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.
The Goal
Leonard Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or answer the phone
I'm going down again
But I'm not alone
Settling at last
Accounts of the soul
This for the trash
As for the fall, it
Began long ago
Can't stop the rain
Can't stop the snow
I sit in my chair
I look at the street
The neighbor returns
My smile of defeat
I move with the leaves
I shine with the chrome
I'm almost alive
I'm almost at home
No one to follow
And nothing to teach
Except that the goal
Falls short of the reach
The first stanza of the song "The Goal" by Leonard Cohen describes the singer's deep sense of depression and isolation, something that's interpreted from the fact that he cannot leave his house or answer the phone. He admits that he is going down again, although he's not alone. The second stanza goes on to describe his feelings of settling at last some sort of account of the soul. This seems to be referring to the idea that he has finally come to terms with the personal demons that have been plaguing him for a while. The singer also acknowledges that some things that he once thought were valuable have turned out to be garbage (trash), while also realizing that at the same time, he has paid a heavy price for them.
The third stanza acknowledges that the singer's current problems began far in the past and that it's too late to try and undo things now. He accepts that he cannot stop the rain or snow, and he's limited in his ability to control his life circumstances. In the fourth stanza, the singer is sitting in his chair, looking out into the street, and notices the neighbor returning home. He admits defeat but tries his best to move forward, just like the leaves on the trees, and the shine on the chrome is almost alive, just as he is. Lastly, he recognizes that everyone is searching for something in their lives, but the goal is always shorter than the reach.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't leave my house
I am confined by my own emotions and fears.
Or answer the phone
I am unable to interact with others due to my mental state.
I'm going down again
I am falling back into my depressive state.
But I'm not alone
I am not the only one who experiences such emotions.
Settling at last
Finally coming to terms with one's emotional turmoil.
Accounts of the soul
Assessing one's own emotional state.
This for the trash
Discarding unimportant matters.
That paid in full
Closing the book on past events that are now resolved.
As for the fall, it
The downward spiral has been in motion for some time.
Began long ago
The start of the emotional decline was in the past.
Can't stop the rain
Emotions cannot be controlled.
Can't stop the snow
The inevitability of life's struggles.
I sit in my chair
Feeling paralyzed by one's emotions.
I look at the street
Observing the world from a distance.
The neighbor returns
Others continue to live their lives normally.
My smile of defeat
Putting on a brave face despite feelings of hopelessness.
I move with the leaves
Feeling connected to nature in a calming way.
I shine with the chrome
Finding beauty in mundane things.
I'm almost alive
Feeling a glimmer of hope for the future.
I'm almost at home
Feeling at peace with oneself.
No one to follow
Feeling isolated from others.
And nothing to teach
Feeling one has nothing of significance to offer others.
Except that the goal
The end objective is never quite achievable.
Falls short of the reach
One's aspirations are always out of reach.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Adam Cohen, Leonard Cohen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@taylorhall5106
I can't leave my house
Or answer the phone
I'm going down again
But I'm not alone
Settling at last
Accounts of the soul
This for the trash
That paid in full
As for the fall, it began long ago
Can't stop the rain
Can't stop the snow
I sit in my chair
I look at the street
The neighbor returns
My smile of defeat
I move with the leaves
I shine with the chrome
I'm almost alive
I'm almost at home
No one to follow
And nothing to teach
Except that the goal
Falls short of the reach
@lukasnummer1
With stars bright above me
And the lanterns in front
I lean on the porch gate
And I wait for the storm
The dust in the air
Is like smoke on the streets
Your dance like a fragrance
Greets my memory
As I stretch out my hand
For a breath of your dawn
It is gone like a light
And the night will be long
Some infinite daydreams
Cover me like a coat
They remind me of sunrise
Keep me warm and alone
The dry grass is thirsty
The rainfall is late
Yet the river is frozen
The odds are betrayed
And me at the porch gate
I make love to the sound
Of your laughter in my mind
And the silence so loud
@jarlaleksandrbranting5167
Leonard Cohen deserved the Nobel Prize in Literature. I listen to this over and over again. The man with THE GOLDEN VOICE will live forever.
@lucymorales7816
I agree with you a 1,000%. I do not understand in what planet, the Nobel prize judges live.
@annabackman3028
He deserved that much, much better than the indefferent, rude actually, Bob Dylan. At the first he didn't even answer when the commitee tried to make contact, then he refused to come to the ceremoni. Six months later he realized that he had to come to Stockholm and read a speach (everybody have to) to have the medal. So he arrived nearly incognito. Very bad manners, ways of behaiving which Mr. Cohen never had considered. He was a gentleman.
Anyway, I think his lyrics have qualities far beyond Dylan's.
@lucymorales7816
@Anna Backman I agree with you. Dylan is rude, self absorb, indifferent, egocentric, the perfect narcissist. I'm not a fan, but different taste, for different people.
@ZeroOskul
Hey, the only way I know to sing praises to one is to speak ill of another!
@lucymorales7816
@zerooskul You are so funny!
@alb639
Beautiful. This man was special in so many different ways. I miss him deeply.
@klaireporta8953
Magnifique Léonard Cohen tu es et tu resteras à jamais dans mon cœur. 🙏
@farina2640
So do I!
@christinaconway1843
I miss you so much but you are never far away from us, you are singing daily in my house and car. Your words are bitingly true and sad, yet at the same time bring us to a true sense of awareness ; and when we become really aware, that's when we feel pain more but it is a healthy pain. You remind me of my own awareness every day. Thank you Leonard💜💜