Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs

by Leonard Cohen

In the decades since he recorded his first album, Leonard Cohen has evolved into an international cult figure--and one of the most literate, daring, and affecting poet-songwriters in the world.  Stranger Music presents a magnificent cross-section of Cohen's work--including the legendary songs "Suzanne," "Sisters of Mercy," "Bird on a Wire," "Famous Blue Raincoat," "I'm Your Man," and "The Future"; selections from such books as Flowers for Hitler, Beautiful Losers, and Death of a Lady's Man, and eleven previously unpublished poems. This volume demonstrates definitively that Cohen is a writer of dazzling intelligence and a force that transcends genres.

Genres: Poetry, Music, Canada, Nonfiction, Romance, Religion, Literature

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963.

Cohen's earliest songs (many of which appeared on the 1968 album Songs of Leonard Cohen) were rooted in European folk music melodies and instrumentation, sung in a high baritone. The 1970s were a musically restless period in which his influences broadened to encompass pop, cabaret, and world music. Since the 1980s he has typically sung in lower registers (bass baritone, sometimes bass), with accompaniment from electronic synthesizers and female backing singers.

His work often explores the themes of religion, isolation, sexuality, and complex interpersonal relationships.

Cohen's songs and poetry have influenced many other singer-songwriters, and more than a thousand renditions of his work have been recorded. He has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008 for his status among the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters".

Reviews

[Arah-Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rest in Peace Mr. Cohen.

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 her
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

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

[Yumiko Hansen]

Here is my favourite...



-- As a falling leaf may rest

A moment in the air

So your head upon my breast

So my hand upon your hair



And many night endure

Without a moon, without a star

So we will endure

When one is gone and far



True love leaves no traces

If you and I are one

It's lost in our embraces

Like stars against the sun

[Paula Abreu Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

"DÁDIVA

Dizes-me que o silêncio
está mais próximo da paz que os poemas
mas se como uma dádiva
eu te trouxesse o silêncio
(porque eu conheço o silêncio)
tu dirias
Isto não é silêncio
Isto é outro poema
e haverias de devolver-mo"

[tiger lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unpopular opinion: I thought most of this was trash.

Disjointed, senseless, silly trash.

It isn't easy to say that, but wow I was disappointed, this, after all, is Mr. Fucking. Cohen, but I need to be honest, I outright disliked about 70% of it. Is there something wrong with me? Do I have no taste? Am I not clever enough? Am I coming down with something? I don't know. All I know is that I cringed so hard at times due in part to the following:

- Random crude bizarre sexual references, some of which seem to just come out of nowhere. It's like he never saw the point in having any context - think of a nipple while you're writing about something else? Pop a nipple in a poem! Why not?

- The rambling. Oh god, the rambling. Some of these aren't really poems at all, just blocks of random babble about nothing.

- Women, girls, wives, girlfriends, whores, women he just met, etc, all are included in this, and I don't even know if I counted one which wasn't sexualized or written about in a way that just left a horrible taste in my mouth. Even when he falls in love, all he can seem to talk about is how hot she looks, what their sex life is doing, or about how they argue. Or how, literally: "She is beautiful when she smiles. She should smile more" (*gag*). There's a poem called "I Perceived The Outline Of Your Breasts" which is exactly how it sounds. It's a poem about looking at a woman's boobs through her Halloween costume, written in a fancified poetic way, of course, which I think makes me dislike it even more.

I think I'd prefer if many of these poems were written more literally, less flowery; it's like they're hiding their crudity behind a pretense of false intelligence and poeticism to excuse what it boils down to. It's as though it's either ashamed of itself because it knows what it really is, or it's trying to make out that much of this is 50 times deeper than it actually is.

Ugh. Don't get me wrong, there's still work in here which is amazing, but for me personally, 401 pages of much the same was excessive for content which didn't strike me as very diverse. Certain themes became extremely predictable. Now excuse me while I wash my brain out with some work on well-written female characters for a while.

[M. Sarki · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://rogueliterarysociety.com/f/st...

