... And leaning on your window sill ... I told you when I came I was a stranger. Sisters of Mercy
Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on. And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song. Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long. Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control. It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul. Well i've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned: When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned. Well they lay down beside me, I made my confession to them. They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem. If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn They will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem. When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon. Don't turn on the lights, you can read their address by the moon. And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night: We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right, We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right. So Long Marianne
Come over to the window, my little darling, I'd like to try to read your palm. I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy Before I let you take me home. Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again. Well you know that I love to live with you, But you make me forget so very much. I forget to pray for the angels And then the angels forget to pray for us. Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ... 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. Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ... Your letters they all say that you're beside me now. Then why do I feel alone? I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web Is fastening my ankle to a stone. Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ... For now I need your hidden love. I'm cold as a new razor blade. You left when I told you I was curious, I never said that I was brave. Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ... Oh, you are really such a pretty one. I see you've gone and changed your name again. And just when I climbed this whole mountainside, To wash my eyelids in the rain! Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ... Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm, Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm, Yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new, In city and in forest they smiled like me and you, But now it's come to distances and both of us must try, Your eyes are soft with sorrow, Hey, that's no way to say goodbye. I'm not looking for another as I wander in my time, Walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme You know my love goes with you as your love stays with me, It's just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea, But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie, Your eyes are soft with sorrow, Hey, that's no way to say goodbye. I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm, Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm, Yes many loved before us, I know that we are not new, In city and in forest they smiled like me and you, But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie, Your eyes are soft with sorrow, Hey, that's no way to say goodbye. Stories of the Street
The stories of the street are mine,the Spanish voices laugh. The Cadillacs go creeping now through the night and the poison gas, And I lean from my window sill in this old hotel I chose, Yes one hand on my suicide, one hand on the rose. I know you've heard it's over now and war must surely come, The cities they are broke in half and the middle men are gone. But let me ask you one more time, O children of the dusk, All these hunters who are shrieking now oh do they speak for us? And where do all these highways go, now that we are free? Why are the armies marching still that were coming home to me? O lady with your legs so fine O stranger at your wheel, You are locked into your suffering and your pleasures are the seal. The age of lust is giving birth, and both the parents ask The nurse to tell them fairy tales on both sides of the glass. And now the infant with his cord is hauled in like a kite, And one eye filled with blueprints, one eye filled with night. O come with me my little one, we will find that farm And grow us grass and apples there and keep all the animals warm. And if by chance I wake at night and I ask you who I am, O take me to the slaughterhouse, I will wait there with the lamb. With one hand on the hexagram and one hand on the girl I balance on a wishing well that all men call the world. We are so small between the stars, so large against the sky, And lost among the subway crowds I try to catch your eye. Teachers
I met a woman long ago Her hair the black that black can go, Are you a teacher of the heart? Soft she answered no. I met a girl across the sea, Her hair the gold that gold can be, Are you a teacher of the heart? Yes, but not for thee. I met a man who lost his mind In some lost place I had to find, Follow me the wise man said, But he walked behind. I walked into a hospital Where none was sick and none was well, When at night the nurses left I could not walk at all. Morning came and then came noon, Dinner time a scalpel blade Lay beside my silver spoon. Some girls wander by mistake Into the mess that scalpels make. Are you the teachers of my heart? We teach old hearts to break. One morning I woke up alone, The hospital and the nurses gone. Have I carved enough my Lord? Child, you are a bone. I ate and ate and ate, No I did not miss a plate, well How much do these suppers cost? We'll take it out in hate. I spent my hatred everyplace, On every work on every face, Someone gave me wishes And I wished for an embrace. Several girls embraced me, then I was embraced by men, Is my passion perfect? No, do it once again. I was handsome I was strong, I knew the words of every song. Did my singing please you? No, the words you sang were wrong. Who is it whom I address, Who takes down what I confess? Are you the teachers of my heart? We teach old hearts to rest. Oh teachers are my lessons done? I cannot do another one. They laughed and laughed and said, Well child, Are your lessons done? Are your lessons done? Are your lessons done? One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong
I lit a thin green candle, to make you jealous of me. But the room just filled up with mosquitos, They heard that my body was free. Then I took the dust of a long sleepless night And I put it in your little shoe. And then I confess that I tortured the dress That you wore for the world to look through. I showed my heart to the doctor: he said I just have to quit. Then he wrote himself a prescription, And your name was mentioned in it! Then he locked himself in a library shelf With the details of our honeymoon, And I hear from the nurse that he's gotten much worse And his practice is all in a ruin. I heard of a saint who had loved you, So I studied all night in his school. He taught that the duty of lovers Is to tarnish the golden rule. And just when I was sure that his teachings were pure He drowned himself in the pool. His body is gone but back here on the lawn His spirit continues to drool. An Eskimo showed me a movie He'd recently taken of you: The poor man could hardly stop shivering, His lips and his fingers were blue. I suppose that he froze when the wind took your clothes And I guess he just never got warm. But you stand there so nice, in your blizzard of ice, Oh please let me come into the storm.
Songs from a Room Bird on the Wire
Like a bird on the wire, Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free. Like a worm on a hook, Like a knight from some old fashioned book I have saved all my ribbons for thee. If I, if I have been unkind, I hope that you can just let it go by. If I, if I have been untrue I hope you know it was never to you. Like a baby, stillborn, Like a beast with his horn I have torn everyone who reached out for me. But I swear by this song And by all that I have done wrong I will make it all up to thee. I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch, He said to me, "You must not ask for so much." And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door, She cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more?" Oh like a bird on the wire, Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free. Story of Isaac
The door it opened slowly, My father he came in, I was nine years old. And he stood so tall above me, His blue eyes they were shining And his voice was very cold. He said, "i've had a vision And you know I'm strong and holy, I must do what i've been told." So he started up the mountain, I was running, he was walking, And his axe was made of gold. Well, the trees they got much smaller, The lake a lady's mirror, We stopped to drink some wine. Then he threw the bottle over. Broke a minute later And he put his hand on mine. Thought I saw an eagle But it might have been a vulture, I never could decide. Then my father built an altar, He looked once behind his shoulder, He knew I would not hide. You who build these altars now To sacrifice these children, You must not do it anymore. A scheme is not a vision And you never have been tempted By a demon or a god. You who stand above them now, Your hatchets blunt and bloody, You were not there before, When I lay upon a mountain And my father's hand was trembling With the beauty of the word. And if you call me brother now, Forgive me if I inquire, "Just according to whose plan?" When it all comes down to dust I will kill you if I must, I will help you if I can. When it all comes down to dust I will help you if I must, I will kill you if I can. And mercy on our uniform, Man of peace or man of war, The peacock spreads his fan. A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes
A bunch of lonesome and very quarrelsome heroes Were smoking out along the open road; The night was very dark and thick between them, Each man beneath his ordinary load. "I'd like to tell my story," Said one of them so young and bold, "I'd like to tell my story, Before I turn into gold." But no one really could hear him, The night so dark and thick and green; Well I guess that these heroes must always live there Where you and I have only been. Put out your cigarette, my love, You've been alone too long; And some of us are very hungry now To hear what it is you've done that was so wrong. I sing this for the crickets, I sing this for the army, I sing this for your children And for all who do not need me. "I'd like to tell my story," Said one of them so bold, "Oh yes, I'd like to tell my story 'Cause you know I feel I'm turning into gold." The Partisan
(by Anna Marly/Hy Zaret)
When they poured across the border I was cautioned to surrender, This I could not do; I took my gun and vanished. I have changed my name so often, I've lost my wife and children But I have many friends, And some of them are with me. An old woman gave us shelter, Kept us hidden in the garret, Then the soldiers came; She died without a whisper. There were three of us this morning I'm the only one this evening But I must go on; The frontiers are my prison. Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing, Through the graves the wind is blowing, Freedom soon will come; Then we'll come from the shadows. Les Allemands étaient chez moi, [The Germans were at my home] Ils me dirent, "Signe toi," [They said, "Sign yourself,"] Mais je n'ai pas peur; [But I am not afraid] J'ai repris mon arme. [I have retaken my weapon.] J'ai changé cent fois de nom, [I have changed names a hundred times] J'ai perdu femme et enfants [I have lost wife and children] Mais j'ai tant d'amis; [But I have so many friends] J'ai la France entière. [I have all of France] Un vieil homme dans un grenier [An old man, in an attic] Pour la nuit nous a caché, [Hid us for the night] Les Allemands l'ont pris; [The Germans captured him] Il est mort sans surprise. [He died without surprise.] Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing, Through the graves the wind is blowing, Freedom soon will come; Then we'll come from the shadows. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy
It seems so long ago, Nancy was alone, Looking ate the Late Late show Through a semi-precious stone. In the House of Honesty Her father was on trial, In the House of Mystery There was no one at all, There was no one at all. It seems so long ago, None of us were strong; Nancy wore green stockings And she slept with everyone. She never said she'd wait for us Although she was alone, I think she fell in love for us In nineteen sixty one, In nineteen sixty one. It seems so long ago, Nancy was alone, A forty five beside her head, An open telephone. We told her she was beautiful, We told her she was free But none of us would meet her in The House of Mystery, The House of Mystery. And now you look around you, See her everywhere, Many use her body, Many comb her hair. In the hollow of the night When you are cold and numb You hear her talking freely then, She's happy that you've come, She's happy that you've come. The Old Revolution
I finally broke into the prison, I found my place in the chain. Even damnation is poisoned with rainbows, All the brave young men They're waiting now to see a signal Which some killer will be lighting for pay. Into this furnace I ask you now to venture, You whom I cannot betray. I fought in the old revolution On the side of the ghost and the King. Of course I was very young And I thought that we were winning; I can't pretend I still feel very much like singing As they carry the bodies away. Into this furnace I ask you now to venture... Lately you've started to stutter As though you had nothing to say. To all of my architects let me be traitor. Now let me say I myself gave the order To sleep and to search and to destroy. Into this furnace I ask you now to venture... Yes, you who are broken by power, You who are absent all day, You who are kings for the sake of your children's story, The hand of your beggar is burdened down with money, The hand of your lover is clay. Into this furnace I ask you now to venture... The Butcher
I came upon a butcher, He was slaughtering a lamb, I accused him there With his tortured lamb. He said, "Listen to me, child, I am what I am And you, you are my only son." Well, I found a silver needle, I put it into my arm. It did some good, Did some harm. But the nights were cold And it almost kept me warm, How come the night is long? I saw some flowers growing up Where that lamb fell down; Was I supposed to praise my Lord, Make some kind of joyful sound? He said, "Listen, listen to me now, I go round and round And you, you are my only child." Do not leave me now, Do not leave me now, I'm broken down From a recent fall. Blood upon my body And ice upon my soul, Lead on, my son, it is your world. You Know Who I Am
I cannot follow you, my love, You cannot follow me. I am the distance you put between All of the moments that we will be. You know who I am, You've stared at the sun, Well I am the one who loves Changing from nothing to one. Sometimes I need you naked, Sometimes I need you wild, I need you to carry my children in And I need you to kill a child. You know who I am... If you should ever track me down I will surrender there And I will leave with you one broken man Whom I will teach you to repair. You know who I am... I cannot follow you, my love, You cannot follow me. I am the distance you put between All of the moments that we will be. You know who I am... Lady Midnight
I came by myself to a very crowded place; I was looking for someone who had lines in her face. I found her there but she was past all concern; I asked her to hold me, I said, "Lady, unfold me," But she scorned me and she told me I was dead and I could never return. Well, I argued all night like so many have before, Saying, "Whatever you give me, I seem to need so much more." Then she pointed at me where I kneeled on her floor, She said, "Don't try to use me or slyly refuse me, Just win me or lose me, It is this that the darkness is for." I cried, "Oh, Lady Midnight, I fear that you grow old, The stars eat your body and the wind makes you cold." "If we cry now," she said, "it will just be ignored." So I walked through the morning, sweet early morning, I could hear my lady calling, "You've won me, you've won me, my lord, You've won me, you've won me, my lord, Yes, you've won me, you've won me, my lord, Ah, you've won me, you've won me, my lord, Ah, you've won me, you've won me, my lord." Tonight Will Be Fine
Sometimes I find I get to thinking of the past. We swore to each other then that our love would surely last. You kept right on loving, I went on a fast, Now I am too thin and your love is too vast. But I know from your eyes And I know from your smile That tonight will be fine, Will be fine, will be fine, will be fine For a while. I choose the rooms that I live in with care, The windows are small and the walls almost bare, There's only one bed and there's only one prayer; I listen all night for your step on the stair. But I know from your eyes And I know from your smile That tonight will be fine, Will be fine, will be fine, will be fine For a while. Oh sometimes I see her undressing for me, She's the soft naked lady love meant her to be And she's moving her body so brave and so free. If i've got to remember that's a fine memory. And I know from her eyes And I know from her smile That tonight will be fine, Will be fine, will be fine, will be fine For a while.
