Singer-Songwriter Leonard Cohen Dies at 82

Variety ^ | November 10, 2016 | By Christopher Morris

[Brad from Tennessee]

Leonard Cohen, the Canadian poet and novelist who became a singular international presence as a singer-songwriter, has died. He was 82.

A statement on his official Facebook page read, “It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away. We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries. A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief.”

Only last month, Cohen released his final album, “You Want It Darker,” a deeply introspective work that focused thematically on mortality.

His elegantly penned songs, authored during a musical career that spanned six decades, won him comparison with such other songwriters of his era as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. His best-known song, “Hallelujah,” has been recorded more than 200 times. Cohen never recorded a chart single and didn’t place an album in the top 10 until he was in his 70s, but his ardent fans and musical peers viewed him as a musical craftsman with few equals.

As a songwriter, his themes encompassed love in all its manifestations, religion, faith and the tenuous state of the world. Like “Hallelujah,” many of his tunes — his breakthrough composition “Suzanne,” “Bird on the Wire,” “Tower of Song” — became much-covered keystones of the popular songbook. His longtime accompanist Jennifer Warnes recorded several of his best-known works on her 1987 Cohen recital “Famous Blue Raincoat. . ."

[exDemMom]

I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
Well, it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth,
The minor fall and the major lift,
The baffled king composing Hallelujah.

---

I adore this song.
RIP, Mr. Cohen. You were one of the greats.

[goodnesswins]

Me too.

Was wondering what’s up

[exDemMom]

I’ve had a hard time accessing the past few hours.

Me too, for the past day or so.

[af_vet_1981]

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah<
br> Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah

[sheana]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE

[Brad from Tennessee]

I have a similar slow down. I thought it might be that the whole net is seeing a surge in traffic.

[Vendome]

Well, I heard there was a secret chord,
That David played and it pleased the Lord,
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift,
The baffled king composing Hallelujah.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...

[Sawdring]

I thought Waiting For The Miracle was one of his best songs.

[discostu]

2016 is back with a vengeance.

[Major Matt Mason]

Supposedly, Charlie Daniels played on one of his albums back in the day, which is an odd pairing from what I've heard of Cohen's music (which isn't much). I heard his Ten Songs album in a record store when it came out and it sounded decent, but that is about the extent of what I've heard.

RIP.

[jocon307]

Truly sad news. RIP Leonard Cohen.

[Mase]

My favorite Cohen album:

I'm Your Man

RIP

[I_be_tc]

Later, thanks

[Montaignes Cat]

Thank you, that was wonderful.

[semimojo]

And my very close companion
Gets me fumbling gets me laughing
She’s a hundred but she’s wearing
Something tight

[Montaignes Cat]

Thank you so much for pointing out that particular lyric.

[moviefan8]

I first heard of Leonard Cohen in the movie Natural Born Killers, which is a great movie.

The Future
https://youtube.com/watch?v=D97OxHZzBeQ

[Zeneta]

Bm

[tarpit]

You are certainly welcome. Some dislike the hip hop kinda sound to it, but as you can see from the number of views, their rendition is widely appreciated.

[Montaignes Cat]

So weird that you say that because I have been listening to Charlie Daniels ever since the Trump victory - his lyrics sound like they could have been written for a Trump rally.