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Leonard Cohen
84 quotes
“And you kissed me shy as though I'd never been your lover”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Song", The Spice-Box of Earth (1961)
“Rust rust rust in the engines of love and time”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Front Lawn", Flowers for Hitler (1964)
“Although only one man may be receiving the favors of a woman, all men in her presence are warmed. That's the great Generosity of women and the great generosity of the Creator who worked it out is that there are no unilateral agreements on sexuality.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Spoken in "Ladies and Gentlemen, Leonard Cohen" (1965)
“God is alive. Magic is afoot. God is alive. Magic is afoot. God is afoot. Magic is alive. Alive is afoot. Magic never died. God never sickened. Many poor men lied. Many sick men lied. Magic never weakened. Magic never hid. Magic always ruled. God is afoot. God was ruler though his funeral lengthened. Though his mourners thickened Magic never fled...”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Beautiful Losers (1966)
“It was only when you walked away I saw you had the perfect ass. Forgive me for not falling in love with your face or your conversation.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Energy of Slaves (1972)
“Only in Canada could somebody with a voice like mine win 'Vocalist of the Year'.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: First words of his speech accepting the Juno Award for Best Male Vocalist in Canada (1992)
“And if one is to express the great inevitable defeat that awaits us all, it must be done within the strict confines of dignity and beauty.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "2011's Prince of Asturias Prize for Letters
“Now, I don't want to give you the impression that I'm a great musicologist, but I'm a lot better than what I was described as for a long, long time; you know, people said I only knew three chords when I knew five.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with BBC Radio 1FM (1994)
“I feel that, you know, the enormous luck I've had in being able to make a living, and to never have had to have written one word that I didn't want to write, to be able to have satisfied that dictum I set for myself, which was not to work for pay, but to be paid for my work — just to be able to satisfy those standards that I set for myself has been an enormous privilege.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with BBC Radio 1FM (1994)
“People used to say my music was too difficult or too obscure, and I never set out to be difficult or obscure. I just set out to write what I felt as honestly as I could, and I am delighted when other people feel a part of themselves in the music.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Los Angeles Times (24 September 1995)
“This is the very contrary of dropping out. Most people can't wait to get home to their house or apartment and shut that door and turn on the TV. To me, that's dropping out.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his living at a Zen center, as quoted in Los Angeles Times (24 September 1995)
“You have loved enough, now let me be the lover." You could say that God is speaking to you or the cosmos, or your lover. It just means, like, Forget it. Lean back and be loved by all that is already loving you. It is your effort at love that is preventing you from experiencing it. It is like if you ever taught kids how to swim. The most difficult thing is Goddam to understand that they will float, if they relax, if they hold their breath and relax, they will actually float. For most kids it is difficult to swim. They feel they are going to sink like a stone to the bottom of the lake.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the lyrics to "You Have Loved Enough" in an interview released at the Ten New Songs site (2001)
“Well Marianne it's come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. … And you know that I've always loved you for your beauty and your wisdom, but I don't need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I just want to wish you a very good journey. Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leonard Cohen Penned Letter to 'So Long, Marianne' Muse Before Her Death" by Daniel Kreps, in Rolling Stone (7 August 2016)
“Courage is what others can't see, what is never affirmed. It is made of what you have thrown away and then come back for.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From Leonard Cohen’s journals. As quoted in: Zeus Ghosh (June 30, 2022): Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (2021) Review: A tryst with the God of Songs. In: High on Films. Archived from the original on March …
“Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river. You can hear the boats go by, You can spend the night beside her, And you know that she's half crazy But that's why you want to be there, And she feeds you tea and oranges That come all the way from China. And just when you mean to tell her That you have no love to give her Then she gets you on her wavelength And she lets the river answer That you've always been her lover. And you want to travel with her, And you want to travel blind, And you know that she will trust you, For you've touched her perfect body with your mind.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Suzanne" - Isle of Wight performance (1970) - Live in London (2008)
“And she shows you where to look Among the garbage and the flowers. There are heroes in the seaweed, There are children in the morning, They are leaning out for love, And they will lean that way forever, While Suzanne holds the mirror.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And Jesus was a sailor When he walked upon the water And he spent a long time watching From his lonely wooden tower And when he knew for certain Only drowning men could see him He said "All men will be sailors then Until the sea shall free them" But he himself was broken Long before the sky would open Forsaken, almost human He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's true that all the men you knew were dealers who said they were through with dealing Every time you gave them shelter. I know that kind of man It's hard to hold the hand of anyone who is reaching for the sky just to surrender.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Stranger Song" (1966)
“Like any dealer he was watching for the card that is so high and wild he'll never need to deal another. He was just some Joseph looking for a manger.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O you've seen that man before his golden arm dispatching cards but now it's rusted from the elbow to the finger And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Alludes to the dealer in Nelson Algren's 1949 novel The Man with the Golden Arm.
