Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s; he did not launch a music career until 1967, at the age of 33. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974). His 1977 record Death of a Ladies' Man, co-written and produced by Phil Spector, was a move away from Cohen's previous minimalist sound. In 1979, Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz, Oriental, and Mediterranean influences. Perhaps Cohen's most famous song, "Hallelujah", was first released on his studio album Various Positions in 1984. I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions and remains his most popular album. In 1992, Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.
Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, which was a major hit in Canada and Europe. His 11th album, Dear Heather, followed in 2004. Following a successful string of tours between 2008 and 2013, Cohen released three albums in the final four years of his life: Old Ideas (2012), Popular Problems (2014) and You Want It Darker (2016), the last of which was released three weeks before his death.
Leonard Cohen was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Westmount, Quebec, on September 21, 1934. His Lithuanian mother, Marsha Klonitsky ("Masha"; 1905–1978), was the daughter of a Talmudic writer, Rabbi Solomon Klonitsky-Kline, and emigrated to Canada in 1927. His paternal grandfather, whose family had moved from Poland to Canada, was Lyon Cohen, the founding president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. His father, Nathan Bernard Cohen (1891–1943), who owned a substantial clothing store, died when Cohen was nine years old. The family observed Orthodox Judaism, and belonged to Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, to which Cohen retained connections for the rest of his life. On the topic of being a Kohen, Cohen told Richard Goldstein in 1967, "I had a very Messianic childhood. I was told I was a descendant of Aaron, the high priest."
Cohen attended Roslyn Elementary School and completed grades seven through nine at Herzliah High School, where his literary mentor Irving Layton taught, then transferred in 1948 to Westmount High School, where he studied music and poetry. He became especially interested in the poetry of Federico García Lorca. Cohen involved himself actively beyond Westmount's curriculum, in photography, on the yearbook staff, as a cheerleader, in the arts and current events clubs, and even served in the position of president of the Students' Council while "heavily involved in the school's theater program". During that time, Cohen taught himself to play the acoustic guitar, and formed a country–folk group that he called the Buckskin Boys. After a young Spanish guitar player taught him "a few chords and some flamenco", Cohen switched to a classical guitar. He has attributed his love of music to his mother, who sang songs around the house: "I know that those changes, those melodies, touched me very much. She would sing with us when I took my guitar to a restaurant with some friends; my mother would come, and we'd often sing all night.
Cohen frequented Saint Laurent Boulevard for fun and ate at such places as the Main Deli Steak House. According to journalist David Sax, Cohen and one of his cousins would go to the Main Deli to "watch the gangsters, pimps, and wrestlers dance around the night". Cohen enjoyed the formerly raucous bars of Old Montreal as well as Saint Joseph's Oratory, which had the restaurant nearest to Westmount, for him and his friend Mort Rosengarten to share coffee and cigarettes. When Cohen left Westmount, he purchased a place on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in the previously working-class neighbourhood of Little Portugal. He would read his poetry at assorted nearby clubs. In that period and that place, Cohen wrote the lyrics to some of his most famous songs.
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Leonard Cohen Lyrics
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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
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
In Leonard Cohen's song "Why Don't You Try," the singer is addressing a woman who is struggling to move on from a past relationship. He is encouraging her to be independent and take control of her own life instead of relying on her former lover. Cohen questions the woman's motives for holding on to this person, asking if she truly needs him for her own passions and desires, or if she is simply afraid to face life without him. He also warns her against being trapped in a subordinate role, either as a leash-holder or a moonlight in someone else's cave. Cohen argues that the woman has the strength and capability to make it on her own and should not hesitate to do so.
The overall theme of the song is one of personal empowerment and independence. Cohen urges the woman to shed her emotional dependence on her former lover and to embrace a new kind of freedom, one where she is not defined by this person or by anyone else. He believes that she has the ability to create a new life for herself, one where she is not held back by fear or by societal norms.
Line by Line Meaning
Why don't you try to do without him?
Have you thought about living without him?
Why don't you try to live alone?
Have you considered being on your own?
Do you really need his hands for your passion?
Can't you fulfill your desires without his help?
Do you really need his heart for your throne?
Does your happiness and success depend on his love?
Do you need his labour for your baby?
Can't you raise a child on your own without his help?
Do you need his beast for the bone?
Can't you find pleasure and satisfaction without him?
Do you need to hold a leash to be a lady?
Do you think being controlled by him makes you more feminine?
I know you're going to make, make it on your own
I am confident that you will succeed without him.
Why don't your try to forget him?
Have you considered moving on and letting him go?
Just open up your dainty little hand
Relax and let go of your grip on him.
You know this life is filled with many sweet companions
There are many people who can bring happiness into your life.
Many satisfying one-night stands
There are many brief but enjoyable experiences in life.
Do you want to be the ditch around a tower?
Do you want to be trapped and limited by him?
Do you want to be the moonlight in his cave?
Do you want to be hidden away and only provide for his needs?
Do you want to give your blessing to his power
Do you want to support him even when it is not in your best interest?
As he goes whistling past his daddy, past his daddy's grave
As he continues on his own path, ignoring the consequences of his actions.
I'd like to take you take you to the ceremony
I want to share a significant moment with you.
Well, that is if I remember the way
Assuming I don't forget how to get there.
You see Jack and Jill they're going to join their misery
They are getting married, but you don't have to follow them.
I'm afraid it's time for everyone to pray
It's time to reflect and hope for the best for Jack and Jill.
You can see they've finally taken cover
They've committed to each other and are protecting their relationship.
They're willing, yeah they're willing to obey
They are committed to being dutiful and loyal to each other.
Their vows are difficult, they're for each other
Their promises are challenging, but they are for the benefit of their relationship.
So let nobody put a loophole, a loophole in their way
Don't try to undermine or sabotage their relationship.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: LEONARD COHEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ChuckDeFuque
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 [Repeat: x5]
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 your 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 [Repeat: x4]
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 [Repeats]
@vitanuda6919
Phil Spector Is a Genius. Leonard Is unique.
@ammielake
I love this song, the brass rocks!
@dlmiller7873
Too right!
@ammielake
@@dlmiller7873it's the perfect blend of Disco, Rock and Funk.
@tglimm
I love the line "My father was a dresser of hair/ My mother was a girl you could call on"
In other words: His father was a hair dresser and his mother was a call girl.
@davidblackburn3396
The music is New Orleans Second Line meets Bo Diddley meets The Basement Tapes. The brilliantly demented words could only have been conjured up by a Cohen, or a Dylan or very, very few others. Genius. Lightning in a bottle.
@lydiarowe491
Have just seen the movie with Gabriel Byne..so well executed..not dissapointed..takes you to where Leonard passed thru..leaving a beautiful legacy.⭐
@Alacrates
I don't love the album, but this should've been a massive hit
@j.c7719
I love the album more than life itself
@SamHarrisonMusic
Probably everyone already knows this, but Bob Dylan and Alan Ginsberg singing backing vocals... :)