Songs of Love and Hate Avalanche
Well I stepped into an avalanche, It covered up my soul; When I am not this hunchback that you see, I sleep beneath the golden hill. You who wish to conquer pain, You must learn, learn to serve me well. You strike my side by accident As you go down for your gold. The cripple here that you clothe and feed Is neither starved nor cold; He does not ask for your company, Not at the centre, the centre of the world. When I am on a pedestal, You did not raise me there. Your laws do not compel me To kneel grotesque and bare. I myself am the pedestal For this ugly hump at which you stare. You who wish to conquer pain, You must learn what makes me kind; The crumbs of love that you offer me, They're the crumbs i've left behind. Your pain is no credential here, It's just the shadow, shadow of my wound. I have begun to long for you, I who have no greed; I have begun to ask for you, I who have no need. You say you've gone away from me, But I can feel you when you breathe. Do not dress in those rags for me, I know you are not poor; You don't love me quite so fiercely now When you know that you are not sure, It is your turn, beloved, It is your flesh that I wear. Last Year's Man
The rain falls down on last year's man, That's a jew's harp on the table, That's a crayon in his hand. And the corners of the blueprint are ruined since they rolled Far past the stems of thumbtacks That still throw shadows on the wood. And the skylight is like skin for a drum i'll never mend And all the rain falls down amen On the works of last year's man. I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark Oh one by one she had to tell them That her name was Joan of Arc. I was in that army, yes I stayed a little while; I want to thank you, Joan of Arc, For treating me so well. And though I wear a uniform I was not born to fight; All these wounded boys you lie beside, Goodnight, my friends, goodnight. I came upon a wedding that old families had contrived; Bethlehem the bridegroom, Babylon the bride. Great Babylon was naked, oh she stood there trembling for me, And Bethlehem inflamed us both Like the shy one at some orgy. And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil That I had to draw aside to see The serpent eat its tail. Some women wait for Jesus, and some women wait for Cain So I hang upon my altar And I hoist my axe again. And I take the one who finds me back to where it all began When Jesus was the honeymoon And Cain was just the man. And we read from pleasant Bibles that are bound in blood and skin That the wilderness is gathering All its children back again. The rain falls down on last year's man, An hour has gone by And he has not moved his hand. But everything will happen if he only gives the word; The lovers will rise up And the mountains touch the ground. But the skylight is like skin for a drum i'll never mend And all the rain falls down amen On the works of last year's man. Dress Rehearsal Rag
Four o'clock in the afternoon And I didn't feel like very much. I said to myself, "Where are you golden boy, Where is your famous golden touch?" I thought you knew where All of the elephants lie down, I thought you were the crown prince Of all the wheels in Ivory Town. Just take a look at your body now, There's nothing much to save And a bitter voice in the mirror cries, "Hey, Prince, you need a shave." Now if you can manage to get Your trembling fingers to behave, Why don't you try unwrapping A stainless steel razor blade? That's right, it's come to this, Yes it's come to this, And wasn't it a long way down, Wasn't it a strange way down? There's no hot water And the cold is running thin. Well, what do you expect from The kind of places you've been living in? Don't drink from that cup, It's all caked and cracked along the rim. That's not the electric light, my friend, That is your vision growing dim. Cover up your face with soap, there, Now you're Santa Claus. And you've got a gift for anyone Who will give you his applause. I thought you were a racing man, Ah, but you couldn't take the pace. That's a funeral in the mirror And it's stopping at your face. That's right, it's come to this, Yes it's come to this, And wasn't it a long way down, Ah wasn't it a strange way down? Once there was a path And a girl with chestnut hair, And you passed the summers Picking all of the berries that grew there; There were times she was a woman, Oh, there were times she was just a child, And you held her in the shadows Where the raspberries grow wild. And you climbed the twilight mountains And you sang about the view, And everywhere that you wandered Love seemed to go along with you. That's a hard one to remember, Yes it makes you clench your fist. And then the veins stand out like highways, All along your wrist. And yes it's come to this, It's come to this, And wasn't it a long way down, Wasn't it a strange way down? You can still find a job, Go out and talk to a friend. On the back of every magazine There are those coupons you can send. Why don't you join the Rosicrucians, They can give you back your hope, You can find your love with diagrams On a plain brown envelope. But you've used up all your coupons Except the one that seems To be written on your wrist Along with several thousand dreams. Now Santa Claus comes forward, That's a razor in his mit; And he puts on his dark glasses And he shows you where to hit; And then the cameras pan, The stand in stunt man, Dress rehearsal rag, It's just the dress rehearsal rag, You know this dress rehearsal rag, It's just a dress rehearsal rag. Diamonds in the Mine
The woman in blue, she's asking for revenge, The man in white -- that's you -- says he has no friends. The river is swollen up with rusty cans And the trees are burning in your promised land. And there are no letters in the mailbox, And there are no grapes upon the vine, And there are no chocolates in the boxes anymore, And there are no diamonds in the mine. Well, you tell me that your lover has a broken limb, You say you're kind of restless now and it's on account of him. Well, I saw the man in question, it was just the other night, He was eating up a lady where the lions and Christians fight. And there are no letters in the mailbox And there are no grapes upon the vine, And there are no chocolates in the boxes anymore, And there are no diamonds in the mine. (You tell them now) Ah, there is no comfort in the covens of the witch, Some very clever doctor went and sterilized the bitch, And the only man of energy, yes the revolution's pride, He trained a hundred women just to kill an unborn child. And there are no letters in the mailbox, Oh no, there are no, no grapes upon your vine, And there are, there are no chocolates in your boxes anymore, And there are no diamonds in your mine. And there are no letters in the mailbox, And there are no grapes upon the vine, And there are no chocolates in your boxes anymore, And there are no diamonds in your mine. Love Calls You By Your Name
You thought that it could never happen To all the people that you became, Your body lost in legend, the beast so very tame. But here, right here, Between the birthmark and the stain, Between the ocean and your open vein, Between the snowman and the rain, Once again, once again, Love calls you by your name. The women in your scrapbook Whom you still praise and blame, You say they chained you to your fingernails And you climb the halls of fame. Oh but here, right here, Between the peanuts and the cage, Between the darkness and the stage, Between the hour and the age, Once again, once again, Love calls you by your name. Shouldering your loneliness Like a gun that you will not learn to aim, You stumble into this movie house, Then you climb, you climb into the frame. Yes, and here, right here Between the moonlight and the lane, Between the tunnel and the train, Between the victim and his stain, Once again, once again, Love calls you by your name. I leave the lady meditating On the very love which I, I do not wish to claim, I journey down the hundred steps, But the street is still the very same. And here, right here, Between the dancer and his cane, Between the sailboat and the drain, Between the newsreel and your tiny pain, Once again, once again, Love calls you by your name. Where are you, Judy, where are you, Anne? Where are the paths your heroes came? Wondering out loud as the bandage pulls away, Was I, was I only limping, was I really lame? Oh here, come over here, Between the windmill and the grain, Between the sundial and the chain, Between the traitor and her pain, Once again, once again, Love calls you by your name. Famous Blue Raincoat
It's four in the morning, the end of December I'm writing you now just to see if you're better New York is cold, but I like where I'm living There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening. I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert You're living for nothing now, I hope you're keeping some kind of record. Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear Did you ever go clear? 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 And you treated my woman to a flake of your life And when she came back she was nobody's wife. Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth One more thin gypsy thief Well I see Jane's awake -- She sends her regards. And what can I tell you my brother, my killer What can I possibly say? I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you I'm glad you stood in my way. If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free. Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes I thought it was there for good so I never tried. And Jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear -- Sincerely, L. Cohen Sing Another Song, Boys
(Let's sing another song, boys, this one has grown old and bitter.) Ah his fingernails, I see they're broken, His ships they're all on fire. The moneylender's lovely little daughter Ah, she's eaten, she's eaten with desire. She spies him through the glasses From the pawnshops of her wicked father. She hails him with a microphone That some poor singer, just like me, had to leave her. She tempts him with a clarinet, She waves a Nazi dagger. She finds him lying in a heap; She wants to be his woman. He says, "Yes, I might go to sleep But kindly leave, leave the future, Leave it open." He stands where it is steep, Oh I guess he thinks that he's the very first one, His hand upon his leather belt now Like it was the wheel of some big ocean liner. And she will learn to touch herself so well As all the sails burn down like paper. And he has lit the chain Of his famous cigarillo. Ah, they'll never, they'll never ever reach the moon, At least not the one that we're after; It's floating broken on the open sea, look out there, my friends, And it carries no survivors. But lets leave these lovers wondering Why they cannot have each other, And let's sing another song, boys, This one has grown old and bitter. Joan of Arc
Now the flames they followed Joan of Arc As she came riding through the dark; No moon to keep her armour bright, No man to get her through this very smoky night. She said, "I'm tired of the war, I want the kind of work I had before, A wedding dress or something white To wear upon my swollen appetite." Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way, You know i've watched you riding every day And something in me yearns to win Such a cold and lonesome heroine. "And who are you?" she sternly spoke To the one beneath the smoke. "Why, I'm fire," he replied, "And I love your solitude, I love your pride." "Then fire, make your body cold, I'm going to give you mine to hold," Saying this she climbed inside To be his one, to be his only bride. And deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc, And high above the wedding guests He hung the ashes of her wedding dress. It was deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc, And then she clearly understood If he was fire, oh then she must be wood. I saw her wince, I saw her cry, I saw the glory in her eye. Myself I long for love and light, But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?
New Skin for the Old Ceremony
Is this what you wanted
You were the promise at dawn, I was the morning after. You were jesus christ my lord, I was the money lender. You were the sensitive woman, I was the very reverend freud. You were the manual orgasm, I was the dirty little boy. And is this what you wanted To live in a house that is haunted By the ghost of you and me? Is this what you wanted ... You were marlon brando, I was steve mcqueen. You were k.y. jelly, I was vaseline. You were the father of modern medicine, I was mr. Clean. You where the whore and the beast of babylon, I was rin tin tin. And is this what you wanted ... And is this what you wanted ... You got old and wrinkled, I stayed seventeen. You lusted after so many, I lay here with one. You defied your solitude, I came through alone. You said you could never love me, I undid your gown. And is this what you wanted ... And is this what you wanted ... I mean is this what you wanted ... That's right, is this what you wanted ... Chelsea hotel #2
I remember you well in the chelsea hotel, You were talking so brave and so sweet, Giving me head on the unmade bed, While the limousines wait in the street. Those were the reasons and that was new york, We were running for the money and the flesh. And that was called love for the workers in song Probably still is for those of them left. Ah but you got away, didn't you babe, You just turned your back on the crowd, You got away, i never once heard you say, I need you, i don't need you, I need you, i don't need you And all of that jiving around. I remember you well in the chelsea hotel You were famous, your heart was a legend. You told me again you preferred handsome men But for me you would make an exception. And clenching your fist for the ones like us Who are oppressed by the figures of beauty, You fixed yourself, you said, "well never mind, We are ugly but we have the music." And then you got away, didn't you babe... I don't mean to suggest that i loved you the best, I can't keep track of each fallen robin. I remember you well in the chelsea hotel, That's all, i don't even think of you that often. Lover lover lover
I asked my father, I said, "father change my name." The one i'm using now it's covered up With fear and filth and cowardice and shame. Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me, Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me. He said, "i locked you in this body, I meant it as a kind of trial. You can use it for a weapon, Or to make some woman smile." Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me. "then let me start again," i cried, "please let me start again, I want a face that's fair this time, I want a spirit that is calm." Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me. "i never never turned aside," he said, "i never walked away. It was you who built the temple, It was you who covered up my face." Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me. And may the spirit of this song, May it rise up pure and free. May it be a shield for you, A shield against the enemy. Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me. Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me. Field commander cohen
Field commander cohen, he was our most important spy. Wounded in the line of duty, Parachuting acid into diplomatic cocktail parties, Urging fidel castro to abandon fields and castles. Leave it all and like a man, Come back to nothing special, Such as waiting rooms and ticket lines, Silver bullet suicides, And messianic ocean tides, And racial roller-coaster rides And other forms of boredom advertised as poetry. I know you need your sleep now, I know your life's been hard. But many men are falling, Where you promised to stand guard. I never asked but i heard you cast your lot along with the poor. But then i overheard your prayer, That you be this and nothing more Than just some grateful faithful woman's favourite singing millionaire, The patron saint of envy and the grocer of despair, Working for the yankee dollar. I know you need your sleep now ... Ah, lover come and lie with me, if my lover is who you are, And be your sweetest self awhile until i ask for more, my child. Then let the other selves be wrong, yeah, let them manifest and come Till every taste is on the tongue, Till love is pierced and love is hung, And every kind of freedom done, then oh, Oh my love, oh my love, oh my love, Oh my love, oh my love, oh my love. Why don't you try
Why don't you try to do without him? Why don't you try to live alone? Do you really need his hands for your passion? Do you really need his heart for your throne? Do you need his labour for your baby? Do you need his beast for the bone? Do you need to hold a leash to be a lady? I know you're going to make, make it on your own. Why don't your try to forget him? Just open up your dainty little hand. You know this life is filled with many sweet companions, Many satisfying one-night stands. Do you want to be the ditch around a tower? Do you want to be the moonlight in his cave? Do you want to give your blessing to his power As he goes whistling past his daddy, past his daddy's grave. I'd like to take you take you to the ceremony, Well, that is if i remember the way. You see jack and jill they're going to join their misery, I'm afraid it's time for everyone to pray. You can see they've finally taken cover, They're willing, yeah they're willing to obey. Their vows are difficult, they're for each other, So let nobody put a loophole, a loophole in their way. There is a war
There is a war between the rich and poor, A war between the man and the woman. There is a war between the ones who say there is a war And the ones who say there isn't. Why don't you come on back to the war, that's right, get in it, Why don't you come on back to the war, it's just beginning. Well i live here with a woman and a child, The situation makes me kind of nervous. Yes, i rise up from her arms, she says "i guess you call this love"; I call it service. Why don't you come on back to the war, don't be a tourist, Why don't you come on back to the war, before it hurts us, Why don't you come on back to the war, let's all get nervous. You cannot stand what i've become, You much prefer the gentleman i was before. I was so easy to defeat, i was so easy to control, I didn't even know there was a war. Why don't you come on back to the war, don't be embarrassed, Why don't you come on back to the war, you can still get married. There is a war between the rich and poor, A war between the man and the woman. There is a war between the left and right, A war between the black and white, A war between the odd and the even. Why don't you come on back to the war, pick up your tiny burden, Why don't you come on back to the war, let's all get even, Why don't you come on back to the war, can't you hear me speaking? A singer must die
Now the courtroom is quiet, but who will confess. Is it true you betrayed us? The answer is yes. Then read me the list of the crimes that are mine, I will ask for the mercy that you love to decline. And all the ladies go moist, and the judge has no choice, A singer must die for the lie in his voice. And i thank you, i thank you for doing your duty, You keepers of truth, you guardians of beauty. Your vision is right, my vision is wrong, I'm sorry for smudging the air with my song. Oh, the night it is thick, my defences are hid In the clothes of a woman i would like to forgive, In the rings of her silk, in the hinge of her thighs, Where i have to go begging in beauty's disguise. Oh goodnight, goodnight, my night after night, My night after night, after night, after night, after night, after night. I am so afraid that i listen to you, Your sun glassed protectors they do that to you. It's their ways to detain, their ways to disgrace, Their knee in your balls and their fist in your face. Yes and long live the state by whoever it's made, Sir, i didn't see nothing, i was just getting home late. I tried to leave you
I tried to leave you, i don't deny I closed the book on us, at least a hundred times. I'd wake up every morning by your side. The years go by, you lose your pride. The baby's crying, so you do not go outside, And all your work it's right before your eyes. Goodnight, my darling, i hope you're satisfied, The bed is kind of narrow, but my arms are open wide. And here's a man still working for your smile. Who by fire
And who by fire, who by water, Who in the sunshine, who in the night time, Who by high ordeal, who by common trial, Who in your merry merry month of may, Who by very slow decay, And who shall i say is calling? And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate, Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt, And who by avalanche, who by powder, Who for his greed, who for his hunger, And who shall i say is calling? And who by brave assent, who by accident, Who in solitude, who in this mirror, Who by his lady's command, who by his own hand, Who in mortal chains, who in power, And who shall i say is calling? Take this longing
Many men have loved the bells You fastened to the rein, And everyone who wanted you They found what they will always want again. Your beauty lost to you yourself Just as it was lost to them. Oh take this longing from my tongue, Whatever useless things these hands have done. Let me see your beauty broken down Like you would do for one you love. Your body like a searchlight My poverty revealed, I would like to try your charity Until you cry, "now you must try my greed." And everything depends upon How near you sleep to me Just take this longing from my tongue All the lonely things my hands have done. Let me see your beauty broken down Like you would do for one your love. Hungry as an archway Through which the troops have passed, I stand in ruins behind you, With your winter clothes, your broken sandal straps. I love to see you naked over there Especially from the back. Oh take this longing from my tongue, All the useless things my hands have done, Untie for me your hired blue gown, Like you would do for one that you love. You're faithful to the better man, I'm afraid that he left. So let me judge your love affair In this very room where i have sentenced Mine to death. I'll even wear these old laurel leaves That he's shaken from his head. Just take this longing from my tongue, All the useless things my hands have done, Let me see your beauty broken down, Like you would do for one you love. Like you would do for one you love. Leaving green sleeves
Alas, my love, you did me wrong, To cast me out discourteously, For i have loved you so long, Delighting in your very company. Now if you intend to show me disdain, Don't you know it all the more enraptures me, For even so i still remain your lover in captivity. Green sleeves, you're all alone, The leaves have fallen, the men have gone. Green sleeves, there's no one home, Not even the lady green sleeves I sang my songs, i told my lies, To lie between your matchless thighs. And ain't it fine, ain't it wild To finally end our exercise Then i saw you naked in the early dawn, Oh, i hoped you would be someone new. I reached for you but you were gone, So lady i'm going too. Green sleeves, you're all alone ... Green sleeves, you're all alone, The leaves have fallen, the men have all gone home. Green sleeves, it's so easily done, Leaving the lady green sleeves.
