History Music / LeonardCohen

* CrowningMomentofHeartwarming: Many, but specially "The Sisters of Mercy": "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."
** ''And the night comes on, it's very calm; I want to cross over, I want to go home - but she says, "Go back - go back to the world."''

Something of an acquired taste due to his minimalistic approach to music, often dark tone and average-to-middling ability to actually sing in tune, Cohen is nevertheless regarded as one of the finest and most influential songwriters alive today. His songs have been frequently covered by other artists, with ''Hallelujah'' - most famously covered by JeffBuckley - being the most prominent example, and he was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

* ''Various Positions'' a.k.a. ''The One With Hallelujah On It'' (1984)

** ''The Future'': "I've seen the future, baby; it is murder"
** ''Everybody Knows'': "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"

** ''Songs of Love and Hate'' includes the song ''Dress Rehearsal Rag'', which is notable for - despite Cohen frequently being derided for writing "wrist-slitting songs" - being the only song that actually mentions wrist-slitting.

* GodIsLoveSongs: Numerous songs, but the best example is possibly ''Coming Back To You''; it starts "Baby, I'm still hurting, and I can't turn the other cheek; you know that I still love you, it's just that I can't speak" - and it soon becomes clear that the "Baby" in question is, er, God (or possibly Judaism in general).
* GrayRainOfDepression: ''Last Year's Man''

** Not the straightest use of this trope as it's Cohen's translation of a [[Creator/FedericoGarciaLorca Garcia Lorca]] poem, a better example may be ''Light as the Breeze'', a lovely little song about the technique one should employ when performing oral sex.
** Another example, but much less subtle than the above: in ''Chelsea Hotel #2'', a lovely song written for JanisJoplin, he so lovingly sings

* IsntItIronic: ''Hallelujah'' is probably the worst offender. It's not supposed to be a happy song!
** Cohen was also reportedly greatly amused by the non-ironic use of ''Democracy'' (a scathing, wry little statement about American society) as a patriotic ballad. I mean, for heaven's sake:

* LyricalDissonance: ''Heart With No Companion'' has a bouncy, jaunty melody and introduction. And then the first line...

* OffingTheOffspring: ''The Story of Isaac,'' which retells... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the story of]] [[Literature/TheBible Isaac]].

** Another example is the above quoted song ''"Chelsea Hotel #2''. In his younger days, he always dedicated the song to Janis Joplin, making it clear that it was her he was singing about. This was rather bold, due to the songs highly [[IntercourseWithYou sexual and erotic content]]. He now regrets ever having done this.

-->Her beauty and the moonlight over through ya.
* RageAgainstTheReflection: ''Dress Rehearsal Rag''
* SanitySlippageSong: ''Dress Rehearsal Rag'' again and ''Diamonds In The Mine''. But several other songs from the album ''Songs Of Love And Hate'' could qualify.

* AWorldHalfFull: ''Anthem,'' definitely. He has some similar songs that veer more into CrapsackWorld, but might still have the requisite sense of beauty and empowerment simply by virtue of being stirring music.
** From ''The Old Revolution'':

** ''The Future'': "I've seen the future, baby, it is murder"
** ''Everybody Knows'': "Everybody knows that the war is over / Everybody knows the good guys lost"

* SelfDeprecation: Cohen is well aware of his vocal limitations, and occasionally pokes fun at them himself. Besides the above-mentioned snark about how "only in Canada" he could win a prize for Best Male Vocalist, he sings in "Tower of Song" that he was "born with the gift of a golden voice".

** Not the straightest use of this trope as it's Cohen's translation of a Garcia Lorca poem, a better example may be ''Light as the Breeze'', a lovely little song about the technique one should employ when performing oral sex.

* ''Old Ideas'' (due early 2012)

* CrowningMomentofHeartwarming: Many, but specifically "The Sisters of Mercy;" "If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn/They will bind you with love that is grace, full and green as a stem."

** Not the straightest use of this trope as it's Cohen's translation of a Garcia Lorca poem, a better example may be ''Light as the Breeze'' a lovely little song about the technique one should employ when performing oral sex.

* CrapsackWorld: "I've seen the future, baby/And it is murder"

* AWorldHalfFull: ''Anthem,'' definitely. He has some similar songs that veer more into CrapsackWorld, but might still have the requisite sense of beauty and empowerment simply by virtue of being stirring music.
** From ''The Old Revolution'':
---> ''Even damnation is poisoned with rainbows.''

->''Le triomphe du Mal sur le Bien.''

--->''Le triomphe du Mal sur le Bien.''

* CardCarryingVillain: the narrator of ''Beautiful Losers''. '''''"Le triomphe du Mal sur le Bien."'''''

* CardCarryingVillain: the narrator of ''Beautiful Losers''. '''''"La triomphe du Mal sur le Bien."'''''

* CardCarryingVillain: the narrator of ''Future''.