It took me so long to read this book that in the process I read a few biographies and memoirs with Leonard Cohen as the subject. In other words I came to know Leonard too well. Now I had too much information and thus I began to not like him so much. So instead of continually devouring everything Leonard Cohen, I began to distance myself and perform a deep self-cleanse. I have yet to see the damning documentary film recently released that focuses on his relationship with his early muse Marianne. I am sure my sympathies will be with her instead of him. I am disappointed where my study eventually took me, and in a regretful way, I wish I had never begun. To be fair, Cohen's early work is quite remarkable, but it appears to me that in his later poems he may have felt entitled to get one at will. That does not make for great poetry, especially for a man who considered most poems by other poets inferior to his own. But his lyrics continually were fantastic and they work well in the types of melodies that Cohen applies to his songs. Plus that raspy deep voice due to excessive smoking and drinking became golden, and one I never tire of. Just the man, who became, for me, intolerable.

[DoctorM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the way it works. If you're male, and if you appreciate art, poetry, music, and a lifetime of serious, powerful work...well, you want to be Leonard Cohen. You can't be--- and he does it better than you'll ever do it anyway: the tailored suits, the beautiful actresses and models who've thrown themselves at him, the shatteringly brilliant poetry and music, the years as a Zen roshi. Accept that. And then read these poems and just be...enthralled.

[John Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contents:

1 Let Us Compare Mythologies (8 poems)

2.The Spice-Box of Earth (22)

3. Flowers for Hitler (28)

Includes the moving poem 'Hitler' and the more whimsical (but no less serious for that) 'Queen Victoria and Me'.

4. Parasites of Heaven (5)

5. Songs of Leonard Cohen (9)

Includes 'Suzanne,' ' So Long, Marianne', 'Sisters of Mercy'.

6. Selected Poems 1956-68 (6)

7. Beautiful Losers (7)

8. Songs from a Room (5)

9. Songs of Love and Hate (4)

Includes 'Joan of Arc'

10. The Energy of Slaves (40)

Includes '1967' and 'I Left a Woman'

11. New Skin for the Old Ceremony (9)

Includes 'Chelsea Hotel', 'Is this what You Wanted' and 'A Singer Must Die'

12. Death of a Ladies' Man (5)

Includes the memorable and Edward Lear-ish, 'Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On'

13. Death of a Lady's Man (71)

Includes 'French and English' which I loved but too long to quote here.

14. Recent Songs (7)

15. Book of Mercy (21)

The Bible and Jewish-ness figure throughout his work, particularly here.

16. Various Positions (6)

Includes the glorious song 'Hallelujah' which I can't read without hearing Jeff Buckley's gorgeous voice and that mean's goose bumps!

17. I'm Your Man (7)

18. The Future (6)

19. Uncollected Poems (11)

Dear Leonard,

You exited stage as a victorious Donald Trump entered it - to thefanfare of the Stones' 'You Can't always Get What You Want'. I suspect you did though. Perfect timing…

Thanks for what you've left us. X

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This arrived in the mail as an unexpected gift from Stockton, a fellow I met at Chicago's Volume II Cafe over our coincidental readings of Hegel. He was studying philosophy at DePaul, while I was doing similarly at Loyola. The friendship was immediate.

Years later, Stockton moved to Britain, but still came to stay at my place--at first annually, then tapering off so that it's been several years since last we saw him. It was towards the beginning of this period, while he was still visiting regularly, that Stockton, knowing my liking for Cohen's music, mailed me this collection of poetry and song.

[Galen Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this collection bc it has his songs and poetry - interesting bc I think overall his songs are more poetic but there’s a rawness to some of his poetry that’s really cool/not apparent in his songs. Loved some of the excerpts from beautiful losers that’s gonna have to get read soon

[ella ˎˊ˗ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m sorry but this man never disappoints me. I fear he understands being a 19 year old girl in love better than I do.

[vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

i was initially just going to pick a single poem/work of his to constitute this whole review because really his poetry speaks for itself, but how do i! it proves really very difficult as all of his works are so masterful i'm in awe of all of them i don't know how to pick just one... i think one of the most impressive things about going through all his poems and lyrics successively is just how good they all are—and how much each single one just as easily deserves the height and praise his most well known songs get; the way hallelujah is sandwiched between the night comes on and first we take manhattan as if it's just another song and not ingrained into our collective minds from an early age (and not just because of shrek i swear!!!) ... because i suppose it is just another of his songs but aah again, i find it so impressive how he managed to write so so many incredible poems and songs and letters and his control over language is so... (vicky find another word for 'impressive' challenge, or face the fact you'll never write as well as leonard cohen (though to be fair that was a always given)) awe-inspiring.

there's a poem in here ("french & english") where he essentially decries the english language (and i quote, "you are thinking piggy english thoughts / you sterilized swine of a language that has no genitals / you are peepee and kaka and nothing else") and alright perhaps that wasn't the best example of his writing to give as i say this, but i'm very glad he wrote in english because he's so deeply skillful at it and i'm very glad to be able to read it!

tbh it's very easy to go on about how good leonard cohen is, considering critics and simply everyone has been doing so for the past 5 or 6 odd decades, which is probably to say that i should stop talking right now because i don't have anything new to add, so, i think i'll just pick this one, i think most people should know it, and i loved reading it in the letter form it is:

— it’s four in the morning, the end of december. i’m writing you now just to see if you’re better. new york is cold but i like where i’m living. there’s music on clinton street all though the evening. i hear that you’re building your little house deep in the desert. you’re living for nothing now. i hope you’re keeping some kind of record. yes, and jane came by with a lock of your hair. she said that you gave it to her the night that you planned to go clear. did you ever go clear?

the last time we saw you you looked so much older. your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder. you’d been to the station to meet every train but then you came home without lili marlene. and you treated my woman to a flake of your life. and when she came back she was nobody’s wife. i see you there with a rose in your teeth, one more thin g---y thief. well, i see jane’s awake. she sends her regards.

and what can i tell you my brother my killer? what can i possibly say? i guess that i miss you. i guess i forgive you. i’m glad that you stood in my way. if you ever come by here for jane or for me, i want you to know that your enemy is sleeping. i want you to know that his woman is free. yes, and thanks for the trouble you took from her eyes. i thought it was there for good, so i never tried.

and jane came by with a lock of your hair. she said that you gave it to her that night that you planned to go clear.

sincerely, l. cohen.

... sorry it appears i still have more to say— on one hand: i really liked reading his songs as poems i think i perceive them a little differently that way and get to see their structure and all that, and on the other hand: i'm very very glad he set some of these to music very simply because they are bangers.

ok. well. it's four in the morning, the end of february. i'm writing this now for no particular reason

sincerely, v. [redacted for privacy reasons].

—p.s. listen to joan baez's cover of famous blue raincoat :~) no particular reason; i'm just fond of it.

[Ulysse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah Leonard, your low nasal has rung in my ear so long I'm low and nasal myself. Poet of unequalled eloquence, who not only wrote like a bad angel but also succeeded in making the bible sexy -- for that alone, you belong in one of Dante's Cantos.

[Paris (spiritedaway) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μάλλον το αγαπημένο μου σημείο του βιβλίου:
http://www.bibliotheque.gr/article/35419
Μα διαβάστε, σας παρακαλώ!

[Madi Hyatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I swear y’all this is just for my English class I’m not obsessed with Leonard Cohen or anything. But some of his poems are good!!

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Leonard Cohen, why do you rock my world so much? This book is STUNNING. (I love that it includes song lyrics mixed in with the poetry; based on "Sisters of Mercy" and "Hallelujah" alone, Leonard Cohen is my favorite poet of the 20th century.) I use his religious poetry in a class I teach at my Catholic church; it reads very much like a modern version of Augustine's "Confessions" or the Book of Job . . . painfully visceral and gut-wrenchingly human. If you come to Leonard Cohen in the right frame of mind (there is definitely a right and a wrong approach), he will change your life. No kidding.

[Erica English · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book a friend gave to me. He bought it for like a quarter at a book sale and gave it to me because he knew I liked and wrote poetry. I was in high school at the time and the only thing I knew about Leonard Cohen was that Jeff Buckley did a cover of his "Hallelujah" song. This book and Leonard's poetry and music have come to be some of the most precious gems in my life. I have a sort of silly ritual of reading "It's Probably Spring" somewhere around the beginning of spring every year now. Thank you Leonard for being a constant inspiration and thank you Jon for giving me what you thought was just a cheap book of poetry. ;)

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave my copy of this away to a loved one, give it back! No...kidding. It was appropriately gifted to a marvellous boy who I hope thinks better of me for parting with this treasure. Love the title for this collection.