Death of a Ladies' Man True Love Leaves No Traces
As the mist leaves no scar On the dark green hill So my body leaves no scar On you and never will Through windows in the dark The children come, the children go Like arrows with no targets Like shackles made of snow True love leaves no traces If you and I are one It's lost in our embraces Like stars against the sun As a falling leaf may rest A moment on the air So your head upon my breast So my hand upon your hair And many nights endure Without a moon or star So we will endure When one is gone and far True love leaves no traces If you and I are one It's lost in our embraces Like stars against the sun Iodine
I needed you, I knew I was in danger Of losing what I used to think was mine You let me love you till I was a failure, You let me love you till I was a failure -- Your beauty on my bruise like iodine I asked you if a man could be forgiven And though I failed at love, was this a crime? You said, don't worry, don't worry, darling You said, don't worry, don't you worry, darling There are many ways a man can serve his time You covered up that place I could not master It wasn't dark enough to shut my eyes So I was with you, O sweet compassion Yes I was with you, O sweet compassion Compassion with the sting of iodine Your saintly kisses reeked of iodine Your fragrance with a fume of iodine And pity in the room like iodine Your sister fingers burned like iodine And all my wanton lust was iodine My masquerade of trust was iodine And everywhere the flare of iodine Paper Thin Hotel
The walls of this hotel are paper-thin Last night I heard you making love to him The struggle mouth to mouth and limb to limb The grunt of unity when he came in I stood there with my ear against the wall I was not seized by jealousy at all In fact a burden lifted from my soul I heard that love was out of my control A heavy burden lifted from my soul I heard that love was out of my control I listened to your kisses at the door I never heard the world so clear before You ran your bath and you began to sing I felt so good I couldn't feel a thing I stood there with my ear against the wall ... And I can't wait to tell you to your face And I can't wait for you to take my place You are The Naked Angel In My Heart You are The Woman With Her Legs Apart It's written on the walls of this hotel You go to heaven once you've been to hell A heavy burden lifted from my soul I heard that love was out of my control 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, the band 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 I Left A Woman Waiting
I left a woman waiting I met her sometime later She said, I see your eyes are dead What happened to you, lover? What happened to you, my lover? What happened to you, lover? What happened to you? And since she spoke the truth to me I tried to answer truthfully Whatever happened to my eyes Happened to your beauty Happened to your beauty What happened to your beauty Happened to me We took ourselves to someone's bed And there we fell together Quick as dogs and truly dead were we And free as running water Free as running water Free as running water Free as you and me The way it's got to be The way it's got to be, lover Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On
I was born in a beauty salon My father was a dresser of hair My mother was a girl you could call on When you called she was always there When you called she was always there When you called she was always there When you called she was always there When you called she was always there Ah but don't go home with your hard-on It will only drive you insane You can't shake it (or break it) with your Motown You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain I've looked behind all of the faces That smile you down to you knees And the lips that say, Come on, taste us And when you try to they make you say Please When you try to they make you say Please When you try to they make you say Please When you try to they make you say Please When you try to they make you say Please Ah but don't go home with your hard-on ... Here come's your bride with her veil on Approach her, you wretch, if you dare Approach her, you ape with your tail on Once you have her she'll always be there Once you have her she'll always be there Once you have her she'll always be there Once you have her she'll always be there Once you have her she'll always be there Ah but don't go home with your hard-on ... So I work in that same beauty salon I'm chained to the old masquerade The lipstick, the shadow, the silicone I follow my father's trade I follow my father's trade Yes I follow my father's trade Yes I follow my father's trade Yes I follow my father's trade Ah but don't go home with your hard-on It will only drive you insane You can't shake it (or break it) with your Motown You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain You can't melt it down in the rain Fingerprints
I touched you once too often Now I don't know who I am My fingerprints were missing When I wiped away the jam Yes I called my fingerprints all night But they don't seem to care The last time that I saw them They were leafing through your hair Fingerprints, fingerprints Where are you now my fingerprints? Yeah I thought I'd leave this morning So I emptied out your drawer A hundred thousand fingerprints They floated to the floor You know you hardly stopped to pick them up You don't care what you lose Ah you don't even seem to know Whose fingerprints are whose Fingerprints, fingerprints Where are you now my fingerprints? And now you want to marry me You want to take me down the aisle You want to throw confetti fingerprints You know that's not my style O sure I'd like to marry you But I can't face the dawn With any girl who knew me When my fingerprints were on Fingerprints, fingerprints Where are you now my fingerprints? Fingerprints, oh fingerprints Where are you now my fingerprints? Death of a Ladies' Man
Ah the man she wanted all her life was hanging by a thread "I never even knew how much I wanted you," she said. His muscles they were numbered and his style was obsolete. "O baby, I have come too late." She knelt beside his feet. "I'll never see a face like yours in years of men to come I'll never see such arms again in wrestling or in love." And all his virtues burning in the smoky Holocaust She took unto herself most everything her lover lost Now the master of this landscape he was standing at the view with a sparrow of St. Francis that he was preaching to She beckoned to the sentry of his high religious mood She said, "I'll make a place between my legs, I'll show you solitude." He offered her an orgy in a many mirrored room He promised her protection for the issue of her womb She moved her body hard against a sharpened metal spoon She stopped the bloody rituals of passage to the moon She took his much admired oriental frame of mind and the heart-of-darkness alibi his money hides behind She took his blonde madonna and his monastery wine -- "This mental space is occupied and everything is mine." He tried to make a final stand beside the railway track She said, "The art of longing's over and it's never coming back." She took his tavern parliament, his cap, his cocky dance, she mocked his female fashions and his working-class moustache. The last time that I saw him he was trying hard to get a woman's education but he's not a woman yet And the last time that I saw her she was living with some boy who gives her soul an empty room and gives her body joy. So the great affair is over but whoever would have guessed it would leave us all so vacant and so deeply unimpressed It's like our visit to the moon or to that other star I guess you go for nothing if you really want to go that far. It's like our visit to the moon or to that other star I guess you go for nothing if you really want to go that far. It's like our visit to the moon or to that other star I guess you go for nothing if you really want to go that far.
Recent songs The guests
One by one, the guests arrive The guests are coming through The open-hearted many The broken-hearted few And no one knows where the night is going And no one knows why the wine is flowing Oh love i need you I need you I need you I need you Oh . . . I need you now And those who dance, begin to dance Those who weep begin And "welcome, welcome" cries a voice "let all my guests come in." And no one knows where the night is going ... And all go stumbling through that house In lonely secrecy Saying "do reveal yourself" Or "why has thou forsaken me?" And no one knows where the night is going ... All at once the torches flare The inner door flies open One by one they enter there In every style of passion And no one knows where the night is going ... And here they take their sweet repast While house and grounds dissolve And one by one the guests are cast Beyond the garden wall And no one knows where the night is going ... Those who dance, begin to dance Those who weep begin Those who earnestly are lost Are lost and lost again And no one knows where the night is going ... One by the guests arrive The guests are coming through The broken-hearted many The open-hearted few And no one knows where the night is going ... Humbled in love
Do you remember all of those pledges That we pledged in the passionate night Ah they're soiled now, they're torn at the edges Like moths on a still yellow light No penance serves to renew them No massive transfusions of trust Why not even revenge can undo them So twisted these vows and so crushed And you say you've been humbled in love Cut down in your love Forced to kneel in the mud next to me Ah but why so bitterly turn from the one Who kneels there as deeply as thee Children have takes these pledges They have ferried them out of the past Oh beyond all the graves and the hedges Where love must go hiding at last And here where there is no description Oh here in the moment at hand No sinner need rise up forgiven No victim need limp to the stand And you say you've been humbled in love... And look dear heart, look at the virgin Look how she welcomes him into her gown Yes, and mark how the stranger's cold armour Dissolves like a star falling down Why trade this vision for desire When you may have them both You will never see a man this naked I will never hold a woman this close And you say you've been humbled in love... The window
Why do you stand by the window Abandoned to beauty and pride The thorn of the night in your bosom The spear of the age in your side Lost in the rages of fragrance Lost in the rags of remorse Lost in the waves of a sickness That loosens the high silver nerves Oh chosen love, oh frozen love Oh tangle of matter and ghost Oh darling of angels, demons and saints And the whole broken-hearted host Gentle this soul And come forth from the cloud of unknowing And kiss the cheek of the moon The new jerusalem glowing Why tarry all night in the ruin And leave no word of discomfort And leave no observer to mourn But climb on your tears and be silent Like a rose on its ladder of thorns Oh chosen love, oh frozen love... Then lay your rose on the fire The fire give up to the sun The sun give over to splendour In the arms of the high holy one For the holy one dreams of a letter Dreams of a letter's death Oh bless thee continuous stutter Of the word being made into flesh Oh chosen love, oh frozen love... Gentle this soul I came so far for beauty
I came so far for beauty I left so much behind My patience and my family My masterpiece unsigned I thought i'd be rewarded For such a lonely choice And surely she would answer To such a very hopeless voice I practiced all my sainthood I gave to one and all But the rumours of my virtue They moved her not at all I changed my style to silver I changed my clothed to black And where i would surrender Now i would attack I stormed the old casino For the money and the flesh And i myself decided What was rotten and what was fresh And men to do my bidding And broken bones to teach The value of my pardon The shadow of my reach But no, i could not touch her With such a heavy hand Her star beyond my order Her nakedness unmanned I came so far for beauty I left so much behind My patience and my family My masterpiece unsigned Un canadien errant
( Antoine Gerin-lajoie)
Un canadien errant [a wandering canadian,] Banni de ses foyers, [banned from his hearths,] Parcourait en pleurant [travelled while crying] Des pays etrangers. [in foreign lands.] Parcourait en pleurant [travelled while crying] Des pays etrangers. [in foreign lands.] Un jour, triste et pensif, [one day, sad and pensive,] Assis au bord des flots, [sitting by the flowing waters,] Au courant fugitif [to the fleeing current] Il adressa ces mots: [he addressed these words:] Au courant fugitif [to the fleeing current] Il adressa ces mots: [he addressed these words:] "si tu vois mon pays, [if you see my country,] Mon pays malheureux, [my unhappy country,] Va dire a mes amis [go tell my friends] Que je me souviens d'eux. [that i remember them.] Va dire a mes amis [go tell my friends] Que je me souviens d'eux. [that i remember them.] O jours si pleins d'appas, [o days so full of charms,] Vous etes disparus... [you have vanished...] Et ma patrie, helas! [and my native land, alas!] Je ne la verrai plus. [i will see it no more.] Et ma patrie, helas! [and my native land, alas!] Je ne la verrai plus. [i will see it no more. ] The traitor
Now the swan it floated on the english river Ah the rose of high romance it opened wide A sun tanned woman yearned me through the summer And the judges watched us from the other side I told my mother "mother i must leave you Preserve my room but do not shed a tear Should rumour of a shabby ending reach you It was half my fault and half the atmosphere" But the rose i sickened with a scarlet fever And the swan i tempted with a sense of shame She said at last i was her finest lover And if she withered i would be to blame The judges said you missed it by a fraction Rise up and brace your troops for the attack Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action Oh see the men of action falling back But i lingered on her thighs a fatal moment I kissed her lips as though i thirsted still My falsity had stung me like a hornet The poison sank and it paralysed my will I could not move to warn all the younger soldiers That they had been deserted from above So on battlefields from here to Barcelona I'm listed with the enemies of love And long ago she said "i must be leaving, Ah but keep my body here to lie upon You can move it up and down and when i'm sleeping Run some wire through that rose and wind the swan" So daily i renew my idle duty I touch her here and there -- i know my place I kiss her open mouth and i praise her beauty And people call me traitor to my face Our lady of solitude
All summer long she touched me She gathered in my soul From many a thorn, from many thickets Her fingers, like a weaver's Quick and cool And the light came from her body And the night went through her grace All summer long she touched me And i knew her, i knew her Face to face And her dress was blue and silver And her words were few and small She is the vessel of the whole wide world Mistress, oh mistress, of us all Dearly dead; queen of solitude I thank you with my heart For keeping me so close to thee While so many, oh so many, stood apart And the light came from her body And the night went through her grace All summer long she touched me I knew her, i knew her Face to face The gypsy's wife
And where, where, where is my gypsy wife tonight I've heard all the wild reports, they can't be right But whose head is this she's dancing with on the threshing floor Whose darkness deepens in her arms a little more And where, where is my gypsy wife tonight? Where, where is my gypsy wife tonight? Ah the silver knives are flashing in the tired old cafe A ghost climbs on the table in a bridal negligee She says, "my body is the light, my body is the way" I raise my arm against it all and i catch the bride's bouquet And where, where is my gypsy wife tonight?... Too early for the rainbow, too early for the dove These are the final days, this is the darkness, this is the flood And there is no man or woman who can't be touched But you who come between them will be judged And where, where is my gypsy wife tonight?... The smokey life
I've never seen your eyes so wide I've never seen your appetite quite this occupied Elsewhere is your feast of love I know ... Where long ago we agreed to keep it light So lets be married one more night It's light, light enough To let it go It's light enough to let it go Remember when the scenery started fading I held you til you learned to walk on air So don't look down the ground is gone, There's no one waiting anyway The smoky life is practiced Everywhere So set your restless heart at ease Take a lesson from these autumn leaves They waste no time waiting for the snow Don't argue now you'll be late There is nothing to investigate It's light enough, light enough To let it go Light enough to let it go Remember when the scenery started fading I held you til you learned to walk on air So don't look down the ground is gone, There's no one waiting anyway The smoky life is practiced everywhere Come on back if the moment lends You can look up all my very closest friends Light, light enough To let it go It's light enough to let it go Ballad of the absent mare
