Leonard Cohen - Dance Me To The End of Love

Leonard Cohen - First we take Manhattan

Leonard Cohen - First We Take Manhattan

First We Take Manhattan

Leonard Cohen

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom

For trying to change the system from within

Im 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 youre worried that I just might win

You know the way to stop me, but you dont 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



Leonard Cohen - The Partisan (Live) Isle of Wight Festival 1970

The Partisan

Leonard Cohen

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 well come from the shadows.

Les allemands etaient chez moi,

Ils me dirent, signe toi,

Mais je nai pas peur;

Jai repris mon arme.

Jai change cent fois de nom,

Jai perdu femme et enfants

Mais jai tant damis;

Jai la france entie`re.

Un vieil homme dans un grenier

Pour la nuit nous a cache,

Les allemands lont pris;

Il est mort sans surprise.

(the Germans were at my home

They said, sign yourself,

But I am not afraid

I have retaken my weapon.

I have changed names a hundred times

I have lost wife and children

But I have so many friends

I have all of France

An old man, in an attic

Hid us for the night

The Germans captured him

He died without surprise.]

Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing,

Through the graves the wind is blowing,

Freedom soon will come;

Then well come from the shadows.

Hey, That's no way to Say Goodbye, Leonard Cohen

"Leonard Cohen - Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye"

I loved you in the morning

Our kisses deep and warm,

Your head upon the pillow

Like a sleepy golden strom.

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 its come to distances

And both of us must try,

Your eyes are soft with sorrow,

Hey, thats no way to say goodbye.

Im 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,

Its just the way it changes

Like the shoreline and the sea,

But lets not talk of love or chains

And things we cant untie,

Your eyes are soft with sorrow,

Hey, thats no way to say goodbye.

I loved you in the morning

Our kisses deep and warm,

Your head upon the pillow

Like a sleepy golden strom.

Yes, many loved before us

I know that we are not new,

In city and in forest

They smiled like me and you,

But lets not talk of love or chains

And things we cant untie,

Your eyes are soft with sorrow,

Hey, thats no way to say goodbye.

Leonard Cohen - The Stranger Song

The Stranger Song

Leonard Cohen

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.

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 elbow 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.

You hate to watch 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 theres a highway

That is curling up like smoke above his shoulder

It's curling up like smoke above his shoulder.

You tell him to come in sit down

But something makes you turn around

The door is open you cant close you 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 is you my love, you who are the stranger.

Well, I've been waiting, I was sure

We'd meet between the trains were 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

Well he talks like this

You don't know what he's after

When he speaks like this,

You dont know what he's after.

Let's meet tomorrow if you chose

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

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 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.

Leonard Cohen - Dance Me to the End Of Love

Dance Me To The End Of Love

Leonard Cohen

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

Were both of us beneath our love, were 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

Leonard Cohen - Democracy

Democracy

Leonard Cohen

It's coming through a hole in the air

from those nights in Tiananmen square

It's coming from the feel

That it 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 on 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.

Chorus

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...

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 familys broken

And its 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

That the rivers going to weep

And the mountains 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.

Chorus

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.

Leonard Cohen - Suzanne

Suzanne

Leonard Cohen

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 you 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 she will trust you

For she's touched your perfect body with her mind.

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen

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, whats it to you?

Theres a blaze of light

In every word

It doesnt 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

Suzanne - Leonard Cohen

Gypsy Wife - Leonard Cohen

Gypsy Wife

Leonard Cohen

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