History Music / LeonardCohen

* NewSoundAlbum: ''I'm Your Man'' has elements of synth-pop with his normal folk-rock.

* ''Various Positions'' (1984)[[note]]a.k.a. ''TheOneWith "Hallelujah" On It''[[/note]]

* AuthorVocabularyCalendar: He had a penchant for the word "naked", which features in at least a dozen of his recorded songs--including the opening line of "Light as the Breeze" (''Music/TheFuture'') and the refrain of "Memories" (''Music/DeathOfALadiesMan''). "Beauty" shows up frequently as well.

* AuthorCatchphrase: He had a penchant for the word 'naked', which features in at least a dozen of his recorded songs--including the opening line of "Light as the Breeze" (''Music/TheFuture'') and the refrain of "Memories" (''Music/DeathOfALadiesMan'').

* ''Recent Songs'' (1979)

''First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.''
* LoveIsLikeReligion: Just [[CreatorThumbprint try to find a Leonard Cohen song]] that ''doesn't'' describe a bittersweet romantic/sexual situation while making use of intricate (occasionally incomprehensible) symbolism and copious religious imagery.
** While its literal message [[{{Applicability}} has been variously interpreted]], Music/LeonardCohen's "Hallelujah" combines lost-love tropes with a ''lot'' of BiblicalMotifs.

-->And I thank you for those items that you sent me\\
The monkey and the plywood violin...

** When held at gunpoint by Phil Spector for the master tapes to ''Death of a Ladies' Man''
--> '''Spector''': I love you, Leonard.
--> '''Cohen''': I ''hope'' you love me, Phil.

* 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" and in "A Singer Must Die" that its sound makes the ladies "moist".

* VillainSong: "First We Take Manhattan".

* AWorldHalfFull:

** From "The Old Revolution":
--->''Even damnation is poisoned with rainbows.''

* ''Death of a Ladies' Man'' (1977)

** When ''The Future'' (his most successful album in Canada) gained him a Juno Award for Best Male Vocalist, he mentioned in his acceptance speech that "Only in Canada could somebody with a voice like mine win Vocalist of the Year."

* EpicRocking: Cohen has quite a few songs that exceed five minutes, usually owing to the number of distinct verses. (He was known to write dozens of verses while composing a song, and then whittle them down as he refined it.) On ''The Future'', there are only two tracks under six minutes long--one being a [[CoverVersion cover]], and the other an [[{{Instrumentals}} instrumental]].

* ''The Future'' (1992)

* ''Beautiful Losers'' (Novel) (1966)

Leonard Cohen (September 21, 1934 - November 7, 2016) was a Canadian poet and singer-songwriter. He was 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. Cohen began his career as a writer, with two collections of poetry that received good reviews, but his later material didn't do as well, so he became a singer-songwriter due to his lack of financial success. 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 to hold true for the rest of his career. 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.

* LoveIsLikeReligion: Just [[CreatorThumbprint try to find a Leonard Cohen song]] that ''doesn't'' describe a bittersweet romantic/sexual situation while making use of intricate (occasionally [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]]) symbolism and copious religious imagery.

* NotChristianRock: Scriptural and religious imagery appears often in Cohen's lyrics, but not always as a statement of faith. The best-known example is "Hallelujah," which dwells on the biblical stories of David and Samson [[LoveIsAReligion but is really more of a]] BreakupSong.

* CreatorThumbprint: Just try to find a Leonard Cohen song that ''doesn't'' describe a bittersweet romantic/sexual situation while making use of intricate (occasionally [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]]) symbolism and copious religious imagery.

* LoveIsLikeReligion: While its literal message [[{{Applicability}} has been variously interpreted]], Music/LeonardCohen's "Hallelujah" combines lost-love tropes with a ''lot'' of BiblicalMotifs.

* NotChristianRock: Scriptural and religious imagery appears often in Cohen's lyrics, but not always as a statement of faith. The best-known example is "Hallelujah," which dwells on the biblical stories of David and Samson but is really more of a BreakupSong.

* ReligiousRantSong: "You Want It Darker" is a rant against God Himself . . . to God Himself.

** "Hallelujah" is probably the worst offender. It's not supposed to be a happy song! It's allegorical lyrics have lent itself to being covered a myriad of ways by different artists, varying in tone from despair to triumphant.

** "Hallelujah" is probably the worst offender. It's not supposed to be a happy song! It's allegorical lyrics have lent itself to being covered a myriad of ways by different artists, varying in tone from despairing to triumphant.

** "Hallelujah" is probably the worst offender. It's not supposed to be a happy song!

* IWasQuiteALooker: Leonard didn't have women falling at his feet or anything, but it's hard to deny that he had some [[http://blog.careco.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Leonard-Cohen-2.jpg pretty]] [[https://www.room-digital.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Image-4-Photograph-by-Jack-Robinson-Jack-Robinson-Archive-LLC.jpg rugged]] good looks in his younger days.

Also, Creator/PhilSpector once threatened him with a loaded gun. But that's not important.