Say a prayer for the cowboy His mare's run away And he'll walk til he finds her His darling, his stray But the river's in flood And the roads are awash And the bridges break up In the panic of loss. And there's nothing to follow There's nowhere to go She's gone like the summer Gone like the snow And the crickets are breaking His heart with their song As the day caves in And the night is all wrong Did he dream, was it she Who went galloping past And bent down the fern Broke open the grass And printed the mud with The iron and the gold That he nailed to her feet When he was the lord And although she goes grazing A minute away He tracks her all night He tracks her all day Oh blind to her presence Except to compare His injury here With her punishment there Then at home on a branch In the highest tree A songbird sings out So suddenly Ah the sun is warm And the soft winds ride On the willow trees By the river side Oh the world is sweet The world is wide And she's there where The light and the darkness divide And the steam's coming off her She's huge and she's shy And she steps on the moon When she paws at the sky And she comes to his hand But she's not really tame She longs to be lost He longs for the same And she'll bolt and she'll plunge Through the first open pass To roll and to feed In the sweet mountain grass Or she'll make a break For the high plateau Where there's nothing above And there's nothing below And it's time for the burden It's time for the whip Will she walk through the flame Can he shoot from the hip So he binds himself To the galloping mare And she binds herself To the rider there And there is no space But there's left and right And there is no time But there's day and night And he leans on her neck And he whispers low "whither thou goest I will go" And they turn as one And they head for the plain No need for the whip Ah, no need for the rein Now the clasp of this union Who fastens it tight? Who snaps it asunder The very next night Some say the rider Some say the mare Or that love's like the smoke Beyond all repair But my darling says "Leonard, just let it go by That old silhouette On the great western sky" So i pick out a tune And they move right along And they're gone like the smoke And they're gone like this song
Various Positions Dance Me to the End of Love
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 Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon Show me slowly what I only know the limits of Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the children who are asking to be born Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn Dance me to the end of love Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the end of love Coming Back to You
Maybe I'm still hurting I can't turn the other cheek But you know that I still love you It's just that I can't speak I looked for you in everyone And they called me on that too I lived alone but I was only Coming back to you Ah they're shutting down the factory now Just when all the bills are due And the fields they're under lock and key Tho' the rain and the sun come through And springtime starts but then it stops In the name of something new And all the senses rise against this Coming back to you And they're handing down my sentence now And I know what I must do Another mile of silence while I'm Coming back to you There are many in your life And many still to be Since you are a shining light There's many that you'll see But 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 Even in your arms I know I'll never get it right Even when you bend to give me Comfort in the night I've got to have your word on this Or none of it is true And all I've said was just instead of Coming back to you The Law
How many times did you call me And I knew it was late I left everybody But I never went straight I don't claim to be guilty But I do understand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand Now my heart's like a blister From doing what I do If the moon has a sister It's got to be you I'm going to miss you forever Tho' it's not what I planned There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand Now the deal has been dirty Since dirty began I'm not asking for mercy Not from the man You just don't ask for mercy While you're still on the stand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand I don't claim to be guilty Guilty's too grand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand That's all I can say, baby That's all I can say It wasn't for nothing That they put me away I fell with my angel Down the chain of command There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand There's a Law, there's an Arm, there's a Hand The Night Comes On
I went down to the place Where I knew she lay waiting Under the marble and the snow I said, Mother I'm frightened The thunder and the lightning I'll never come through this alone She said, I'll be with you My shawl wrapped around you My hand on your head when you go And the night came on It was very calm I wanted the night to go on and on But she said, Go back to the World We were fighting in Egypt When they signed this agreement That nobody else had to die There was this terrible sound And my father went down With a terrible wound in his side He said, Try to go on Take my books, take my gun Remember, my son, how they lied And the night comes on It's very calm I'd like to pretend that my father was wrong But you don't want to lie, not to the young We were locked in this kitchen I took to religion And I wondered how long she would stay I needed so much To have nothing to touch I've always been greedy that way But my son and my daughter Climbed out of the water Crying, Papa, you promised to play And they lead me away To the great surprise It's Papa, don't peek, Papa, cover your eyes And they hide, they hide in the World Now I look for her always I'm lost in this calling I'm tied to the threads of some prayer Saying, When will she summon me When will she come to me What must I do to prepare When she bends to my longing Like a willow, like a fountain She stands in the luminous air And the night comes on And it's very calm I lie in her arms and says, When I'm gone I'll be yours, yours for a song Now the crickets are singing The vesper bells ringing The cat's curled asleep in his chair I'll go down to Bill's Bar I can make it that far And I'll see if my friends are still there Yes, and here's to the few Who forgive what you do And the fewer who don't even care And the night comes on It's very calm I want to cross over, I want to go home But she says, Go back, go back to the World Hallelujah
Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her She tied you To a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well really, what's it to you? There's a blaze of light In every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you And even though It all went wrong I'll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah The Captain
Now the Captain called me to his bed He fumbled for my hand "Take these silver bars," he said "I'm giving you command." "Command of what, there's no one here There's only you and me -- All the rest are dead or in retreat Or with the enemy." "Complain, complain, that's all you've done Ever since we lost If it's not the Crucifixion Then it's the Holocaust." "May Christ have mercy on your soul For making such a joke Amid these hearts that burn like coal And the flesh that rose like smoke." "I know that you have suffered, lad, But suffer this awhile: Whatever makes a soldier sad Will make a killer smile." "I'm leaving, Captain, I must go There's blood upon your hand But tell me, Captain, if you know Of a decent place to stand." "There is no decent place to stand In a massacre; But if a woman take your hand Go and stand with her." "I left a wife in Tennessee And a baby in Saigon -- I risked my life, but not to hear Some country-western song." "Ah but if you cannot raise your love To a very high degree, Then you're just the man I've been thinking of -- So come and stand with me." "Your standing days are done," I cried, "You'll rally me no more. I don't even know what side We fought on, or what for." "I'm on the side that's always lost Against the side of Heaven I'm on the side of Snake-eyes tossed Against the side of Seven. And I've read the Bill of Human Rights And some of it was true But there wasn't any burden left So I'm laying it on you." Now the Captain he was dying But the Captain wasn't hurt The silver bars were in my hand I pinned them to my shirt. Hunter's Lullaby
Your father's gone a-hunting He's deep in the forest so wild And he cannot take his wife with him He cannot take his child Your father's gone a-hunting In the quicksand and the clay And a woman cannot follow him Although she knows the way Your father's gone a-hunting Through the silver and the glass Where only greed can enter But spirit, spirit cannot pass Your father's gone a-hunting For the beast we'll never cannot bind And he leaves a baby sleeping And his blessings all behind Your father's gone a-hunting And he's lost his lucky charm And he's lost the guardian heart That keeps the hunter from the harm Your father's gone a-hunting He asked me to say goodbye And he warned me not to stop him I wouldn't, I wouldn't even try Heart With No Companion
I greet you from the other side Of sorrow and despair With a love so vast and shattered It will reach you everywhere And I sing this for the captain Whose ship has not been built For the mother in confusion Her cradle still unfilled For the heart with no companion For the soul without a king For the prima ballerina Who cannot dance to anything Through the days of shame that are coming Through the nights of wild distress Tho' your promise count for nothing You must keep it nonetheless You must keep it for the captain Whose ship has not been built For the mother in confusion Her cradle still unfilled For the heart with no companion ... I greet you from the other side ... If It Be Your Will
If it be your will That I speak no more And my voice be still As it was before I will speak no more I shall abide until I am spoken for If it be your will If it be your will That a voice be true From this broken hill I will sing to you From this broken hill All your praises they shall ring If it be your will To let me sing From this broken hill All your praises they shall ring If it be your will To let me sing If it be your will If there is a choice Let the rivers fill Let the hills rejoice Let your mercy spill On all these burning hearts in hell If it be your will To make us well And draw us near And bind us tight All your children here In their rags of light In our rags of light All dressed to kill And end this night If it be your will If it be your will.
I'm Your Man First We Take Manhattan
They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom For trying to change the system from within I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin I'm guided by a signal in the heavens I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin I'd really like to live beside you, baby I love your body and your spirit and your clothes But you see that line there moving through the station? I told you, I told you, told you, I was one of those Ah you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin I don't like your fashion business mister And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin I don't like what happened to my sister First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin I'd really like to live beside you, baby ... And I thank you for those items that you sent me The monkey and the plywood violin I practiced every night, now I'm ready First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin I am guided Ah remember me, I used to live for music Remember me, I brought your groceries in Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin Ain't No Cure For Love
I loved you for a long, long time I know this love is real It don't matter how it all went wrong That don't change the way I feel And I can't believe that time's Gonna heal this wound I'm speaking of There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure for love I'm aching for you baby I can't pretend I'm not I need to see you naked In your body and your thought I've got you like a habit And I'll never get enough There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure for love There ain't no cure for love There ain't no cure for love All the rocket ships are climbing through the sky The holy books are open wide The doctors working day and night But they'll never ever find that cure for love There ain't no drink no drug (Ah tell them, angels) There's nothing pure enough to be a cure for love I see you in the subway and I see you on the bus I see you lying down with me, I see you waking up I see your hand, I see your hair Your bracelets and your brush And I call to you, I call to you But I don't call soft enough There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure for love I walked into this empty church I had no place else to go When the sweetest voice I ever heard, whispered to my soul I don't need to be forgiven for loving you so much It's written in the scriptures It's written there in blood I even heard the angels declare it from above There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure, There ain't no cure for love There ain't no cure for love There ain't no cure for love All the rocket ships are climbing through the sky The holy books are open wide The doctors working day and night But they'll never ever find that cure, That cure for love Everybody Knows
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows that 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 Everybody talking to their pockets Everybody wants a box of chocolates And a long stem rose Everybody knows Everybody knows that you love me baby Everybody knows that you really do Everybody knows that you've been faithful Ah give or take a night or two Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes And everybody knows Everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows Everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows And everybody knows that it's now or never Everybody knows that it's me or you And everybody knows that you live forever Ah when you've done a line or two Everybody knows the deal is rotten Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton For your ribbons and bows And everybody knows And everybody knows that the Plague is coming Everybody knows that it's moving fast Everybody knows that the naked man and woman Are just a shining artifact of the past Everybody knows the scene is dead But there's gonna be a meter on your bed That will disclose What everybody knows And everybody knows that you're in trouble Everybody knows what you've been through From the bloody cross on top of Calvary To the beach of Malibu Everybody knows it's coming apart Take one last look at this Sacred Heart Before it blows And everybody knows Everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows Oh everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows Everybody knows I'm Your Man
If you want a lover I'll do anything you ask me to And if you want another kind of love I'll wear a mask for you If you want a partner Take my hand Or if you want to strike me down in anger Here I stand I'm your man If you want a boxer I will step into the ring for you And if you want a doctor I'll examine every inch of you If you want a driver Climb inside Or if you want to take me for a ride You know you can I'm your man Ah, the moon's too bright The chain's too tight The beast won't go to sleep I've been running through these promises to you That I made and I could not keep Ah but a man never got a woman back Not by begging on his knees Or I'd crawl to you baby And I'd fall at your feet And I'd howl at your beauty Like a dog in heat And I'd claw at your heart And I'd tear at your sheet I'd say please, please I'm your man And if you've got to sleep A moment on the road I will steer for you And if you want to work the street alone I'll disappear for you If you want a father for your child Or only want to walk with me a while Across the sand I'm your man If you want a lover I'll do anything you ask me to And if you want another kind of love I'll wear a mask for you Take This Waltz
