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.
Here It Is
Leonard Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
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.
Leonard Cohen's song Here It Is describes the duality of life, the good and bad, love and death, and ultimately, acceptance. The first two verses describe the beauty of life and how it comes with love for all things, including the unpleasant aspects such as disease, poverty represented by a cart, cardboard and urine. The chorus, 'May everyone live, and may everyone die. Hello, my love and my love, Goodbye', is Cohen's way of accepting that life will always have its ups and downs, beginnings and endings, and hoping that everyone is able to experience both facets of life.
The following verse brings up the image of drunkenness, possibly to represent the chaos that is inevitable in life. The sickness, bed and pan represent the suffering that comes with life as well as the love for others in this experience. The next two verses bring up the concept of death, with 'Here is the night, the night has begun, and here is your death in the heart of your son' representing the idea that one's legacy lives on even after they die. The chorus returns as a way of acknowledging how life often transforms into death.
In the final two verses, Cohen talks about acceptance, 'Here you are hurried, and here you are gone, and here is the love that it's all built upon'. The reference to a cross, nails, and a hill can be seen as a Biblical reference--and thusly bigger than life--but is also the endorphin rush of love, whether it is felt for a person or life itself. The final chorus again is a way of acknowledging that life is about ups and downs, beginnings and endings, and hoping that everyone is able to experience both facets of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Here is your crown
Here is your symbol of power and authority.
And your seal and rings
And here are the items that confirm your status and ownership.
And here is your love
And here is your affection and compassion.
For all things.
For everything that exists.
Here is your cart,
Here is your mode of transportation.
And your cardboard and piss
And here are your tools for survival.
And here is your love
And here is your emotion of empathy.
For all of this.
For all of your current state and surroundings.
May everyone live,
May everyone continue to exist.
And may everyone die.
And may everyone eventually cease to exist.
Hello, my love,
Greetings, affectionate one,
And my love, Goodbye.
And farewell, beloved one.
Here is your wine,
Here is your drink of choice.
And your drunken fall
And here are the consequences of your overindulgence.
And here is your love.
And here is your sentiment of admiration.
Your love for it all.
Your appreciation for all aspects of life.
Here is your sickness.
Here is your ailment and discomfort.
Your bed and your pan
Your resting place and your waste receptacle.
And here is your love
And here is your compassion.
For the woman, the man.
For all individuals, regardless of gender.
And here is the night,
And here is the darkness.
The night has begun
The period of time when the sun has set has started.
And here is your death
And here is your cessation of life.
In the heart of your son.
In the feelings and emotions of your male offspring.
And here is the dawn,
And here is the first light of day.
(Until death do us part)
(As a vow made during a wedding ceremony, until the cessation of existence.)
And here is your death,
And here is your end.
In your daughter's heart.
In the emotions and sentiments of your female offspring.
And here you are hurried,
And here you are rushing.
And here you are gone
And here you have disappeared.
And here is the love,
And here is the feeling of care,
That it's all built upon.
That everything in life originates from.
Here is your cross,
Here is your crucifix.
Your nails and your hill
The instruments used for your torture and the location of your crucifixion.
And here is your love,
And here is your sentiment of adoration,
That lists where it will
That is able to find its way to all individuals.
May everyone live,
May everyone continue to exist.
And may everyone die.
And may everyone eventually cease to exist.
Hello, my love,
Greetings, affectionate one,
And my love, Goodbye.
And farewell, beloved one.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LEONARD COHEN, SHARON ROBINSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@renata7051
Here is your crown
And your seal and rings
Here is your love
For all things
Here is your cart
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 It Is)
(Here It Is)
Here is your wine
And your drunken fall
Here is your love
Your love for it all
Here is your sickness
Your bed and your pan
Here is your love
For the woman, the man
May everyone live
May everyone die
Hello, my love
And, my love, goodbye
(Here It Is)
(Here It Is)
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
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 may everyone live
May everyone die
Hello, my love
And my love, goodbye
(Here It Is)
(Here It Is)
And here you are hurried
And here you are gone
And here is the love
It's all built upon
Here is your cross
Your nails and your hill
And here is the love
That lists where it will
May everyone live
And may everyone die
Hello, my love
And my love, goodbye
And may everyone live
May everyone die
Hello, my love
And my love, Goodbye
(Here It Is)
(Here It Is)
(Here It Is)
(Here It Is)
(Here It Is)
@WaldemarRothkegel
Super.........
Co tu pisac ............
Brakuje nam Ciebie............Twoich piosenek ..........
Spoczywaj w pokoju.
@viorikaaresteanu5932
Life at his essence. Leonard, you are the God's whisper. I love you !
@evesunshine3419
💕
@evesunshine3419
💕
@markushierowski6361
@@evesunshine3419 2q
@existentialdread1546
Best song for long rides where anxiety hits.
@goldiem2102
What a beautiful song… I can’t help but feeling sad either …
@ovidiuclaudiumoldovan260
The voice of God in our time...I love you, Leonard Cohen!
@jantonisito
There is no God. There are only people like Leonard.
@AllaAgabekyan-ll9hf
Որեւէ մեկին ԱՍՏԾՈ ՁԱՅՆԻ հետ համեմատողը անաստված նեռն է։Աստծո Սուրբ Հոգու արտահայտվելը մարդկանց միջոցով' տրվողներին Աստված չի դարձնում։Նրանք Սոսկ' օգտագործվող Անոթներ են Աստծո կողմանէ,մեկը' պատվավոր,մյուսը' անարգանքի,սակայն' երկուսն էլ' պիտու են եւ' Աստծոնն են,մեկն ազատ է,մյուսը' ծառա,ամենը ԱՍՏԾՈ ՓԱՌՔԻ համար է եւ ձեզ արթուն պահելու,մարդացնելու,վերջ տվեք տխմարություններ գրելուն,ականջահաճո լինելով,հետույք մտնելով' զբաղեցնել էջերը,ձեզ եք կործանում։ Միամիտ հեղինակներ կան,ձեզ' կգնահատեն,ծուղակ եք դառնում ընտրյալների համար,այստեղ է,որ' անգամ մարգարեները սխալվում են,հոգով պոռնիկներին ընդունելով,մաքրամաքուր Հոգիներին' անտեսելով։Իրոք,որ' աղբանոց եք,մնում է թքել ու չխոսել,կործանվեք ձեր կամքով,այդպես էլ .... ու ,,խիյարը',,չզանազանեցիք եւ ոչ մեկդ...