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.
Winter Lady
Leonard Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until the night is over
I'm just a station on your way
I know I'm not your lover
Well I lived with a child of snow
When I was a soldier
And I fought every man for her
Until the nights grew colder
She used to wear her hair like you
Except when she was sleeping
And then she'd weave it on a loom
Of smoke and gold and breathing
And why are you so quiet now
Standing there in the doorway?
You chose your journey long before
You came upon this highway
Traveling lady, stay a while
'Til the night is over
I'm just a station on your way
I know I'm not your lover
Leonard Cohen's Winter Lady is a poetic song about an encounter between the singer and a woman who passes through his life. The singer addresses the woman as "traveling lady" and asks her to stay a while until the night is over. He knows that he isn't her lover and he is just a temporary stop on her journey, but he still wants her to stay for a bit longer. The singer then shares a personal experience where he had lived with a "child of snow" when he was a soldier and fought every man for her until the nights grew colder. This experience seems to have left a profound impact on the singer and shaped his feelings about love and relationships.
In the second stanza, the singer draws a comparison between the woman and the child of snow from his past. He notes that the woman used to wear her hair like the child of snow except when she was sleeping, and when she was sleeping, she would weave her hair "on a loom of smoke and gold and breathing". The imagery here seems to suggest that the woman has a mysterious and magical quality about her, just like the child of snow. The singer then questions why the woman is so quiet now that she is standing in the doorway. He notes that she must have chosen her journey long before she came upon this highway, which suggests that their encounter and connection, fleeting as it might be, is a part of a larger plan or design.
Overall, Winter Lady is a beautiful and enigmatic song about fleeting connections and missed opportunities. The singer is resigned to the fact that he isn't the woman's lover and that their encounter is temporary, but he still wants her to stay a while longer. The song's imagery and metaphors are rich and evocative, creating a sense of mystery and magic that adds to its timeless appeal.
Line by Line Meaning
Trav'ling lady, stay a while
Addressing an unknown woman, asking her to stay for a while longer
Until the night is over
Asking the woman to stay until nighttime has passed
I'm just a station on your way
Acknowledging that he is not a permanent place of residence for the woman, but simply a pitstop on her journey
I know I'm not your lover
Admitting that he is not romantically involved with the woman
Well I lived with a child of snow
Reflecting on a past relationship with a woman who was pure, innocent and cold-hearted
When I was a soldier
Recalling the time in his life when he was a soldier in a war
And I fought every man for her
Expressing the extreme lengths he went to in order to protect the woman he was with
Until the nights grew colder
Hinting at a potential falling out or growing apart from the woman he was with
She used to wear her hair like you
Comparing the current woman to a past love interest, highlighting the similarity in their physical appearance
Except when she was sleeping
Clarifying that the difference between the two women was in their sleeping habits
And then she'd weave it on a loom
Describing the way the past woman would handle her hair while asleep
Of smoke and gold and breathing
Painting a vivid picture of the dreamlike quality of the past woman's hair
And why are you so quiet now
Noticing that the woman is currently quiet and introspective
Standing there in the doorway?
Noticing the woman is physically positioned in the doorway
You chose your journey long before
Acknowledging that the woman had already made choices and decisions that dictated her current path
You came upon this highway
Concluding that the woman ended up at his doorstep randomly, on her predetermined journey
Traveling lady, stay a while
Reiterating his request for the woman to stay longer
'Til the night is over
Asking her to stick around for the duration of the night
I'm just a station on your way
Finalizing his understanding that the woman is not meant to stay, but simply pass through
I know I'm not your lover
Emphasizing the fact that there isn't a romantic connection between them
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Leonard Cohen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
itamar marle
lyrics:
Trav'ling lady, stay awhile
Until the night is over.
I'm just a station on your way,
I know I'm not your lover.
Well I lived with a child of snow
When I was a soldier,
And I fought every man for her
Until the nights grew colder.
She used to wear her hair like you
Except when she was sleeping,
And then she'd weave it on a loom
Of smoke and gold and breathing.
And why are you so quiet now
Standing there in the doorway?
You chose your journey long before
You came upon this highway.
Traveling lady stay awhile
Until the night is over.
I'm just a station on your way,
I know I'm not your lover.
Michael Paumgardhen
Plays during the last scene in McCabe & Mrs.Miller, starring Julie Christie & Warren Beauty,
as McCabe (Warren's leading character) lays dying in snowdrifts after a gun duel with hired hitmen because he wouldn't sell out his share of the frontier town to a big business man.
Mrs.Miller, Julie Christie's leading character, quietly smokes opium in her bed as he lays dying.
One of the best western films ever made.
Directed by Robert Altman in 1971.
Funny thing, Mr.Beatty consistently refused to discuss the film at all, each time he was asked about it for decades.
No one but Warren knows why.
Perhaps he fell in love with Julie Chtistie & actually got his heart broken 💔.
The world may never know.
Prax
Im listening to this fr 7-8 years now. Currently I was watching the movie "The Art of Getting By" where this music is used. I couldn't stop myself to come back here and listen to this beauty. As soon as I heard the intro in the movie, it felt like a special bond or memory just hit my conscious.
Sementara
My experience is reversed. Nice to know someone who watched the film.
Gerhold Stolz
When I was a young man, burning a candle at both ends, and immersed in that torrent of wonderful music flowing out of the late '60s, I'd go to parties that lasted til the wee small hours. Someone would inevitably put on this album and the words and oh so different music would envelope me - for 2m18s a bubble of mysterious ethereal sound floating me off to somewhere unfamiliar and distant. Nothing quite like this song or him.
alpha
This song is so gentle and delicate.
Marshall Schaffer
Says so much in so few words. Love the delicate guitars. Love everything about this song. Pure brilliance.
B Silva
I had forgotten about this song, haven’t heard it for a long time, it’s so beautiful and simple I love it
Graveyard Poet
Haunting Poetry. My favorite Leonard Cohen song. One of the songs I want played at my funeral.
mimibarn
Yes I've had similar thoughts
Abhinav Singh
I have read so many people saying that you need to have certain understanding to like music like this, i Don't disagree but for me personally it has never been about understanding since I have never learnt music formally but Leonard always touches me, there is a certain feel of personal belonging in his lyrics that gets me i guess, it's rare that i get emotional but his songs make me emotional even though I have never been in love 😂.
Love you Mr.Cohen ❤️
O Anônimo 1
Eu amo essa música!