Now in Vienna there's ten pretty women There's a shoulder where Death comes to cry There's a lobby with nine hundred windows There's a tree where the doves go to die There's a piece that was torn from the morning And it hangs in the Gallery of Frost Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Take this waltz, take this waltz Take this waltz with the clamp on its jaws Oh I want you, I want you, I want you On a chair with a dead magazine In the cave at the tip of the lily In some hallways where love's never been On a bed where the moon has been sweating In a cry filled with footsteps and sand Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Take this waltz, take this waltz Take its broken waist in your hand This waltz, this waltz, this waltz, this waltz With its very own breath of brandy and Death Dragging its tail in the sea There's a concert hall in Vienna Where your mouth had a thousand reviews There's a bar where the boys have stopped talking They've been sentenced to death by the blues Ah, but who is it climbs to your picture With a garland of freshly cut tears? Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Take this waltz, take this waltz Take this waltz it's been dying for years There's an attic where children are playing Where I've got to lie down with you soon In a dream of Hungarian lanterns In the mist of some sweet afternoon And I'll see what you've chained to your sorrow All your sheep and your lilies of snow Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Take this waltz, take this waltz With its "I'll never forget you, you know!" This waltz, this waltz, this waltz, this waltz ... And I'll dance with you in Vienna I'll be wearing a river's disguise The hyacinth wild on my shoulder, My mouth on the dew of your thighs And I'll bury my soul in a scrapbook, With the photographs there, and the moss And I'll yield to the flood of your beauty My cheap violin and my cross And you'll carry me down on your dancing To the pools that you lift on your wrist Oh my love, Oh my love Take this waltz, take this waltz It's yours now. It's all that there is Jazz Police
Can you tell me why the bells are ringing? Nothing's happened in a million years I've been sitting here since Wednesday morning Wednesday morning can't believe my ears Jazz police are looking through my folders Jazz police are talking to my niece Jazz police have got their final orders Jazzer, drop your axe, it's Jazz police! Jesus taken serious by the many Jesus taken joyous by a few Jazz police are paid by J. Paul Getty Jazzers paid by J. Paul Getty II Jazz police I hear you calling Jazz police I feel so blue Jazz police I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you Wild as any freedom loving racist I applaud the actions of the chief Tell me now oh beautiful and spacious Am I in trouble with the Jazz police? Jazz police are looking through my folders ... They will never understand our culture They'll never understand the Jazz police Jazz police are working for my mother Blood is thicker margarine than grease Let me be somebody I admire Let me be that muscle down the street Stick another turtle on the fire Guys like me are mad for turtle meat Jazz police I hear you calling Jazz police I feel so blue Jazz police I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you I Can't Forget
I stumbled out of bed I got ready for the struggle I smoked a cigarette And I tightened up my gut I said this can't be me Must be my double And I can't forget, I can't forget I can't forget but I don't remember what I'm burning up the road I'm heading down to Phoenix I got this old address Of someone that I knew It was high and fine and free Ah, you should have seen us And I can't forget, I can't forget I can't forget but I don't remember who I'll be there today With a big bouquet of cactus I got this rig that runs on memories And I promise, cross my heart, They'll never catch us But if they do, just tell them it was me Yeah I loved you all my life And that's how I want to end it The summer's almost gone The winter's tuning up Yeah, the summer's gone But a lot goes on forever And I can't forget, I can't forget I can't forget but I don't remember what Tower of Song
Well my friends are gone and my hair 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 Tower of Song I said to Hank Williams: 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 I was born like this, I had no choice I was born with the gift of a golden voice And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond They tied me to this table right here In the Tower of Song So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll I'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at all I'm standing by the window where the light is strong Ah they don't let a woman kill you Not in the Tower of Song Now you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sure The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor And there's a mighty judgement coming, but I may be wrong You see, you hear these funny voices In the Tower of Song I see you standing on the other side I don't know how the river got so wide I loved you baby, way back when And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed But I feel so close to everything that we lost We'll never have to lose it again Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back There moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone I'll be speaking to you sweetly From a window in the Tower of Song Yeah my friends are gone and my hair 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 Tower of Song
The future The future
Give me back my broken night My mirrored room, my secret life It's lonely here, There's no one left to torture Give me absolute control Over every living soul And lie beside me, baby, That's an order! 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. Things are going to slide, slide in all directions Won't be nothing Nothing you can measure anymore The blizzard, the blizzard of the world Has crossed the threshold And it has overturned The order of the soul When they said repent repent I wonder what they meant When they said repent repent I wonder what they meant When they said repent repent I wonder what they meant You don't know me from the wind You never will, you never did I'm the little jew Who wrote the bible I've seen the nations rise and fall I've heard their stories, heard them all But love's the only engine of survival Your servant here, he has been told To say it clear, to say it cold: It's over, it ain't going Any further And now the wheels of heaven stop You feel the devil's riding crop Get ready for the future: It is murder Things are going to slide ... There'll be the breaking of the ancient Western code Your private life will suddenly explode There'll be phantoms There'll be fires on the road And the white man dancing You'll see a woman Hanging upside down Her features covered by her fallen gown And all the lousy little poets Coming round Tryin' to sound like charlie manson And the white man dancin' Give me back the berlin wall Give me stalin and st paul Give me christ Or give me hiroshima Destroy another fetus now We don't like children anyhow I've seen the future, baby: It is murder Things are going to slide ... When they said repent repent ... Waiting for the miracle
Baby, i've been waiting, I've been waiting night and day. I didn't see the time, I waited half my life away. There were lots of invitations And i know you sent me some, But i was waiting For the miracle, for the miracle to come. I know you really loved me. But, you see, my hands were tied. I know it must have hurt you, It must have hurt your pride To have to stand beneath my window With your bugle and your drum, And me i'm up there waiting For the miracle, for the miracle to come. Ah i don't believe you'd like it, You wouldn't like it here. There ain't no entertainment And the judgements are severe. The maestro says it's mozart But it sounds like bubble gum When you're waiting For the miracle, for the miracle to come. Waiting for the miracle There's nothing left to do. I haven't been this happy Since the end of world war ii. Nothing left to do When you know that you've been taken. Nothing left to do When you're begging for a crumb Nothing left to do When you've got to go on waiting Waiting for the miracle to come. I dreamed about you, baby. It was just the other night. Most of you was naked Ah but some of you was light. The sands of time were falling From your fingers and your thumb, And you were waiting For the miracle, for the miracle to come Ah baby, let's get married, We've been alone too long. Let's be alone together. Let's see if we're that strong. Yeah let's do something crazy, Something absolutely wrong While we're waiting For the miracle, for the miracle to come. Nothing left to do ... When you've fallen on the highway And you're lying in the rain, And they ask you how you're doing Of course you'll say you can't complain -- If you're squeezed for information, That's when you've got to play it dumb: You just say you're out there waiting For the miracle, for the miracle to come. Be for real
Are you back in my life to stay Or is it just for today Oh that you're gonna need me? If it's a thrill you're looking for Honey, i'm flexible. Oh, yeah. Just be for real won't you, baby Be for real oh, baby You see i, i don't want to be hurt by love again So you see i'm not naive. I just would like to believe Ah what you tell me. So don't give me the world today And tomorrow take it away. Don't do that to me, darling. Just be for real won't you, baby Be for real won't you, baby Been hurt so many times You see i, i don't want to be hurt by love again. (i don't give a damn about the truth, baby Except for the naked truth. Oh yeah) Just be for real won't you, baby Be for real won't you, baby No, no, no, no It's just that i, i don't want to be hurt by love again. Thanks for the song mr. Knight. Closing time
Ah we're drinking and we're dancing And the band is really happening And the johnny walker wisdom running high And my very sweet companion She's the angel of compassion She's rubbing half the world against her thigh And every drinker every dancer Lifts a happy face to thank her The fiddler fiddles something so sublime All the women tear their blouses off And the men they dance on the polka-dots And it's partner found, it's partner lost And it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops: It's closing time Yeah the women tear their blouses off And the men they dance on the polka-dots And it's partner found, it's partner lost And it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops: It's closing time Ah we're lonely, we're romantic And the cider's laced with acid And the holy spirit's crying, "where's the beef?" And the moon is swimming naked And the summer night is fragrant With a mighty expectation of relief So we struggle and we stagger Down the snakes and up the ladder To the tower where the blessed hours chime And i swear it happened just like this: A sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss The gates of love they budged an inch I can't say much has happened since But closing time I swear it happened just like this: A sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss The gates of love they budged an inch I can't say much has happened since Closing time I loved you for your beauty But that doesn't make a fool of me: You were in it for your beauty too And i loved you for your body There's a voice that sounds like god to me Declaring, declaring, declaring that your body's really you And i loved you when our love was blessed And i love you now there's nothing left But sorrow and a sense of overtime And i missed you since the place got wrecked And i just don't care what happens next Looks like freedom but it feels like death It's something in between, i guess It's closing time Yeah i missed you since the place got wrecked By the winds of change and the weeds of sex Looks like freedom but it feels like death It's something in between, i guess It's closing time Yeah we're drinking and we're dancing But there's nothing really happening And the place is dead as heaven on a saturday night And my very close companion Gets me fumbling gets me laughing She's a hundred but she's wearing Something tight And i lift my glass to the awful truth Which you can't reveal to the ears of youth Except to say it isn't worth a dime And the whole damn place goes crazy twice And it's once for the devil and once for christ But the boss don't like these dizzy heights We're busted in the blinding lights, Busted in the blinding lights Of closing time The whole damn place goes crazy twice And it's once for the devil and once for christ But the boss don't like these dizzy heights We're busted in the blinding lights, Busted in the blinding lights Of closing time Oh the women tear their blouses off And the men they dance on the polka-dots It's closing time And it's partner found, it's partner lost And it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops It's closing time I swear it happened just like this: A sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss It's closing time The gates of love they budged an inch I can't say much has happened since But closing time I loved you when our love was blessed I love you now there's nothing left But closing time I miss you since the place got wrecked By the winds of change and the weeds of sex. Anthem
The birds they sang At the break of day Start again I heard them say Don't dwell on what Has passed away Or what is yet to be. Ah the wars they will Be fought again The holy dove She will be caught again Bought and sold And bought again The dove is never free. Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. We asked for signs The signs were sent: The birth betrayed The marriage spent Yeah the widowhood Of every government -- Signs for all to see. I can't run no more With that lawless crowd While the killers in high places Say their prayers out loud. But they've summoned, they've summoned up A thundercloud And they're going to hear from me. Ring the bells that still can ring ... You can add up the parts But you won't have the sum You can strike up the march, There is no drum Every heart, every heart To love will come But like a refugee. Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. That's how the light gets in. That's how the light gets in. Democracy
It's coming through a hole in the air, From those nights in tiananmen square. It's coming from the feel That this ain't exactly real, Or it's real, but it ain't exactly there. From the wars against disorder, From the sirens night and day, From the fires of the homeless, From the ashes of the gay: Democracy is coming to the u.s.a. It's coming through a crack in the wall; On a visionary flood of alcohol; From the staggering account Of the sermon on the mount Which i don't pretend to understand at all. It's coming from the silence On the dock of the bay, From the brave, the bold, the battered Heart of chevrolet: Democracy is coming to the u.s.a. It's coming from the sorrow in the street, The holy places where the races meet; From the homicidal bitchin' That goes down in every kitchen To determine who will serve and who will eat. From the wells of disappointment Where the women kneel to pray For the grace of god in the desert here And the desert far away: Democracy is coming to the u.s.a. Sail on, sail on O mighty ship of state! To the shores of need Past the reefs of greed Through the squalls of hate Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on. It's coming to america first, The cradle of the best and of the worst. It's here they got the range And the machinery for change And it's here they got the spiritual thirst. It's here the family's broken And it's here the lonely say That the heart has got to open In a fundamental way: Democracy is coming to the u.s.a. It's coming from the women and the men. O baby, we'll be making love again. We'll be going down so deep The river's going to weep, And the mountain's going to shout amen! It's coming like the tidal flood Beneath the lunar sway, Imperial, mysterious, In amorous array: Democracy is coming to the u.s.a. Sail on, sail on ... I'm sentimental, if you know what i mean I love the country but i can't stand the scene. And i'm neither left or right I'm just staying home tonight, Getting lost in that hopeless little screen. But i'm stubborn as those garbage bags That time cannot decay, I'm junk but i'm still holding up This little wild bouquet: Democracy is coming to the u.s.a. Light as the breeze
She stands before you naked You can see it, you can taste it, And she comes to you light as the breeze. Now you can drink it or you can nurse it, It don't matter how you worship As long as you're Down on your knees. So i knelt there at the delta, At the alpha and the omega, At the cradle of the river and the seas. And like a blessing come from heaven For something like a second I was healed and my heart Was at ease. O baby i waited So long for your kiss For something to happen, Oh something like this. And you're weak and you're harmless And you're sleeping in your 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
(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.