“I told you when I came I was a stranger.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's you my love, you who are the stranger.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Please understand, I never had a secret chart to get me to the heart of this or any other matter. When he talks like this you don't know what he's after.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on. And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song. Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, you who must leave everything that you cannot control, It begins with your family, and soon it comes round to your soul. Well I've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned: When you're not feeling holy your loneliness says that you've sinned.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When they lay down beside me I made my confession to them. They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem. If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn, They will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon. Don't turn on the lights, you can read their address by the moon. And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night: We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Come over to the window, my little darling I'd like to try to read your palm I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy Before I let you take me home Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again Well you know that I love to live with you But you make me forget so very much I forget to pray for the angels And then the angels forget to pray for us”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm, Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm, Yes many loved before us, I know that we are not new, In city and in forest they smiled like me and you, But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie, your eyes are soft with sorrow, Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" · Duet with Judy Collins on Soundstage (January 1976)
“Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You who build these altars now to sacrifice these children, you must not do it anymore. A scheme is not a vision and you never have been tempted by a demon or a god.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When it all comes down to dust I will kill you if I must, I will help you if I can. When it all comes down to dust I will help you if I must, I will kill you if I can.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I finally broke into the prison I found my place in the chain Even damnation is poisoned with rainbows”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's four in the morning, the end of DecemberI'm writing you now just to see if you're betterNew York is cold, but I like where I'm livingThere's music on Clinton Street all through the evening”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyesI thought it was there for good so I never triedAnd Jane came by with a lock of your hairShe said that you gave it to herThat night that you planned to go clearDid you ever go clear?”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hallelujah" - 1984 performance · Montreal Jazz Festival 2008 performance
“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”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I remember when I moved in you And the holy dove she was moving too, And every single breath that we drew was Hallelujah.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The captain called me to his bed and fumbled for my hand "Take these silver bars," he said, "I'm giving you command." Command of what? There's no on here. There's only you and me. The rest are dead or in retreat or with the enemy. "Complain, complain, that's all you've done ever since we lost, If it's not the crucifixion then it's the holocaust.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And I sing this for the captainWhose ship has not been builtFor the mother in confusion Her cradle still unfilled For the heart with no companion For the soul without a king For the prima ballerina Who cannot dance to anything”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know there is an eye that watches all of us. There is a judgment that weighs everything we do. And before this great force, which is greater than any government I stand in awe and I kneel in respect and it is to this great judgment that I dedicate this next song, "Hallelujah".”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don't know which side is anybody on any more. I don't really care. There is a moment when we have to transcend the side we're on and understand that we are creatures of a higher order. That doesn't mean that I don't wish you courage in your struggle. There is on both sides of the struggle men of good will. That is important to remember. On both sides of the struggle, some struggling for freedom, some struggling for safety and solemn testimony of that unbroken faith which binds generations one to another I sing this song, "If It Be Your Will”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom For trying to change the system from within I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: First We Take Manhattan" (written in 1986) - Leonard Cohen video - Jennifer Warnes & Leonard Cohen video
“I'm guided by a signal in the heavens I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ah, you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: First We Take Manhattan" (1986)
“Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows that the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich That's how it goes Everybody knows.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Everybody Knows" (co-written with Sharon Robinson) - 1988 performance · 2008 performance
“Everybody knows that you love me baby Everybody knows that you really do Everybody knows that you've been faithful Ah give or take a night or two Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet without your clothes And everybody knows”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everybody knows that the boat is leaking.Everybody knows that the captain lied...And everybody knows that you're in trouble...Everybody knows it's coming apart. Take one last look...Before it blows. Everybody knows”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you want a lover I'll do anything you ask me to. And if you want another kind of love I'll wear a mask for you.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source