[Trishy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - but what else can we expect from one of the greatest artists of our time?

[dangerous at every speed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cohen has clear tact and ability with poetic writing, but this collection was definitely 50/50.

Some were so exquisite I teared up (namely Beneath My Hands), and some I just raised an eyebrow, sat back and thought, really? I put this down to the fact that Cohen has been somewhat co-opted by fake deep, artsy fuckboys, who want to impress girls by knowing poetry. While I hate to think that has any influence on my taste, it's sure to seep in somewhere. Some of the poems struck me as exactly the kind of thing these fuckboys would like: somewhat metaphysical, with a jumble of metaphors and an ambiguous final line for good measure.

Regardless, they're well-written. He has definite talent with language and has some incredibly impactful and original turns of phrase.

[Zo Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

god. i just love leonard cohen more than anything. this is such a perfect dive into his work, the combo of his poetry and lyrics. so impactful, so insightful. the end of my life in art is something that i think about every single day. so is the reason i write. this book found me exactly when i needed it and i will forever be grateful for that.

[jonah · Rating 2 out of 5]

didnt rlly like 70% of the poems but the songs are 🤌🏻

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed many of his songs and poems through the years. This volume did not disappoint me

[Ava Ugolini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m marking this as read but I’ll never be done reading through this. Genuinely my bible. Leonard was an amazing artist but first he was a poet and that’s what makes his music so relatable and timeless

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay collection overall, but nothing outstanding.

Some of Leonard Cohen's lines are truly luminous, but this book paled in comparison to The Flame (although it's been a while since I read that one; perhaps it's not as great as I recall). Regardless, there are specific symbols/themes/ideas that Cohen seems to reprise repeatedly in his poems to the point where it gets boring.

His depictions of women are always a bit demeaning and obnoxious. Like what is this poem?

I perceived the outline of your breasts
through your Hallowe'en costume
I knew you were falling in love with me
because no other man could perceive
the advance of your bosom into his imagination

Like sorry bud but I don't know if a woman showing "the outline of her breasts" equates to her falling in love with you.

(some dude who read this poem is going to protest that's not the point! It's so much deeper than that! You just don't understand! )

Throughout the book I noted that a consistent theme was Cohen's sense of self-doubt and inadequacy. He regards women as muses, but also seems to be addicted to getting attention from them and using them for their beauty. Yet there's always an ongoing sense of being unable to fill the void.

For that, I feel for him. Cohen's battle with manic depression likely played a part in this feeling of emptiness that is evident in Cohen's poetry.

He once said, "When I speak of depression, I speak of a clinical depression that is the background of your entire life, a background of anguish and anxiety, a sense that nothing goes well, that pleasure is unavailable and all your strategies collapse."

You can note which poems were written during his depressive phases. One goes:

Love is a fire
It burns everyone
It disfigures everyone
It is the world's excuse
for being ugly

The lines that stand out the most are Cohen's love poems. When he is not trying to go on pseudo-psychological-religious-stream-of-consciousness-grandiose-rants or talking about women as sex objects or the cause of all his problems in life, he is able to write a subtle, uncliché love poem that reveals the heart he often tries to bury in jargon and meanderings.

I don't want a purpose
in your life
I want to be lost among
your thoughts
the way you listen to New York City
when you fall asleep

[Daniel Viramontes]

In the book Stranger music, the world renowned Canadian poet Leonard Cohen gives us a deep, personal glimpse into his life through his poetry. This book contains 432 pages of poetry and songs that fluctuate with emotion throughout.


Stranger music chronicles the life of Leonard Cohen through his poetry. This book is almost biographical as the poems in the book were written in the span of 30+ years of Cohen’s life. Each chapter reflects a different feeling Cohen felt during that time period of 30+ years. As you read this book these different feeling will become apparent..