Ten New Songs
In My Secret Life I saw you this morning You were moving so fast Can't seem to loosen my grip On the past And I miss you so much There's no one in sight And we're still making love In My Secret Life 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 In My Secret Life Hold on, hold on, my brother My sister, hold on tight I finally got my orders I'll be marching through the morning Marching through the night Moving cross the borders Of My Secret Life Looked through the paper Makes you want to cry Nobody cares if the people Live or die And the dealer wants you thinking That it's either black or white Thank G-d it's not that simple In My Secret Life I bite my lip I buy what I'm told From the latest hit To the wisdom of old But I'm always alone And my heart is like ice And it's crowded and cold In My Secret Life A Thousand Kisses Deep The ponies run, the girls are young The odds are there to beat You win a while, and then it's done Your little winning streak And summoned now to deal With your invincible defeat You live your life as if it's real A Thousand Kisses Deep I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed I'm back on Boogie Street You lose your grip, and then you slip Into the Masterpiece And maybe I had miles to drive And promises to keep You ditch it all to stay alive A Thousand Kisses Deep And sometimes when the night is slow The wretched and the meek We gather up our hearts and go A Thousand Kisses Deep Confined to sex, we pressed against The limits of the sea I saw there were no oceans left For scavengers like me I made it to the forward deck I blessed our remnant fleet And then consented to be wrecked A Thousand Kisses Deep I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed I'm back on Boogie Street I guess they won't exchange the gifts That you were meant to keep And quiet is the thought of you The file on you complete Except what we forgot to do A Thousand Kisses Deep And sometimes when the night is slow The wretched and the meek We gather up our hearts and go A Thousand Kisses Deep The ponies run, the girls are young The odds are there to beat
That Don't Make It Junk I fought against the bottle But I had to do it drunk Took my diamond to the pawnshop But that don't make it junk I know that I'm forgiven But I don't know how I know I don't trust my inner feelings Inner feelings come and go How come you called me here tonight How come you bother With my heart at all You raise me up in grace Then you put me in a place Where I must fall Too late to fix another drink The lights are going out I'll listen to the darkness sing I know what that's about I tried to love you my way But I couldn't make it hold So I closed the Book of Longing And I do what I am told How come you called me here tonight How come you bother with my heart at all You raise me up in grace Then you put me in a place Where I must fall I fought against the bottle But I had to do it drunk Took my diamond to the pawnshop But that don't make it junk
Here It Is Here is your crown And your seal and rings And here is your love For all things Here is your cart And your cardboard and piss And here is your love For all of this May everyone live And may everyone die Hello, my love And my love, Goodbye Here is your wine And your drunken fall And here is your love Your love for it all Here is your sickness Your bed and your pan And here is your love For the woman, the man May everyone live And may everyone die Hello, my love And my love, Goodbye And here is the night The night has begun And here is your death In the heart of your son And here is the dawn (Until death do us part) And here is your death In your daughter's heart May everyone live And may everyone die Hello, my love And my love, Goodbye And here you are hurried And here you are gone And here is the love That it's all built upon Here is your cross Your nails and your hill And here is your love That lists where it will May everyone live And may everyone die Hello, my love And my love, Goodbye
Love Itself The light came through the window Straight from the sun above And so inside my little room There plunged the rays of Love In streams of light I clearly saw The dust you seldom see Out of which the Nameless makes A Name for one like me I'll try to say a little more Love went on and on Until it reached an open door Then Love Itself Love Itself was gone All busy in the sunlight The flecks did float and dance And I was tumbled up with them In formless circumstance I'll try to say a little more Love went on and on Until it reached an open door Then Love Itself Love Itself was gone Then I came back from where I'd been My room, it looked the same But there was nothing left between The Nameless and the Name All busy in the sunlight The flecks did float and dance And I was tumbled up with them In formless circumstance I'll try to say a little more Love went on and on Until it reached an open door Then Love itself Love Itself was gone Love Itself was gone By The Rivers Dark By the rivers dark I wandered on I lived my life in Babylon And I did forget My holy song And I had no strength In Babylon By the rivers dark Where I could not see Who was waiting there Who was hunting me And he cut my lip And he cut my heart So I could not drink From the river dark And he covered me And I saw within My lawless heart And my wedding ring I did not know And I could not see Who was waiting there Who was hunting me By the rivers dark I panicked on I belonged at last To Babylon Then he struck my heart With a deadly force And he said, 'This heart It is not yours' And he gave the wind My wedding ring And he circled us With everything By the rivers dark In a wounded dawn I live my life In Babylon Though I take my song From a withered limb Both song and tree They sing for him Be the truth unsaid And the blessing gone If I forget My Babylon I did not know And I could not see Who was waiting there Who was hunting me By the rivers dark Where it all goes on By the rivers dark In Babylon Alexandra Leaving Suddenly the night has grown colder The god of love preparing to depart Alexandra hoisted on his shoulder They slip between the sentries of the heart Upheld by the simplicities of pleasure They gain the light, they formlessly entwine And radiant beyond your widest measure They fall among the voices and the wine It's not a trick, your senses all deceiving A fitful dream, the morning will exhaust Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost Even though she sleeps upon your satin Even though she wakes you with a kiss Do not say the moment was imagined Do not stoop to strategies like this As someone long prepared for this to happen Go firmly to the window. Drink it in Exquisite music. Alexandra laughing Your firm commitments tangible again And you who had the honor of her evening And by the honor had your own restored Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving Alexandra leaving with her lord Even though she sleeps upon your satin Even though she wakes you with a kiss Do not say the moment was imagined Do not stoop to strategies like this As someone long prepared for the occasion In full command of every plan you wrecked Do not choose a coward's explanation that hides behind the cause and the effect And you who were bewildered by a meaning Whose code was broken, crucifix uncrossed Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost You Have Loved Enough I said I'd be your lover You laughed at what I said I lost my job forever I was counted with the dead I swept the marble chambers But you sent me down below You kept me from believing Until you let me know That I am not the one who loves It's love that seizes me When hatred with his package comes You forbid delivery And when the hunger for your touch Rises from the hunger You whisper, "You have loved enough Now let me be the Lover" I swept the marble chambers But you sent me down below You kept me from believing Until you let me know That I am not the one who loves It's love that chooses me When hatred with his package comes You forbid delivery And when the hunger for your touch Rises from the hunger
Boogie Street O Crown of Light, O Darkened One I never thought we'd meet You kiss my lips, and then it's done I'm back on Boogie Street A sip of wine, a cigarette And then it's time to go I tidied up the kitchenette I tuned the old banjo I'm wanted at the traffic-jam They're saving me a seat I'm what I am, and what I am Is back on Boogie Street And O my love, I still recall The pleasures that we knew The rivers and the waterfall Wherein I bathed with you Bewildered by your beauty there I'd kneel to dry your feet By such instructions you prepare A man for Boogie Street O Crown of Light, O Darkened One So come, my friends, be not afraid We are so lightly here It is in love that we are made In love we disappear Though all the maps of blood and flesh Are posted on the door There's no one who has told us yet What Boogie Street is for O Crown of Light, O Darkened One I never thought we'd meet You kiss my lips, and then it's done I'm back on Boogie Street A sip of wine, a cigarette And then it's time to go
The Land of Plenty Don't really have the courage To stand where I must stand Don't really have the temperament To lend a helping hand Don't really know who sent me To raise my voice and say May the lights in The Land of Plenty Shine on the truth some day I don't know why I come here Knowing as I do What you really think of me What I really think of you For the millions in a prison That wealth has set apart For the Christ who has not risen From the caverns of the heart For the innermost decision That we cannot but obey For what's left of our religion I lift my voice and pray May the lights in The Land of Plenty Shine on the truth some day I know I said I'd meet you I'd meet you at the store But I can't buy it, baby I can't buy it anymore And I don't really know who sent me To raise my voice and say May the lights in The Land of Plenty Shine on the truth some day For the innermost decision That we cannot but obey For what's left of our religion I lift my voice and pray May the lights in The Land of Plenty Shine on the truth some day
Dear Heather Go No More A-Roving ( Words by Lord Byron (1788-1824), music by Leonard Cohen ) So we'll go no more a-roving So late into the night, Though the heart be still as loving, And the moon be still as bright. For the sword outwears its sheath, And the soul outwears the breast, And the heart must pause to breathe, And love itself have rest. Though the night was made for loving, And the day returns too soon, Yet we'll go no more a-roving By the light of the moon. Because Of Because of a few songs Wherein I spoke of their mystery, Women have been Exceptionally kind to my old age. They make a secret place In their busy lives And they take me there. They become naked In their different ways and they say, "Look at me, Leonard Look at me one last time." Then they bend over the bed And cover me up Like a baby that is shivering. The Letters ( Words and music by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson ) You never liked to get The letters that I sent. But now you've got the gist Of what my letters meant. You're reading them again, The ones you didn't burn. You press them to your lips, My pages of concern. I said there'd been a flood. I said there's nothing left. I hoped that you would come. I gave you my address. Your story was so long, The plot was so intense, It took you years to cross The lines of self-defense. The wounded forms appear: The loss, the full extent; And simple kindness here, The solitude of strength. You walk into my room. You stand there at my desk, Begin your letter to The one who's coming next. Undertow I set out one night When the tide was low There were signs in the sky But I did not know I'd be caught in the grip Of the undertow Ditched on a beach Where the sea hates to go With a child in my arms And a chill in my soul And my heart the shape Of a begging bowl Morning Glory No words this time? No words. No, there are times when nothing can be done. Not this time. Is it censorship? Is it censorship? No, it's evaporation. No, it's evaporation. Is this leading somewhere? Yes. We're going down the lane. Is this going somewhere? Into the garden. Into the backyard. We're walking down the driveway. Are we moving towards... We're in the backyard Some transcendental moment? It's almost light. That's right. That's it. Are we moving towards some transcendental moment? That's right. That's it. Do you think you'll be able to pull it off? Yes. Do you think you can pull it off? Yes, it might happen. I'm all ears. I'm all ears. Oh the morning glory! On That Day ( Words and music by Leonard Cohen and Anjani Thomas ) Some people say It's what we deserve For sins against g-d For crimes in the world I wouldn't know I'm just holding the fort Since that day They wounded New York Some people say They hate us of old Our women unveiled Our slaves and our gold I wouldn't know I'm just holding the fort But answer me this I won't take you to court Did you go crazy Or did you report On that day On that day They wounded New York Villanelle for Our Time ( Words by Frank Scott (1899-1985), music by Leonard Cohen ) From bitter searching of the heart, Quickened with passion and with pain We rise to play a greater part. This is the faith from which we start: Men shall know commonwealth again From bitter searching of the heart. We loved the easy and the smart, But now, with keener hand and brain, We rise to play a greater part. The lesser loyalties depart, And neither race nor creed remain From bitter searching of the heart. Not steering by the venal chart That tricked the mass for private gain, We rise to play a greater part. Reshaping narrow law and art Whose symbols are the millions slain, From bitter searching of the heart We rise to play a greater part. There For You ( Words and music by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson ) When it all went down And the pain came through I get it now I was there for you Don't ask me how I know it's true I get it now I was there for you I make my plans Like I always do But when I look back I was there for you I walk the streets Like I used to do And I freeze with fear But I'm there for you I see my life In full review It was never me It was always you You sent me here You sent me there Breaking things I can't repair Making objects Out of thoughts Making more By thinking not Eating food And drinking wine A body that I thought was mine Dressed as Arab Dressed as Jew O mask of iron I was there for you Moods of glory Moods so foul The world comes through A bloody towel And death is old But it's always new I freeze with fear And I'm there for you I see it clear I always knew It was never me I was there for you I was there for you My darling one And by your law It all was done Dear Heather Dear Heather Please walk by me again With a drink in your hand And your legs all white From the winter Nightingale (Dedicated to Carl Anderson (1945-2004) - Words and music by Leonard Cohen and Anjani Thomas) I built my house beside the wood So I could hear you singing And it was sweet and it was good And love was all beginning Fare thee well my nightingale ‘Twas long ago I found you Now all your songs of beauty fail The forest closes ‘round you The sun goes down behind a veil ‘Tis now that you would call me So rest in peace my nightingale Beneath your branch of holly Fare thee well my nightingale I lived but to be near you Tho‘ you are singing somewhere still I can no longer hear you
To A Teacher Dedicated to A. M. Klein (1909-1972). Hurt once and for all into silence. A long pain ending without a song to prove it. Who could stand beside you so close to Eden, When you glinted in every eye the held-high razor, shivering every ram and son? And now the silent loony bin, where The shadows live in the rafters like Day-weary bats, Until the turning mind, a radar signal, lures them to exaggerate Mountain-size on the white stone wall Your tiny limp. How can I leave you in such a house? Are there no more saints and wizards to praise their ways with pupils, No more evil to stun with the slap of a wet red tongue? Did you confuse the Messiah in a mirror and rest because he had finally come? Let me cry Help beside you, Teacher. I have entered under this dark roof As fearlessly as an honoured son Enters his father's house. The Faith The sea so deep and blind The sun, the wild regret The club, the wheel, the mind, O love, aren't you tired yet? The club, the wheel, the mind O love, aren't you tired yet? The blood, the soil, the faith These words you can't forget Your vow, your holy place O love, aren't you tired yet? The blood, the soil, the faith O love, aren't you tired yet? A cross on every hill A star, a minaret So many graves to fill O love, aren't you tired yet? So many graves to fill O love, aren't you tired yet? The sea so deep and blind Where still the sun must set And time itself unwind O love, aren't you tired yet? And time itself unwind O love, aren't you tired yet? Tennessee Waltz ( Written by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King ) I was dancing with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz When an old friend I happened to see Introduced him to my loved one and while they were waltzing My friend stole my sweetheart from me. I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz Now I know just how much I have lost Yes I lost my little darlin' The night they were playing The beautiful Tennessee Waltz. She comes dancing through 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's left in my heart
Old Ideas
Going Home I love to speak with Leonard He's a sportsman and a shepherd He's a lazy bastard Living in a suit But he does say what I tell him Even though it isn't welcome He will never have the freedom To refuse He will speak these words of wisdom Like a sage, a man of vision Though he knows he's really nothing But the brief elaboration of a tube Going home Without my sorrow Going home Sometime tomorrow To where it's better Than before Going home Without my burden Going home Behind the curtain Going home Without the costume That I wore He wants to write a love song An anthem of forgiving A manual for living with defeat A cry above the suffering A sacrifice recovering But that isn't what I want him to complete Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin I want to make him certain That he doesn't have a burden That he doesn't need a vision That he only has permission To do my instant bidding That is to say what I have told him To repeat Going home Without my sorrow Going home Sometime tomorrow Going home To where it's better Than before Going home Without my burden Going home Behind the curtain Going home Without the costume That I wore I love to speak with Leonard He's a sportsman and a shepherd He's a lazy bastard Living in a suit
Amen Tell me again when I've been to the river And I've taken the edge off my thirst Tell me again when we're alone and I'm listening Listening so hard that it hurts Tell me again when I'm clean and sober Tell me again when I've seen through the horror Tell me again, tell me over and over Tell me that you want me then Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin Tell me again when the victims are singing And the laws of remorse are restored Tell me again that you know what I'm thinking But vengeance belongs to the lord Tell me again when I'm clean and I'm sober Tell me again when I've seen through the horror Tell me again, tell me over and over Tell me that you love me then Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen Tell me again when the day has been ransomed And the night has no right to begin Try me again when the angels are panting And scratching at the door to come in Tell me again when I'm clean and I'm sober Tell me again when I've seen through the horror Tell me again, tell me over and over Tell me again that you need me then Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen Tell me again when the filth of the butcher Is washed in the blood of the lamb Tell me again when the rest of the culture Has passed thru' the Eye of the Camp Tell me again when I'm clean and I'm sober Tell me again when I've seen through the horror Tell me again, tell me over and over Tell me that you love me then Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Show Me The Place Show me the place, where you want your slave to go Show me the place, I've forgotten I don't know Show me the place where my head is bend and low Show me the place, where you want your slave to go Show me the place, help me roll away the stone Show me the place, I can't move this thing alone Show me the place where the word became a man Show me the place where the suffering began The troubles came I saved what I could save A shred of light, a particle away But there were chains so I hastened to the hay There were chains, a lot of chains Like a spade Show me the place, where you want your slave to go Show me the place, I've forgotten I don't know Show me the place, where you want your slave to go Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin The troubles came I saved what I could save A shred of light, a particle away But there were chains so I hastened to the hay There were chains so I loved you like a slave Show me the place Show me the place Show me the place Show me the place, help me roll away the stone Show me the place, I can't move this thing alone Show me the place where the word became a man
The Darkness I caught the darkness It was drinking from your cup I got the darkness From your little golden cup I said is this contagious? You said "Just drink it up" I've got no future I know my days are few The present's not so pleasant Just a lot of things to do I thought the past would last me But the darkness got that too I should have seen it coming It was right behind your eyes You were young and it was summer I just had to take a dive Winning you was easy But the darkness was the prize Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin I don't smoke no cigarette I don't drink no alcohol I ain't had no loving yet But that's always been your call And nothing but the darkness Makes any sense to me at all I used to love the rainbow And I used to love the view I love the early morning I pretend that it was new But I caught the darkness And I got it worse than you I caught the darkness I caught the darkness It was drinking from your cup I said is this contagious? You said "Just drink it up"
Anyhow You know, it really is a pity the way you treat me now I know you can't forgive me But forgive me anyhow The ending, that's so ugly I even heard you say You never ever loved me But could you love me anyway I dreamed about you baby You were wearing half your dress I know you have to hate me But could you hate me less I've used up all my chances And you'll never take me back But there ain't no harm in asking Could you cut me one more slack Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin Now I'm naked and I'm filthy And there's sweat upon my brow And both of us are guilty Anyhow Have mercy on me, baby After all I did confess Even though you have to hate me Could you hate me less It's a shame and it's a pity I know you can't forgive me The ending, that's so ugly You never ever loved me I dreamed about you, baby I know you have to hate me I'm naked and I'm filthy Both of us are guilty Have mercy on me, baby
Crazy To Love You I had to go crazy to love you Had to go down to the pit Had to do time in the tower Now I'm too tired to quit I had to go crazy to love you You who were never the one Whom I chased through the Souvenir heartache My braids and my blouse all undone Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin Sometimes I'd head for the highway I'm old and the mirrors don't lie But crazy has places to hide me Deeper than saying goodbye I had to go crazy to love you Had to let everything fall Had to be people I hated Had to be no one at all Tired of choosing desire I've been saved by a blessed fatigue The gates of commitment unwired And nobody trying to leave Sometimes I'd head for the highway I'm old and the mirrors don't lie But crazy has places to hide me Deeper than saying goodbye
Come Healing O gather up the brokenness And bring it to me now The fragrance of those promises You never dared to vow The splinters that you carry The cross you left behind Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind And let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb Behold the gates of mercy In arbitrary space And none of us deserving The cruelty or the grace Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin O solitude of longing Where love has been confined Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind O see the darkness yielding That tore the light apart Come healing of the reason Come healing of the heart O troubled dust concealing An undivided love The Heart beneath is teaching To the broken Heart above O let the heavens falter And let the earth proclaim: Come healing of the Altar Come healing of the Name O longing of the branches To lift the little bud O longing of the arteries To purify the blood And let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb O let the heavens hear it...
