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.
I Left a Woman Waiting
Leonard Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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?
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
The song "I Left a Woman Waiting" by Leonard Cohen is a melancholic ballad about lost love and the resulting emotional emptiness. The lyrics are about a man who left a woman waiting and when they meet later, she notices that his eyes are dead, which suggests that he has lost his emotional spark. He tries to answer her honestly, admitting that whatever happened to his eyes happened to her beauty, which indicates that their emotional connection has been broken. They then fall into bed together and experience a sense of freedom.
The opening line, "I left a woman waiting," sets the tone for the entire song. It implies that the singer has made a mistake, and there is a sense of guilt in the lyrics. The woman, who is left waiting, represents the lost love that the singer has left behind. When they meet again, she notices that his eyes are dead, which suggests that he is empty and lost without her.
The line, "Whatever happened to my eyes happened to your beauty," is an interesting metaphor. It implies a deep emotional connection between the two characters, and that they are both affected by the same thing. They then fall into bed together, which represents a moment of emotional release and freedom.
In conclusion, "I Left a Woman Waiting" is a powerful song that explores the themes of lost love, guilt, and emotional emptiness. The lyrics are deeply emotional and poetic, and it is no wonder why Leonard Cohen is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
Line by Line Meaning
I left a woman waiting
I made a woman wait for me and did not fulfill my promise.
I met her sometime later
I saw her after the time I promised to meet her.
She said, I see your eyes are dead
She noticed something was wrong with me and called it out.
What happened to you, lover?
She asked what was wrong with me as she used to call me lover.
What happened to you, my lover?
She asked again what was wrong with me.
What happened to you, lover?
She repeated the same question.
What happened to you?
She asked me one last time what was wrong with me.
And since she spoke the truth to me
I realized that what she was saying was true.
I tried to answer truthfully
I attempted to respond to her honestly.
Whatever happened to my eyes
I told her what was wrong with me.
Happened to your beauty
I explained how that also affected her as my lover.
Happened to your beauty
I repeated what I just explained to her.
What happened to your beauty
She asked me how my eyes affected her beauty.
Happened to me
I replied that it also had an effect on me.
We took ourselves to someone's bed
We both went to a bed together to be intimate.
And there we fell together
We had sex.
Quick as dogs and truly dead were we
We had sex quickly and without feeling alive or connected.
And free as running water
We did not have any inhibitions and were spontaneous.
Free as running water
I repeated what I just explained to her.
Free as running water
She asked me to elaborate on what I just explained.
Free as you and me
We were both equally liberated in the moment.
The way it's got to be
We both felt that this was the natural way it was supposed to happen.
The way it's got to be, lover
I called her lover again to signify our connection.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: COHEN, SPECTOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lena Cohen
I've loved this song from the very first moment... 44 years later these lines still bring tears to my eyes: "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..."
Otavio Magnani
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
C O
Weirdly over the years this has become the Cohen album I listen to the most.
Jim Linus
It’s my favorite song by Leonard Cohen. I found it on an old record tape I bought on a market. The spirit in this song is heavenly. Thank you Leonard Cohen
emjtube
I'm a simple man, I see Leonard Cohen, I press like.
Kathryn Titus
Likewise. 💕
Lena Cohen
I've loved this song from the very first moment... 44 years later these lines still bring tears to my eyes: "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..."
Nebojsa Mijatovic
One of my favorite love song...
Vaso Kara
What you feel if you knew this song was written for you?
Aksana Beskorovaynaya
Love this song
Dino Rivera
Took me 23yrs to find this song and it was worth it! Lol
J Nurse
Wow! Soul deep!
Ma'at