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.
If It Be Your Will
Leonard Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well
And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will
If it be your will
The lyrics to Leonard Cohen's song "If It Be Your Will" are a prayerful surrender to the will of the divine. The singer is humbly submitting to the possibility that their voice may no longer serve a purpose, and they will not speak unless they are called upon to do so. But if they are to speak, the singer promises to sing the truest of songs and offer praise from their broken hill. The singer goes even further and asks that the mercy of the divine be bestowed upon those suffering in hell, that they may be made well. The final lines of the song call for all of the divine's children to be drawn near, bound tight, and dressed to kill, bringing an end to the darkness of the night.
Line by Line Meaning
If it be your will
The singer submits to the will of a higher power.
That I speak no more
The singer will remain silent until chosen to speak.
And my voice be still
The singer will not make any noise or speak.
As it was before
The singer will return to the state of silence they were in previously.
I will speak no more
The singer will remain quiet until given permission.
I shall abide until
The singer will remain in silence until a decision is made.
I am spoken for
The singer will obey the decision made by a higher power.
That a voice be true
The singer hopes to speak honestly and authentically.
From this broken hill
The singer sings from a place of pain and suffering.
All your praises they shall ring
The singer will sing in honor of a higher power, despite their own pain.
To let me sing
The singer requests permission to sing.
If there is a choice
The singer recognizes that a decision needs to be made.
Let the rivers fill
The singer hopes for abundance and fulfillment.
Let the hills rejoice
The singer hopes for celebration and joy in the natural world.
Let your mercy spill
The singer hopes for compassion and forgiveness.
On all these burning hearts in hell
The singer recognizes the suffering of others and hopes for relieving their pain.
To make us well
The singer hopes for healing and restoration.
And draw us near
The singer desires closeness to a higher power.
And bind us tight
The singer desires a strong connection to a higher power.
All your children here
The singer sees all people as the children of a higher power.
In their rags of light
The singer recognizes each person's inner beauty, despite external struggles.
All dressed to kill
The image of dressed-to-kill clothing represents the hope and strength found in facing life's challenges.
And end this night
The singer hopes for an end to suffering and pain.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Leonard Cohen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marcinpiasek3423
IIf it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well
And to draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will
If it be your will
@lailalivsdatter6660
@@keithwigley1256 She got out of hospital, and I think she found herself because she could move home to her family. Even though they have problems there, they also have a lot of psychological knowledge and love - they can support her.
She got schizophrenia when she was a teenager - about to move away from home. Maybe she wasn't ready?
Now she has bought an appartment close to her family - and she can come and go, as she likes.
She takes a lot of medicine which makes her okay, but it has this effect on her, that she looses her memory.
Still she has managed to educate herself. She has been studying medicine, and she has passed all of her exams.
I can recommend a book called: A road back from schizophrenia: A memoir. By Arnhild Lauveng.
I think, she managed to heal, in a way, that she doesn't use medicine anymore.
I wish you deep healing♥️
@marcinpiasek3423
IIf it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well
And to draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will
If it be your will
@angelacahill9083
Thank you
@Hallands.
Thanks
@kadzunk63
While my brother an I were selecting songs for our mother's funeral last June, he told me that he wanted THIS song to be played at his funeral when that time would come. Now I understand why. What a beautiful song.
@OnTourWithPattiSmith
Check out the version by Antony … more beautiful.
@cajewi
Mine too.
@mikepalmer8109
I've already arranged to have this sung at my funeral. The singer says she loves this song.
@birgitschiel8709
Every time I hear songs by Leonard Cohen, I dive into another world and am simply inspired, cry, laugh and smile and I am grateful for his great gift to the world.
@Now7518
This just proves that a song can be a prayer!
@Magda6019
It is for sure!