Banjo There's something that I'm watching Means a lot to me There's something that I'm watching Means a lot to me It's a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea It's a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea Don't know how it got there Maybe taken by the wave Don't know how it got there Probably taken by the wave Of the someone's shoulder Or out of someone's grave Of the someone's shoulder Or of the someone's grave Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin It's coming for me darling No matter where I go It's coming for me darling No matter where I go Its duty is to harm me My duty is to know Its duty is to harm me My duty is to know There is something that I'm watching Means a lot to me There is something that I'm watching Means a lot to me It's a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea It's a broken banjo bobbing On the dark infested sea
Lullaby Sleep, baby, sleep The days are on the run The wind in the trees Is talking in tongues If your heart is torn I don't wonder why If the night is long Here's my lullaby Here's my lullaby Well, the mouse ate the crumb Then the cat ate the crust Now they've fallen in love And they're talking in tongues Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin If your heart is torn I don't wonder why If the night is long Here's my lullaby Here's my lullaby Sleep, baby, sleep There's the morning to come The wind in the trees They're talking in tongues If your heart is torn I don't wonder why If the night is long Here's my lullaby Here's my lullaby
Different Sides We find ourselves on different sides Of a line nobody drew Though it all may be one in the higher eye Down here where we live it is two I to my side call the meek and the mild You to your side call the Word By virtue of suffering I claim to have won You claim to have never been heard Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don't like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone The pull of the moon, the thrust of the sun Thus the ocean is crossed The waters are blessed while a shadowy guest Kindles a light for the lost Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don't like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone Down in the valley the famine goes on The famine up on the hill I say that you shouldn't, you couldn't, you can't You say that you must and you will You want to live where the suffering is I want to get out of town Come on, baby, give me a kiss Stop writing everything down Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don't like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don't like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone…
Popular Problems
Slow I'm slowing down the tune I never liked it fast You wanna get there soon I wanna get there last It's not because I'm old It's not the life I've led I always liked it slow That's what my mamma said I'm lacing up my shoe But I don't want to run I'll get there when I do Don't need no starting gun It's not because I'm old And it's not what dying does I always liked it slow Slow is in my blood I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake I always like it slow I never liked it fast With you it's got to go With me it's got to last It's not because I'm old It's not because I'm dead I always liked it slow That's what my mama said All your moves are swift All your turns are tight Let me catch my breath I thought we had all night I like to take my time I like to linger as it flies A weekend on your lips A lifetime in your eyes I always like it slow I never liked it fast With you it's got to go With me it's got to last It's not because I'm old It's not the life I've led I always liked it slow That's what my mama said I'm slowing down the tune I've never liked it fast You wanna get there soon I wanna get there last So baby let me go You're wanted back in town In case they wanna know I'm just tryin' to it slow down Almost Like The Blues I saw some people starving There was murder, there was rape Their villages were burning They were trying to escape I couldn't meet their glances I was staring at my shoes It was acid, it was tragic It was almost like the blues It was almost like the blues I have to die a little Between each murderous thought And when I'm finished thinking I have to die a lot There's torture and there's killing And there's all my bad reviews The war, the children missing Lord, it's almost like the blues It's almost like the blues I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake Though I let my heart get frozen To keep away the rot My father says I'm chosen My mother says I'm not I listened to their story Of the Gypsies and the Jews It was good, it wasn't boring It was almost like the blues It was almost like the blues There is no G-d in heaven And there is no Hell below So says the great professor Of all there is to know But I've had the invitation That a sinner can't refuse And it's almost like salvation It's almost like the blues It's almost like the blues Almost like the blues Samson In New Orleans You said that you were with me You said you were my friend Did you really love the city Or did you just pretend? You said you loved her secrets And her freedoms hid away She was better than America That's what I heard you say You said how could this happen You said how can this be The remnant all dishonored On the bridge of misery And we who cried for mercy From the bottom of the pit Was our prayer so damn unworthy The Son rejected it So gather up the killers Get everyone in town Stand me by those pillars Let me take this temple down The king so kind and solemn He wears a bloody crown So stand me by that column Let me take this temple down I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake You said how could this happen You said how can this be The chains are gone from heaven The storms are wild and free There's other ways to answer That certainly is true Me, I'm blind with death and anger And that's no place for you There's a woman in the window There's a bed in tinsel town I'll write you when it's over Let me take this temple down You said you loved her secrets Her freedoms hid away She was better than America That's what I heard you say A Street I used to be your favorite drunk Good for one more laugh Then we both ran out of luck Luck was all we ever had You put on a uniform To fight the Civil War You looked so good I didn't care What side you are fighting for Wasn't all that easy When you up and walked away But I'll save that little story For another rainy day I know the burden's heavy As you wheel it through the night Some people say it's empty But that don't mean it's light You left me with the dishes And a baby in the bath You're tight with the militias You wear their camouflage You always said we're equal So let me march with you Just an extra in the sequel To the old red white and blue Baby don't ignore me We were smokers we were friends Forget that tired story Of betrayal and revenge I see the ghost of culture With numbers on his wrist Salute some new conclusion That all of us have missed I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake I cried for you this morning And I'll cry for you again But I'm not in charge of sorrow So please don't ask me when There may be wine and roses And magnums of champagne But we'll never know we'll never Ever be that drunk again OK the party's over But I landed on my feet And I'm standing here, on this corner Where there used to be a street The party's over But I've landed on my feet I'll be standing on this corner Where there used to be a street So let's drink to when it's over And let's drink to when we meet I'll be standing on this corner Where there used to be a street The party's over But I landed on my feet And I'm standing here, on this corner Did I Ever Love You Did I ever love you Did I ever need you Did I ever fight you Did I ever want to Did I ever leave you Was I ever able Or are we still leaning Across the old table Did I ever love you Did I ever need you Did I ever fight you Did I ever want to Did I ever leave you Was I ever able Or are we still leaning Across the old table Was it ever settled Was it ever over And is it still raining Back in November The lemon trees blossom The almond trees wither Was I ever someone Who could love you forever Was it ever settled Was it ever over And is it still raining Back in November The lemon trees blossom The almond trees wither It's Spring and it's Summer And it's Winter forever Did I ever love you Does it really matter Did I ever fight you You don't need to answer Did I ever leave you Was I ever able And are we still leaning Across the old table I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake Did I ever love you Did I ever need you Did I ever fight you Did I ever want to Did I ever leave you Was I ever able And are we still leaning Across the old table Did I ever love you Did I ever need you Did I ever fight you Did I ever want to Did I ever leave you Was I ever able And are we still leaning Across the old table My Oh My Wasn't hard to love you Didn't have to try Wasn't hard to love you Didn't have to try Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my Drove you to the station Never asked you why Drove you to the station Never asked you why Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my All the boys are wavin' Tryin' to catch your eye All the boys are wavin' Tryin' to catch your eye Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake Wasn't hard to love you I didn't have to try Wasn't hard to love you Didn't have to try Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my Held you for a little while My, oh my, oh my Nevermind The war was lost The treaty signed I was not caught I crossed the line I was not caught Though many tried I live among you Well disguised I had to leave My life behind I dug some graves You'll never find The story's told With facts and lies I have a name But nevermind Nevermind Nevermind The war was lost The treaty signed There's Truth that lives And Truth that dies I don't know which So nevermind I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake Your victory was So complete Some among you Thought to keep A record of Our little lives The clothes we wore Our spoons our knives The games of luck Our soldiers played The stones we cut The songs we made Our law of peace Which understands A husband leads A wife commands And all of this Expressions of the Sweet indifference Some call love The high indifference Some call fate But we had names More intimate Names so deep And names so true They're blood to me They're dust to you There is no need That this survives There's Truth that lives And Truth that dies Nevermind Nevermind I live the life I left behind There's Truth that lives And Truth that dies I don't know which So nevermind I could not kill The way you kill I could not hate I tried I failed You turned me in At least you tried You side with them whom You despise This was your heart This swarm of flies This was once your mouth This bowl of lies You serve them well I'm not surprised You're of their kin You're of their kind Nevermind Nevermind I had to leave my Life behind The story's told With facts and lies You own the world So nevermind Nevermind Nevermind I live the life I left behind I live it full I live it wide Through layers of time You can't divide My woman's here My children too Their graves are safe From ghosts like you In places deep With roots entwined I live the life I left behind The war was lost The treaty signed I was not caught I crossed the line I was not caught Though many tried I live among you Well disguised Born In Chains I was born in chains But I was taken out of Egypt I was bound to a burden But the burden it was raised Lord I can no longer Keep this secret Blessed is the name The name be praised I fled to the edge Of the mighty sea of sorrow Pursued by the riders Of a cruel and dark regime But the waters parted And my soul crossed over Out of Egypt Out of Pharaoh's dream Word of words Measure of all measures Blessed is the name The name be blessed Written on my heart In burning letters That's all I know I cannot read the rest I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake I was idle with my soul When I heard you could use me I followed very closely But my life remained the same But then you showed me Where you had been wounded In every atom Broken is the name I was alone on the road And your love was so confusing All my teachers told me I had myself to blame But in the grip of Sensual illusion A sweet unknowing Unified the name Word of words Measure of all measures Blessed is the name The name be blessed Written on my heart In burning letters That's all I know I cannot read the rest I've heard the soul unfolds In the chambers of its longing And the bitter liquor sweetens In the hammered cup But all the ladders of Of the night are fallen Only darkness now To lift the longing up Word of words Measure of all measures Blessed is the name The name be blessed Written on my heart In burning letters That's all I know I cannot read the rest You Got Me Singing You got me singing Even though the news is bad You got me singing The only song I ever had You got me singing Ever since the river died You got me thinking Of the places we could hide You got me singing Even though the world is gone You got me thinking That I'd like to carry on You got me singing Even though it all looks grim You got me singing The Hallelujah hymn Singing the Hallelujah song I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake You got me singing Like a prisoner in a jail You got me singing Like my pardon's in the mail You got me wishing Our little love would last You got me thinking Like those people of the past You got me singing Even though the world is gone You got me thinking I'd like to carry on You got me singing Even though it all went wrong You got me singing The Hallelujah song Singing the Hallelujah song
You Want It Darker
You Want It Darker If you are the dealer I'm out of the game If you are the healer I'm broken and lame If thine is the glory Then mine must be the shame You want it darker We kill the flame Magnified and sanctified Be Thy Holy Name Vilified and crucified In the human frame A million candles burning For the help that never came You want it darker We kill the flame Help and participate instead of copy and paste Hineni Hineni I'm ready, my Lord There's a lover in the story But the story is still the same There's an lullaby for suffering And a paradox to blame But it's written in the scriptures And it's not some idle claim You want it darker We kill the flame They're lining up the prisoners now The guards are taking aim I struggled with some demons They were middle-class and tame Didn't know I had permission To murder and to maim You want it darker We kill the flame Hineni Hineni I'm ready, my Lord Magnified and sanctified Be Thy Holy Name Vilified and crucified In the human frame A million candles burning For the love that never came You want it darker We kill the flame If you are the dealer I'm out of the game If you are the healer I'm broken and lame If thine is the glory Then mine must be the shame You want it darker We kill the flame Hineni Hineni I'm ready, my Lord Treaty I seen you change the water into wine I seen you change it back to water too I sit at your table every night I try but I just don't get high with you I wish there was a treaty we could sign I do not care who takes the bloody hill I'm angry and I'm tired all the time I wish there was a treaty I wish there was a treaty Between your love and mine Help and participate instead of copy and paste They're dancing in the street – it's Jubilee We sold ourselves for love but now we're free I'm sorry for the ghost I made you be Only one of us was real – and that was me. I haven't said a word since you've been gone That any liar couldn't say as well I can't believe the static coming on You were my ground – my safe and sound You were my aerial The fields are crying out – it's Jubilee We sold ourselves for love but now we're free I'm sorry for the ghost I made you be Only one of us was real – and that was me. I heard the snake was baffled by his sin He shed his scales to find the snake within But born again is born without a skin The poison enters into everything I wish there was a treaty we could sign I do not care who takes the bloody hill I'm angry and I'm tired all the time I wish there was a treaty I wish there was a treaty Between your love and mine On The Level I knew that it was wrong I didn't have a doubt I was dying to get back home And you were starting out I said I better hurry on You said, we have all day You smiled at me like I was young It took my breath away Help and participate instead of copy and paste Your crazy fragrance all around Your secrets all in view My lost, my lost was saying found My don't was saying do Let's keep it on the level When I walked away from you I turned my back on the devil Turned my back on the angel too They ought to give my heart a medal For letting go of you When I turned my back on the devil Turned my back on the angel too Now I'm living in this temple Where they tell you what to do I'm old and I've had to settle On a different point of view I was fighting with temptation But I didn't want to win A man like me don't like to see Temptation caving in Your crazy fragrance all around You secrets all in view My lost, my lost was saying found My don't was saying do Let's keep it on the level When