Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, CC (born September 21, 1934 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter. His musical career has largely overshadowed his prior work as a poet and novelist, although he has continued to publish poetry sporadically after his breakthrough in the music industry.

Works

Albums

• Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)
• Songs from a Room (1969)
• Songs of Love and Hate (1971)
• Live Songs (1973)
• New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974)
• Death of a Ladies' Man (1977)
• Recent Songs (1979)
• Various Positions (1984)
• I'm Your Man (1988)
• The Future (1992)
• Cohen Live (1994)
• ' (2001)
• Ten New Songs (2001)
• Dear Heather (2004)

Books

• Let Us Compare Mythologies (poetry) 1956
• The Spice-Box of Earth (poetry) 1961
• The Favourite Game (novel) 1963
• Flowers for Hitler (poetry) 1964
• Beautiful Losers (novel) 1966
• Parasites of Heaven (poetry) 1966
• Selected Poems 1956–1968 (poetry) 1968
• The Energy of Slaves (poetry) 1972
• Death of a Lady's Man (poetry) 1978
• Book of Mercy (poetry) 1984
• Stranger Music (selected poems and songs) 1993

Soundtracks

Cohen's music has often been used in film soundtracks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) uses three songs from his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen: "Stranger Song" is McCabe's theme, "Winter Lady" is Mrs. Miller's, and "Sisters of Mercy" is the theme of the prositutes who work in their establishment. He also composed some incidental music for the movie.
• Bird on a Wire (1990) uses "Bird on a Wire" sung by The Neville Brothers.
• Natural Born Killers (1994) uses "The Future," "Waiting for the Miracle," and "Anthem," all from the album The Future.
• Exotica (movie) (1994) uses "Everybody Knows" from the album I'm Your Man.
• When Night Is Falling (1995) uses "Hallelujah"
• Breaking the Waves (1996) uses "Suzanne"
• Wonder Boys (2000) uses "Waiting for the Miracle."
• Secretary (2002) uses "I'm Your Man."
• The Life of David Gale (2003) uses "The Future."
• A Home at the End of the World (2004) uses "Suzanne" from Songs of Leonard Cohen.
• Pump Up the Volume (1990) uses several Cohen songs, most notably "Everybody Knows" performed by Concrete Blonde.
• Basquiat (1996) uses "Hallelujah" performed by John Cale
• Shrek (2001) uses a slightly censored version of John Cale's recording of "Hallelujah." The soundtrack album, however, replaces this with a version by Rufus Wainwright.

Tribute albums

• I'm Your Fan, from 1991, features Cohen's songs interpreted by a variety of folk and alternative rock acts, including R.E.M., Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Pixies, The Lilac Time and Geoffrey Oryema,
• Tower of Song, released in 1995, has a more mainstream pop-rock program that includes Sting, Jann Arden, Willie Nelson and Elton John.
• At least 32 tribute albums are released worldwide, mostly in non-English languages.

Cover songs

Many of Cohen's songs have been interpreted by other artists, occasionally receiving more popular attention than Cohen's own, typically minimalistic arrangements. Some of Cohen's most covered songs include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• "Avalanche," covered by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.
• "Bird on the Wire," covered (often as "Bird on a Wire") by Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Judy Collins, Fairport Convention, Willie Nelson, The Neville Brothers, Tim Hardin, and Our Lady Peace (at Live 8).
• "Everybody Knows," covered by Concrete Blonde, Don Henley, and the Washington Squares.
• "Famous Blue Raincoat," covered by Tori Amos, Joan Baez, Lloyd Cole, and Jennifer Warnes
• "First We Take Manhattan," covered by Joe Cocker, R.E.M., and Jennifer Warnes
• "Hallelujah," covered by Bono, Jeff Buckley, John Cale, Allison Crowe, k.d. lang, Bob Dylan, Rufus Wainwright, and Elisa. Cale's version (slightly edited) was featured in the movie Shrek, but Wainwright's replaced it on the soundtrack album, apparently because Wainwright is signed with Dreamworks SKG and Cale is not. The Shrek theme music was also based on "Hallelujah." In addition, the American TV show Scrubs used parts of Cale's "Hallelujah" (from Fragments of a Rainy Season, not from I'm Your Fan) and it is included on the Scrubs Soundtrack.
• "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," covered by Judy Collins, Roberta Flack, Claudine Longet, and Ian McCulloch
• "Joan of Arc," covered by Allison Crowe, Fabrizio de André, and Jennifer Warnes.
• "So Long, Marianne," covered by John Cale and Suzanne Vega.
• "Story of Isaac," covered by Roy Buchanan, Judy Collins, and Suzanne Vega
• "Suzanne," covered by Graeme Allwright, Judy Collins, Neil Diamond, Fairport Convention, Roberta Flack, Geoffrey Oryema, Peter Gabriel, Noel Harrison, and Nina Simone. R.E.M. recorded a song called "Hope" which they admit was indebted to "Suzanne;" Cohen gets co-songwriting credit for the song.
• "Tower of Song", covered by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.
• "Leonard Cohen's Day Job" by the Austin Lounge Lizards is not a cover per se, but it alludes to and parodies several songs, especially "I'm Your Man" and "Joan of Arc."

As of July 31, 2005, the site www.leonardcohenfiles.com had counted a total of 1044 published cover versions of Cohen's songs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~