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.
Leaving the Table
Leonard Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm out of the game
I don't know the people
In your picture frame
If I ever loved you, oh no, no
It's a crying shame
If I ever loved you
If I knew your name
You don't need a lawyer
I'm not making a claim
You don't need to surrender
I'm not taking aim
I don't need a lover, no, no, no
The wretched beast is tame
I don't need a lover
So blow out the flame
There's nobody missing
There is no reward
Little by little
We're cutting the cord
We're spending the treasure, oh no, no
That love cannot afford
I know you can feel it
The sweetness restored
I don't need a reason
For what I became
I've got these excuses
They're tired and they're lame
I don't need a pardon, no no, no no, no
There's no one left to blame
I'm leaving the table
I'm out of the game
I'm leaving the table
I'm out of the game
In Leonard Cohen's song "Leaving the Table," the singer acknowledges the end of a relationship and accepts his departure from it. He is leaving the table and leaving the game, meaning he is walking away from the situation and will no longer be playing a part in it. The people in the picture frame, which symbolizes the past, are strangers to him, indicating that the relationship has become distant and unfamiliar.
The lines "If I ever loved you, oh no, no; It's a crying shame" suggests that the singer is unsure of his feelings for his partner. He's not willing to admit that he ever loved them; he only knows that if he did, it would be a shame that things have come to this. The singer doesn't need a lover because the "wretched beast is tame," which may mean that he is exhausted by the emotional turmoil of a relationship or that he has lost the passion he once had for the other person. The flame that he wants to be blown out is likely a metaphor for the fire of passion that has gone out between them.
The singer seems to be accepting the inevitable dissolution of the relationship that he's been in, acknowledging that there's nobody missing, and no reward to be gained from continuing to stay together. Instead, they're cutting the cord little by little, meaning they're slowly but deliberately ending the relationship. The treasure they're spending that love cannot afford may represent the emotional costs of being in the relationship, which have finally become too much for them to bear.
Overall, "Leaving the Table" is a song about recognizing the end of a relationship and making peace with it. It's about accepting that not all relationships are meant to last forever and having the courage to walk away when it's time to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm leaving the table
I am choosing to walk away from this situation
I'm out of the game
I am no longer participating in this activity
I don't know the people
In your picture frame
I am not familiar with the individuals who are important to you
If I ever loved you, oh no, no
It's a crying shame
If I ever loved you
If I knew your name
If I had the chance to love you, it would be unfortunate that circumstances didn't allow for it, but I am not even familiar with your name
You don't need a lawyer
I'm not making a claim
You don't need to surrender
I'm not taking aim
There is no dispute between us that requires legal intervention, and I have no intentions of launching an attack on you
I don't need a lover, no, no, no
The wretched beast is tame
I don't need a lover
So blow out the flame
I do not require the company of a romantic partner because my inner turmoil and desires have been stabilized; extinguish the passion
There's nobody missing
There is no reward
Little by little
We're cutting the cord
No one is left behind, nor is there anything to gain by continuing; we are gradually disengaging
We're spending the treasure, oh no, no
That love cannot afford
I know you can feel it
The sweetness restored
We are depleting a resource that cannot handle the strain of the situation, but there's a sense of renewed pleasantness that has come over us.
I don't need a reason
For what I became
I've got these excuses
They're tired and they're lame
I don't need a pardon, no no, no no, no
There's no one left to blame
I do not feel obligated to justify or defend my current state, as my explanations are weak and tiring, and there is no one else to hold responsible for what has happened
I'm leaving the table
I'm out of the game
I'm leaving the table
I'm out of the game
I am reiterating my decision to depart and discontinue my participation in this situation
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Leonard Cohen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Errikosboy
I’m leaving the table
I’m out of the game
I don’t know the people
In your picture frame
If I ever loved you, oh no, no
It’s a crying shame
If I ever loved you
If I knew your name
You don’t need a lawyer
I’m not making a claim
You don't need to surrender
I’m not taking aim
I don’t need a lover, no, no, no
The wretched beast is tame
I don’t need a lover
So blow out the flameThere’s nobody missing
There is no reward
Little by little
We’re cutting the cord
We’re spending the treasure, oh no, no
That love cannot afford
I know you can feel it
The sweetness restored
@user-ux6vw7ry2v
I think it's the best album of his life. At the age of 83, with terminal cancer, he records this testament to his genius?! I'm in awe.
@ravsuri7249
'I don't know the people in your picture frame.' This single line of poetry is SO evocative of distance and longing and heartbreak. Genius.
@ollehedstrom3536
His final album is a masterpiece.
@oliverdylan
You are right, sir.
@Prospect.1
Each word he gave us was a masterpiece,, a genius,,a gentleman,,a wise man a teacher from above to help us get thru life and make it to Heaven so we can maybe hear LC in choir of Angel's, teaching them some of his songs for us that will b gone b4 long hes waiting for us there along with everyone we lost ,,his music well it brings comfort I'll see my late great baby sister Jami again ,she n LC probably chatting now ,, she lived him too
@liliangithinji7036
@@Prospect.1 he found me at the perfect time
@Prospect.1
@@liliangithinji7036 I'm glad ❤
@guillermodelatorre8592
He was saying goodbye
@treywest268
And to think that his body was so brittle from cancer to the point he would crack ribs from coughing...yet he recorded this.
He recorded this whilst laying in a heavily padded medical lounger.
His brilliance continued to shine throughout the pain in order to give the gift of his "Golden Voice" to his fans.
Leonard is well loved and so much missed.
I am thankful that I got to see him perform live two times.
@jacquelinejeenmetelica2506
I totally love this man