-->'''Leonard Cohen''', on why ''Hallelujah'' is so popular

Something of an acquired taste due to his minimalistic approach to music, often dark tone and average-to-middling ability to actually sing in tune, Cohen is nevertheless regarded as one of the finest and most influential songwriters alive today. His songs have been frequently covered by other artists, with ''Hallelujah'' - most famously covered by JeffBuckley - being the most prominent example, and he was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

Cohen is private and something of a hermit (he spent many years living in a Zen commune atop Mount Baldy, where he was known as ''Jikan,'' "The Silent One"), but after 2005, where his manager, Kelley Lynch, almost completely emptied his pension account and ran away with the money, Cohen started touring again in 2008 at age 73. He has continued to do so through 2012, and does not show signs of stopping any time soon.

* CoolOldGuy: Among other things, he skips on and off-stage at concerts and donated $200,000 to the Australian bushfire appeal.

* DeadpanSnarker: His interviews are frequently hilarious.

** Another example, but much less subtle than the above: in ''Chelsea Hotel #2'', a lovely song written for [[JanisJoplin Janis Joplin]], he so lovingly sings

* NiceHat: He can rock a charcoal fedora.

* OffingTheOffspring: ''The Story of Isaac,'' which retells... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the story of]] [[TheBible Isaac]].
* OldShame:

* SanitySlippageSong: ''Dress Rehearsal Rag'' again and ''Diamonds In The Mine''. But several other songs from the album ''Songs Of Love And Hate'' could qualify.

->''Now i've heard there was a secret chord''

Cohen is private and something of a hermit (he spent many years living in a Zen commune atop Mount Baldy, where he was known as ''Jikan,'' "The Silent One"), but after 2005, where his manager, Kelley Lynch, almost completely emptied his pension account and ran away with the money, Cohen started touring again in 2008 at age 73. He has continued to do so in 2009 and 2010, and does not show signs of stopping any time soon.

* CoolOldGuy: Among other things, he skips on and off-stage at concerts; has a NiceHat; and donated $200,000 to the Australian bushfire appeal.

* UglyGuyHotWife: He's not ugly. They're not married (at the moment). [[http://1heckofaguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cohen-anjani-standing.jpg But I'll just let this speak for itself.]]

Leonard Cohen is a Canadian poet and singer-songwriter. He is known for his wry, melancholic and frequently beautiful lyrics, his ever-present cluster of angelic back-up singers, his fascination with religion and spirituality, and that ''voice'', good lord. His first album, the snappily titled ''Songs of Leonard Cohen'', was released in 1967; it met with critical acclaim, mediocre sales and a lasting cult status, something that could be said for his entire career to date. After a decline in popularity from the mid-1970s onward, he released the incisive, satirical ''I'm Your Man'' in 1988. Widely considered one of his best albums, it effectively rebooted his career and cemented his status as a cult figure.

** [[YourMileageMayVary You mileage may vary]] on [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly what it says on the tin]], as the song is often interpreted as an anti-war song, where Isaac is a metaphor for the next generation of young men send to war by the older people and their conflicts
---> ''You who build the altars [wars] now''
---> ''To sacrifice these children [young soldiers]''
---> ''You must not do it anymore''

* CoolOldGuy: Among other things, he skips on and off-stage at concerts; has a NiceHat; and donated $200,000 to the Australian bushfire appeal.
* CoveredUp: He was the original writer of ''Hallelujah'', all twenty-something verses of it.

Cohen is private and something of a hermit (he spent many years living in a Zen commune atop Mount Baldy, where he was known as ''Jikan,'' "The Silent One"), but after 2005, where his manager, Kelley Lynch, almost completely emptied his pension account and ran away with the money, Cohen started touring again in 2008 at age 73, and have continued to do so in 2009 and 2010, and does not show signs of stopping any time soon.

* CoolOldGuy: Among other things, he skips on and off-stage at concerts; has a NiceHat; and donated $200,000 to the Australian bushfire appeal.

* CreatorBreakdown: Cohen has spent his entire career periodically struggling with clinical depression. His darkest album, ''Songs of Love and Hate'', came out of an especially troubled time; it is considered one of his best offerings by critics, but is not popular with the general public because it's just so dark. (Cohen himself states that he has trouble listening to it, and it is under-represented on his Best Of album, which he chose the songs for himself.)

* IsntItIronic: Of course, ''Hallelujah'' is the worst offender. It's not supposed to be a happy song!

** His stated opinions of ''Death of a Ladies Man'' are more positive now than they used to be, but he still considers it a bit of a travesty. His fans are inclined to agree. It wasn't his fault entirely, though. PhilSpector apparently abducted the tapes at gunpoint and did his own thing with them; reports vary as to what actually happened, but there was definitely a gun involved, as well as [[HoYay a declaration of love]].

* VocalEvolution: He started out as a middling tenor with a slight tendency toward nasalness. His earlier records sound positively soprano when compared to his later ones; over forty years, his voice has dropped to a distinctive rumble, and it seems to be getting deeper with every album. ''Dear Heather'' was positively subsonic. He claims that he has one more album left in him; presumably, only dogs will be able to hear it.

* AudioErotica: His singing ability is famously mediocre. His ''speaking'' voice, on the other hand, is like chocolate for the ears.