The opening chapters of the book are filled with poems of love such as in I long to hold some lady, and lust such as in Chelsea’s Hotel, but as you progress through this book other topics are written about such as politics which is evident in the poem Democracy, religion such as in the poem Prayer for Messiah, and the nature of life itself such as in Hallelujah. This makes the book appealing to more than one audience. Leonard Cohen demonstrates a deep understanding on all the topics covered in this book and writes about them in a way that will both intrigue and mystify you. Cohen has a style of writing that is rarely seen today, he has a way of perfectly describing emotions in a way the average person cannot. Nonetheless the book can be a difficult read as some of the words may not be part of the common persons lexicon. Even though this book is a difficult one to fully understand you can still enjoy it.


Overall Stranger music is a book that everyone who is a poem enthusiast can enjoy. If you’re new to poetry this book may not be for you as it proves to be a difficult read. This book is deeply personal and it gives you a view into Leonard Cohen’s life while simultaneously making you think about your own. If you have spare time on your hands give this book a try.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of these poems are wonderful. Cohen writes on themes of love, sex, loss and depression. His poetry expresses his Judaism and Zen Buddhism, combining an earthiness with a deep spirituality. There is a Zen aesthetic that comes through many of these poems. Like Japanese haiku, Cohen's writing captures moment, feeling, and image in a few simple words (albeit in a different poetic structure). Some of Cohen's lines are like koan, the seemingly non-sensical questions posed by Zen roshis in order to get novices to think beyond rational thought. (The koan, or faux koan, that most of us know asks, what is the sound of one hand clapping?)

Here are a few samples from poems I especially enjoyed:

FOR ANNE
With Annie gone,
Whose eyes to compare
With the morning sun?

Not that I did compare,
But I do compare
Now that she's gone.


from FOR E.J.P.
I once believed a single line
in a Chinese poem could change
forever how blossoms fell
and that the moon itself climbed on
the grief of concise weeping men
to journey over cups of wine
I thought invasions were begun for crows
to pick at a skeleton
dynasties sown and spent
to serve the language of a fine lament
I thought governors ended their lives
as sweetly drunken monks
telling time by rain and candles
instructed by an insect's pilgriage
across the page -- all this
so one might send an exile's perfect letter
to an ancient hometown friend.

from DEMOCRACY
It's coming from the sorrow on the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of G-d in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

[Erich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has an assortment of song lyrics, poems dating from before LC's singing career, and excerpts from his two early novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers. As a teenager growing up in Toronto, I read Cohen's poetry and I was surprised to find many lines that had engraved themselves in my brain. Lovely lines... Then came Suzanne and the singing career. I didn't connect this directly to the poetry; it seemed a separate career, and it still does, in many ways. The two novels also were written before Cohen started singing. Beautiful Losers, written on the Greek island of Hydra, was a cult novel in the late 1960s but I don't know how it would stand up now. But the brief excerpts here work well, I think, to give you a flavour of his stream of consciousness book. Some years later I met Marianne at a party in Toronto and she told me some stories about LC and Suzanne, and more than a decade later, moving to Montreal, I worked in Cohen's favourite cafe on rue, St-Laurent and thought I glimpsed Suzanne once or twice walking down rue Ste-Catherine. Cohen was long gone from Canada by then but the inspiration I got in the cafe fuelled a couple books and the magazine journalism I was writing at the time. So reading this book brought back a lot of memories and had a resonance I hadn't expected. However, some of the poems I wanted to check out weren't in this volume, packed as it is, and I wished I hadn't sold the original Cohen poetry volumes from the 60s...

[Airam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better sung than read

[Alexis Hall]

I love this so much I accidentally dropped it in the bath one time, and now it is all wibbly and curly. It's exactly what it says on the tin - a collection of poems and songs by Leonard Cohen. If you love Leonard Cohen, then you'll love it. It's really that simple. I find him utterly enthralling - he's profound, beautiful, bitter, melancholy and exquisite by turns, occasionally simultaneously.

From Beneath My Hands:

When you call me close
to tell me
your body is not beautiful
I want my body and my hands
to be pools
for your looking and laughing.

[Josh Cohen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Leonard Cohen's songs, but the poems here were not for me. I didn't find there to be much substance to his verse. There are also some excerpts from some of his experimental, very bizarre novels of the 60s. This could only be recommended to Cohen super fans, I guess. Or folks who love everything Cohen wrote. I just like his songs.