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.
Famous Blue Rain Coat
Leonard Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
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
Well, 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
The song “Famous Blue Raincoat” is a melancholic masterpiece, with cryptic lyrics that have confounded fans and critics for years. The song is written in the form of a letter from a man to the "famous blue raincoat" of the title. The letter writer is telling him about his ex-lover, who he suspects had an affair with the raincoat's owner.
The song is full of vivid imagery, with Leonard Cohen using great detail to paint a picture of the setting—four in the morning, the end of December, New York is cold, Clinton Street is alive with music. It's a kind of moment-to-moment reportage that immerses the listener in the scene.
The lyrics are shot through with a sense of loss and regret, as the singer mourns the loss of his relationship and tries to make sense of what happened. The song has been endlessly interpreted and reinterpreted, with theories ranging from it being about a friend who stole his girlfriend to a more complex narrative involving Cohen's own friendship with the musician Phil Spector.
Line by Line Meaning
It's four in the morning, the end of December
It is very late at night, the end of the year, and he is feeling lonely and reflective.
I'm writing you now just to see if you're better
He is writing a letter to someone to see how they are doing and if they are feeling better.
New York is cold, but I like where I'm living
He lives in a cold city, but he still likes it there.
There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening
There is always music playing on Clinton Street in the evening.
I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert
He has heard that someone is building a small house in the desert.
You're living for nothing now, I hope you're keeping some kind of record
He hopes that even though someone is not doing much with their life, they are still keeping track of their experiences.
Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair
A person named Jane visited and brought a lock of someone's hair with them.
She said that you gave it to her
Jane says that the person gave the lock of hair to her.
That night that you planned to go clear
The night that someone planned to leave or start anew.
Did you ever go clear?
He is asking whether the person did, in fact, leave or start anew.
Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older
The last time he saw someone they looked much older than before.
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder
The person's famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder.
You'd been to the station to meet every train, and
The person had been going to the station to meet every train that came.
You came home without Lili Marlene
The person did not come home with Lili Marlene.
And you treated my woman to a flake of your life
The person gave his woman a small snippet of their life.
And when she came back she was nobody's wife
When the woman came back, she was no longer married to the person speaking.
Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth
He imagines someone with a rose in their teeth.
One more thin gypsy thief
Another thin, wandering thief like before.
Well, I see Jane's awake
He imagines that Jane is awake.
She sends her regards
Jane sends her regards to someone else.
And what can I tell you my brother, my killer
He is speaking to a person he considers to be both his brother and his killer.
What can I possibly say?
He wonders what he can possibly say to this person.
I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you
He misses the person and forgives them for whatever they did.
I'm glad you stood in my way
He is glad that the person he is speaking to stood in his way at some point.
If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me
If the person ever comes by, it could be for either him or Jane.
Well, your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free
His enemy is asleep and his woman is free, so the person can come without worry.
Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
He thanks the person for removing some trouble from someone's eyes.
I thought it was there for good so I never tried
He believed that the trouble was there permanently and never tried to remove it himself.
And Jane came by with a lock of your hair
Jane visited again and brought another lock of hair from the person.
She said that you gave it to her
Jane claims that the person gave her the lock of hair.
That night that you planned to go clear
This phrase is repeated, reiterating that it was a significant night.
Sincerely, L Cohen
Ending of the letter.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Written by: LEONARD COHEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@caitlinmelvage8967
We are the same age and became aware of Leonard Cohen at an age before we knew what did or could lie ahead. We only "guessed" about love. All of who we would become was as yet unknown.
But Leonard Cohen treated us to "flakes of his life" for all these years, like an emotional twin from whom we cannot separate our paths.
I am grateful for his example for the finale.
Like "The little Prince", I watch for Cohen in the stars.
It's unbelievable that your comment evoked this. I've decided not to erase it. Sincerely, K. Fricks
@Whatzzzz999
I can't think of another song that sets an atmosphere like this one.
Listen to it at noon on a bright sunny July day, and it's immediately 4 in the morning, the end of December.
Genius.
And the lines:
'Thanks
For the trouble you took
From her eyes
I thought it was there
For good
So I never tried'
A great song from a truly great album. Life-changing!
@RIDETHESUNSHINE
“No amount of soul searching would fix my past. There was no magical Band-Aid I could stick on my heart, no special glue I could use to make myself whole again. I had shattered to pieces like a fragile vase on concrete; some fragments could be roughly cobbled back together, but many of my vital parts had simply turned to dust, pulverized and scattered by the first gust of wind.”
Julie Johnson, Like Gravity
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.
.
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That was her. I can only Pray the grave gave her the peace this life never could.
I made a unpaid career of trying to save fish from drowning. No matter how much you love them, you can't save anyone from themselves,
Please Be Well, and Stay Strong, Will
@laura3003
that female voice in the background singing "da da" is the icing of the cake in this song.
@robertocarloshess
Especially at 3:30 when two women sing „da da“ in harmony.
@TheAvivakta
You sure right about that. Wish i could see him but too late for that.
@jodicummings380
It's the web sisters
@rolphy4338
Certainly is Laura, sets the mood x
@S.J.L
Female backing vocals really make many songs. Many of Cohen's, good call. It's the interplay between the two that makes great music, either sonically or by inspiration.
@RClock-bb7gi
My son doesn't get Leonards' music yet, but I will leave this comment for him to find after I'm gone. This song meant so much to me. Hopefully youtube survives. I love you. Keep searching. Carpe diem.
@butimar68
That's one great message to leave. Much love to you both.
@fatihrime
🫡
@cillianlyndon2192
Hi. I’m writing this with tears in my eyes. I’m 14 and just learned that my dad passed from a heart attack today. this was his favourite song right now and he loved sitting in my kitchen and playing it on the speakers. this song will always be a huge part of my life from this day on.
Edit: It’s been a year now and I want to thank all of you who have left kind words on this comment.
“All things grow with time, except grief”
This past year has gone by in the blink of an eye while also simultaneously feeling like the longest year of my life. Life without my dad is different. There’s a hole that can not and will not be filled but that’s not a bad thing. That hole serves as a reminder of the great man that was my dad. People say that time heals, but I disagree. I think that time lets you accept what has happened but the scar remains. This song now serves as a beautiful trip down memory lane in place of a painful ballad of mourning. For anyone reading this who has recently lost someone they love dearly, weep as much as you need. Every tear is a drop of love with nowhere else to go. Try your best to carry on but make sure to take days off to relax and be alone if you need to. Again, thank you for the messages and lots of love to you all.