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"I learned that love was out of my control..."

"So the great affair is over but whoever would have guessed
It would leave us all so vacant and so deeply unimpressed
It's like our visit to the moon or to that other star
I guess you go for nothing if you really wanna go that far"
— "Death of a Ladies' Man"

Death of a Ladies' Man is the fifth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1977 through Columbia Records in most of the world and Warner (Bros.) Records in the US, marking his only release on the latter label. Its song were produced by Phil Spector and co-written by Cohen and Spector.

It is not to be confused with Cohen's similarly-titled volume of poetry, Death of a Lady's Man, which was released the following year.


Tracklist:

Side One
  1. "True Love Leaves No Traces" (4:26)
  2. "Iodine" (5:03)
  3. "Paper Thin Hotel" (5:42)
  4. "Memories" (5:59)

Side Two

  1. "I Left a Woman Waiting" (3:28)
  2. "Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On" (5:36)
  3. "Fingerprints" (2:58)
  4. "Death of a Ladies' Man" (9:19)

Tropes associated with this album:

  • The Cameo: Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan sang backing vocals on "Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On".
  • Epic Rocking: The album ends with the titular track, "Death of a Ladies' Man", which is over nine minutes long—the longest track from any of Cohen's studio albums by more than a minute.
  • A High-School Dance is the setting of the song "Memories".
  • One-Word Title: "Iodine", "Memories", and "Fingerprints".
  • The Peeping Tom: The song "Paper Thin Hotel" narrates an aural version of this (concluding with a Bathtub Scene with singing). The reference to the narrator's jealousy implies that he might be a Stalker with a Crush, and the opening reference to the thin walls implies an Accidental Pervert justification for the eavesdropping.
    The walls of this hotel are paper-thin
    Last night I heard you making love to him
    [...]
    I was not seized by jealousy at all
    In fact a burden lifted from my soul
    I learned that love was out of my control
  • Stylistic Suck: In "Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On", Cohen treats the theme of sexual desire with uncharacteristic ribaldry, performed in a jaunty style totally at odds with his typically sombre, reverent delivery.
  • Title Track: "Death of a Ladies' Man".

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