I walked away from you I turned my back on the devil Turned my back on the angel too They ought to give my heart a medal For letting go of you When I turned my back on the devil Turned my back on the angel too Leaving The Table I'm leaving the table I'm out of the game I don't know the people In your picture frame If I ever loved you It's a crying shame If I ever loved you If I knew your name You don't need a lawyer I'm not making a claim You can put down your weapon I'm not taking aim I don't need a lover The wretched beast is tame I don't need a lover So blow out the flame Help and participate instead of copy and paste There's nobody missing There is no reward Little by little We're cutting the cord We're spending the treasure That love cannot afford I know you can feel it The sweetness restored I don't need a reason For what I became I've got these excuses They're old and they're lame I don't need a pardon There's no one left to blame I'm leaving the table I'm out of the game If I Didn't Have Your Love If the sun would lose its light And we lived an endless night And there was nothing left That you could feel Well that's how it would be What the world would seem to me If I didn't have your love To make it real If the stars were all unpinned And a cold and bitter wind Swallowed up the world Without a trace Well that's where I would be What my life would seem to me If I couldn't lift the veil And see your face If no leaves were on the tree And no water in the sea And the break of day Had nothing to reveal 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 Help and participate instead of copy and paste If the sun would lose its light And we lived an endless night And there was nothing left That you could feel If the sea were sand alone And the flowers made of stone And no one that you hurt Could ever heal That's how broken I would be What my life would mean to me If I didn't have your love To make it real Traveling Light I'm traveling light It's au revoir My once so bright My fallen star I'm running late They'll close the bar I used to play One mean guitar I guess I'm just Somebody who Has given up On the me and you I'm not alone I've met a few Traveling light like We used to do Goodnight goodnight My fallen star I guess you're right You always are I know you're right About the blues You live some life You'd never choose Help and participate instead of copy and paste I'm just a fool A dreamer who Forgot to dream Of the me and you I am not alone I've met a few Traveling light like We used to do Traveling light It's au revoir My once so bright My fallen star I'm running late They'll close the bar I used to play One mean guitar I guess I'm just Somebody who Has given up On the me and you I'm not alone I've met a few Traveling light like We used to do But if the road Leads back to you Must I forget The things I knew When I was friends With one or two Traveling light like We used to do Seemed The Better Way It seemed the better way When first I heard him speak But now it's much too late To turn the other cheek It sounded like the truth It seemed the better way It sounded like the truth But it's not the truth today Help and participate instead of copy and paste I wonder what it was I wonder what it meant At first he touched on love But then he touched on death I better hold my tongue I better take my place Lift this glass of blood Try to say the grace Steer Your Way Steer your way through the ruins of the Altar and the Mall Steer your way through the fables of Creation and The Fall Steer your way past the Palaces that rise above the rot Year by year Month by month Day by day Thought by thought Steer your heart past the Truth you believed in yesterday Such as Fundamental Goodness and the Wisdom of the Way Steer your heart, precious heart, past the women whom you bought Year by year Month by month Day by day Thought by thought Steer your path through the pain that is far more real than you That has smashed the Cosmic Model that has blinded every View And please don't make me go there tho' there be a God or not Year by year Month by month Day by day Thought by thought Help and participate instead of copy and paste They whisper still, the injured stones the blunted mountains weep As he died to make men holy let us die to make things cheap And say the Mea Culpa which you've probably forgot Year by year Month by month Day by day Thought by thought Steer your way, O my heart tho' I have no right to ask To the one who was never never equal to the task Who knows he's been convicted who knows he will be shot Year by year Month by month Day by day Thought by thought String Reprise/Treaty I wish there was a treaty we could sign It's over now, the water and the wine We were broken then, but now we're borderline And I wish there was a treaty I wish there was a treaty Between your love and mine
Thanks For The Dance
Happens To The Heart I was always working steady But I never called it art I got my shit together Meeting Christ and reading Marx It failed my little fire But it's bright the dying spark Go tell the young messiah What happens to the heart There's a mist of summer kisses Where I tried to double-park The rivalry was vicious The women were in charge It was nothing, it was business But it left an ugly mark I've come here to revisit What happens to the heart I was selling holy trinkets I was dressing kind of sharp Had a pussy in the kitchen And a panther in the yard In the prison of the gifted I was friendly with the guards So I never had to witness What happens to the heart I should have seen it coming After all I knew the chart Just to look at her was trouble It was trouble from the start Sure we played a stunning couple But I never liked the part It ain't pretty, it ain't subtle What happens to the heart Now the angel's got a fiddle The devil's got a harp Every soul is like a minnow Every mind is like a shark I've broken every window But the house, the house is dark I care but very little What happens to the heart Then I studied with this beggar He was filthy, he was scarred By the claws of many women He had failed to disregard No fable here no lesson No singing meadowlark Just a filthy beggar guessing What happens to the heart I was always working steady But I never called it art It was just some old convention Like the horse before the cart I had no trouble betting On the flood, against the ark You see, I knew about the ending What happens to the heart I was handy with a rifle My father's .303 I fought for something final Not the right to disagree Moving On I loved your face I loved your hair Your t-shirts and your evening-wear As for the world the job the war I ditched them all to love you more And now you're gone, now you're gone As if there ever was a you Who broke the heart and made it new Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who I loved your moods I love the way They threaten every single day Your beauty ruled me though I knew Twas more hormonal that the view Now you're gone, now you're gone As if there ever was a you Queen of lilac, queen of blue Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who I loved your face I loved your hair Your t-shirts and your evening-wear As for the world the job the war I ditched them all to love you more And now you're gone, now you're gone As if there ever was a you Who held me dyin' pulled me through Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who The Night Of Santiago She said she was a maiden That wasn't what I heard For the sake of conversation I took her at her word The lights went out behind us The fireflies undressed The broken sidewalk ended I touched her sleeping breasts They opened to me urgently Likelilies from the dead Behind a fine embroidery Her nipples rose like bread Then I took of my necktie And she took of her dress My belt and pistol set aside We tore away the rest The night of Santiago And I was passing through So I took her to the river As any man would do Her thighs they slipped away from me Like schools of startled fish Though I've forgotten half my life I still remember this Now, as a man I won't repeat The things she said aloud Except for this, my lips are sealed forever And for now And soon there's sand in every kiss And soon the dawn is ready And soon the night surrenders To a daffodil machete I gave her something pretty And I waited till she laughed I wasn't born a gypsy To make a women sad The night of Santiago And I was passing through I took her to the river As any man would do The night of Santiago And I was passing through I took her to the river As any man would do I didn't fall in love of course It's never up to you But she was walking back and forth And I was passing through When I took her to the river In her virginal apparel When I took her to the river On that night of Santiago And yes she lied about it all Her children and her husband You were born to judge the world Forgive me but I wasn't The night of Santiago And I was passing through So I took her to the river As any man would do The night of Santiago And I was passing through So I took her to the river As any man would do The night of Santiago And I was passing through So I took her to the river As any man would do Thanks For The Dance Thanks for the dance I'm sorry you're tired The evening has hardly begun Thanks for the dance Try to look inspired One two three, one two three one There's a rose in your hair Your shoulders are bare You've been wearing this costume forever So turn up the music Pour out the wine Stop at the surface The surface is fine We don't need to go any deeper Thanks for the dance I hear that we're married One two three, one two three one Thanks for the dance And the baby you carried It was almost a daughter or a son And there's nothing to do But to wonder if you Are as hopeless as me And as decent We're joined in the spirit Joined at the hip Joined in the panic Wondering if We've come to some sort Of agreement It was fine it was fast We were first we were last In line at the Temple of Pleasure But the green was so green And the blue was so blue I was so I And you were so you The crisis was light As a feather Thanks for the dance It was hell, it was swell It was fun Thanks for all the dances One two three, one two three one It's Torn I see you in windows that open so wide There's nothing beyond them and no one inside You kick off your sandals and shake out your hair The salt on your shoulders like sparks in the air There's silt on your ankles and sand on your feet The river too shallow, the ocean too deep You smile at your suffering, the sweetest reprieve Why did you leave us, why did you leave You kick off your sandals and shake out your hair It's torn where you're dancing, it's torn everywhere It's torn on the right andit's torn on the left It's torn in the center which few can accept It's torn where there's beauty, it's torn where there's death It's torn where there's mercy but torn somewhat less It's torn in the highest from kingdom to crown The messages fly but the network is down Bruised at the shoulder and cut at the wrist The sea rushes home to its thimble of mist The opposites falter, the spirals reverse And Eve must re-enter the sleep of her birth And up through the system the worlds are withdrawn From every dominion the mind stood upon And now that it's over and now that it's done The name has no number, not even the one Come gather the pieces all scattered and lost The lie in what's holy, the light in what's not The story's been written the letter's been sealed You gave me a lily but now it's a field You kick off your sandals and shake out your hair It's torn where you're dancing, it's torn everywhere The Goal I can't leave my house Or answer the phone I'm going down again But I'm not alone Settling at last Accounts of the soul This for the trash That paid in full As for the fall, it Began long ago Can't stop the rain Can't stop the snow I sit in my chair I look at the street The neighbor returns My smile of defeat I move with the leaves I shine with the chrome I'm almost alive I'm almost at home No one to follow And nothing to teach Except that the goal Falls short of the reach Puppets German puppets burned the Jews Jewish puppets did not choose Puppet vultures eat the dead Puppet corpses they are fed Puppet winds and puppet waves Puppet sailors in their graves Puppet flower, puppet stem Puppet time dismantles them Puppet me and puppet you Puppet German Puppet Jew Puppet Presidents command Puppet troops to burn the land Puppet fire, puppet flames Feed on all the puppet names Puppet lovers in their bliss Turn away from all of this Puppet reader shakes his head Takes his puppet wife to bed Puppet me and puppet you Puppet German, puppet Jew Puppet Presidents command Puppet troops to burn the land Puppet fire, puppet flames Feed on all the puppet names Puppet night comes down to play The after act to puppet day The Hills I can't make the hills The system is shot I'm living on pills For which I thank God My animal howls My angel's upset But I'm not allowed A trace of regret For someone will use The thing I could not be My heart will be hers Impersonally She'll step on the path She'll see what I mean My will cut in half And freedom between For this in a second Our lives will collide The endless suspended The door opened wide And she will be born To someone like you What I left undone She will certainly do I know she is coming And I know she will look And that is the longing And this is the hook I can't make the hills The system is shot I'm living on pills For which I thank God My page was too white My ink was too thinned The day wouldn't write But the night penciled in But I know she's coming And I know she will look That is the longing This is the hook I know she is coming And I know she will look That is the longing And this is the hook I can't make the hills The system is shot I'm living on pills For which I thank God I sailed like a swan I sank like a rock But time is long gone Past my laughing stock I can't make the hills The system is shot I'm living on pills For which I thank God Listen To The Hummingbird Listen to the hummingbird Whose wings you cannot see Listen to the hummingbird Don't listen to me Listen to the butterfly Whose days but number three Listen to the butterfly Don't listen to me Listen to the mind of God Which doesn't need to be Listen to the mind of God Don't listen to me Listen to the hummingbird Whose wings you cannot see Listen to the hummingbird Don't listen to me
Non Albums Tracks
Choices
(George Jones cover / Can't Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour LP) I've had choices since the day that I was born There were voices that told me right from wrong If I had listened I wouldn't be here today Living and dying with the choices I've made Yeah, I was tempted by an early age I found That I liked drinking, oh never turned it down There were loved ones but I chased them all away Now I'm living and dying with the choices I've made I've had choices since the day that I was born I heard voices that told me right from wrong If I had listened, I wouldn't be here today Living and dying with the choices I've made I was still paying for the things that I have done If I could turn back, oh Lord I would run But I'm still losing at this game of life I play Now I'm living and dying with the choices I've made I've had choices since the day that I was born There were voices that told me right from wrong If I had listened, I wouldn't be here today Living and dying with the choices I've made Living and dying with the choices that I've made Got A Little Secret (Can't Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour LP) I've got a little secret If you promise not to tell I've got a little secret If you promise not to tell I made a date in heaven But I'll be keeping it in hell I'd like to love you, baby It just don't feel right I'd like to love you, baby It just don't feel right I've got this full length mirror And it ain't no pretty sight I'd like to hold you, baby But my arms are old and weak I would like to hold you, baby But my arms are old and weak I was listening to your story But I guess I fell asleep I've got a little secret If you promise not to tell I say, I've got a little secret If you promise not to tell I made a date in heaven But I'll be keeping it in hell It's kind of chilly in your kitchen It must be ten below It's kind of chilly in your kitchen It must be ten below I bought a ticket to Jamaica I guess I lost it in the snow I've got a little secret If you promise not to tell I say, I've got a little secret You've got to promise not to tell I made a date in heaven Oh but I'll be keeping it in hell I made a date in heaven Oh but I'll be keeping it in hell Yeah Thanks a lot, friends Never Gave Nobody Trouble (Can't Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour LP) Couldn't pay the mortgage And it broke my baby's heart I couldn't pay the mortgage It broke my baby's heart I never gave nobody trouble But it ain't too late to start Don't wanna break no window Don't wanna burn no car Don't wanna break no window And I don't wanna burn your car You got the right to all your riches But you let it go too far You sail the mighty ocean On a yacht designed for you You sail the mighty ocean On a yacht designed for you Yeah but the ocean's fake with garbage You ain't gonna make it through I never gave nobody trouble I'm alone and ordinary I never gave nobody trouble I'm alone and ordinary I said, I never gave nobody trouble But you know god damn well that I can