Quite a profound and thought provoking song. It speaks the truth of the world as it is and has always been. Slavery is still a massive problem throughout the entire world, it is just hidden very well in certain countries compared to others.
Leonard Cohen was an incredible poet and I love his music. I have been listening to him since I was a teen and every song I listen to amazes me. This song is one of my favorites of his, it is such a telling story and one we can all relate to either in our own lives or in the lives of someone we have known. Nasty little secrets always do seem to come out in the end. More Leonard Cohen songs to listen to (Damn, there are so many great ones) "Happens To The Heart" "Dance Me To The End Of Love" "Suzanne" "Sisters Of Mercy" "Hallelujah" I think the line about "Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton for your ribbons and bows...", is saying that even though slavery ended long ago, for many the availability for work and jobs remains the same, there is no room for advancement among the undereducated and the oppressed. The words "for your ribbons and bows," is a statement about classes of people, Joe is picking the cotton and somebody else has all the ribbons and bows. I have books of this man's poetry and it is so profound. His songs are all taken from his poems but his poems are always well over 10 stanzas so he just has to pick a few stanzas for each of his songs. If you get the opportunity to read his poetry, I highly recommend it. Cohen saw himself as a poet but he needed to eat and feed his family so he learned how to play guitar and of course even though he never felt he was a great singer, he had to sing as part of earning a living. I love his voice, it is interesting and very compelling, you want to hear all the words he is saying. I have a CD of his tour when he was in his 80's (plus several other albums of his music), the videos of this old man performing are so powerful, sweet, honest and that gruff voice just takes it all over the top. Thank you for your wonderful reaction.
Greetings from Leonard's home, Canada. Welcome to the guy who gave charisma lessons to Elvis and Robert Plant, both of whom admired LC. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd saw him on his first London show in 2008, then brought his whole family to see him in the rain in rural England later that summer. To get a visual: DVD Live from London is best, and I suggest two songs: 'First We Take Manhattan' and 'I'm Your Man'. Peace, love and bellbottoms.
Brother, thank you so much for this reaction. Cohen is a giant, one of very few who can match up lyrically with Dylan. You catch every reference. Its awesome to watch
I enjoyed your reaction! Leonard Cohen is a brilliant song writer! The comments have many great suggestions for more songs (one of my favorites is Dance Me To The End Of Love). FYI-he wrote Hallelujah with about 80 verses!
Keep digging into Leonard. You’ll love him. Some great suggestions of songs already but a personal favourite is Anthem. Everybody Knows was written at the time of AIDS becoming a pandemic so that might give you context
Thank you so much for this! I had such a difficult time finding an analysis of the song that actually made sense, but I think because you know rap so well you also inherently understand and can relay the meaning of this song. Thank you thank you thank you!💖
Rap music almost pressures you in digging deeper into the lyrics. So yes that really does help when it comes to music like these and even metal music I came to find out. Because there is also a message in those type of music which nearly almost gets overlooked by the music behind it
A Canadian treasure but a magnificent poet for the world and a brilliant lyricist. His voice, well the tonal quality strikes me as being appropriate for his lyrics which were after all, almost always the reason for the song. Glad you enjoyed it 👍🏻
Brother, I haven't even started watching it yet, but I know it's going to be hilarious to see your face when you hear his voice for the first time. Keep up the great work! 🤘🎵
I absolutely love songs with interesting lyrics. Lyrics I can hear, that I can sing along to in my head especially if there is a storyline. Leonard Cohen's music is very satisfying in that respect. Brilliant!!😁😁🇬🇧
This entire song is poetry. Sad poetry but poetry nonetheless. The most important part in my opinion is his recognition of institutional racism and how little change there really has been in our world.
For some reason whenever I post this on a comment thread, people like to dispute it. However, in fact, this song is largely about the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. The lyrics are point to point on topic, and very well describe what it was like in that time period, when symptoms of AIDS were visible and prominent as treatments and life extension drugs were just in their infancy; it's about what people would think or assume when seeing a person with this affliction. It's also about how society and government dealt with it and because certain groups of people were more associated with it than others (though it absolutely was present throughout all 'groups', prejudice and ostracization were common. It also represents how it felt to be out in the singles/dating world at the time, for many. Yes, the song can also be interpreted and applied in various ways and does have undercurrents of general takes on society at the time (and very much still relevant today) but that is what this song is about. Interesting reaction. Leonard Cohen's music is pretty fascinating overall. I love his voice so much.
I always found it interesting that he changed his lyrics in "The Future" from "Give me crack and anal sex" to "Give me crack and careless sex". There was a definite shift in moral view there.
@@JamesLMason He didn't really change the lyrics. He just didn't like to sing the cruder version in front of an audience. The song was released in 1992 and the alternative lyrics were already sung in 1993 (on TV probably for censorship reasons, but also in live concerts). But he still occasionally used the original lyrics much later (for instance in Moscow in 2010, but then also in France and Germany). So it hardly indicates a shift in his position, I guess.
@@freyc1 thanks for the information. I was not aware that he was using alternate lyrics that early on. It's made even more interesting because with I'm your Man, he sang lyrics which were more explicit, on his last tour.
Adam and Eve were the father and mother of mankind-The first humans, flawless in paradise before the Fall from Grace, into darkness from Satan’s temptation-Ousted from the Garden. They were the first and last naked innocent people. All else, their children, us, are clothed in shame. Hence the naked man and woman are just a shining artifact of the past.
Thank you kindly. One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite poets
This is the best reaction ive seen to this song! You really seemed to appreciate it! Even singing/rapping along!
Great response- you’re listening.
Quite a profound and thought provoking song. It speaks the truth of the world as it is and has always been. Slavery is still a massive problem throughout the entire world, it is just hidden very well in certain countries compared to others.
Leonard Cohen HALELUYA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Leonard Cohen was an incredible poet and I love his music. I have been listening to him since I was a teen and every song I listen to amazes me. This song is one of my favorites of his, it is such a telling story and one we can all relate to either in our own lives or in the lives of someone we have known. Nasty little secrets always do seem to come out in the end. More Leonard Cohen songs to listen to (Damn, there are so many great ones) "Happens To The Heart" "Dance Me To The End Of Love" "Suzanne" "Sisters Of Mercy" "Hallelujah" I think the line about "Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton for your ribbons and bows...", is saying that even though slavery ended long ago, for many the availability for work and jobs remains the same, there is no room for advancement among the undereducated and the oppressed. The words "for your ribbons and bows," is a statement about classes of people, Joe is picking the cotton and somebody else has all the ribbons and bows. I have books of this man's poetry and it is so profound. His songs are all taken from his poems but his poems are always well over 10 stanzas so he just has to pick a few stanzas for each of his songs. If you get the opportunity to read his poetry, I highly recommend it. Cohen saw himself as a poet but he needed to eat and feed his family so he learned how to play guitar and of course even though he never felt he was a great singer, he had to sing as part of earning a living. I love his voice, it is interesting and very compelling, you want to hear all the words he is saying. I have a CD of his tour when he was in his 80's (plus several other albums of his music), the videos of this old man performing are so powerful, sweet, honest and that gruff voice just takes it all over the top. Thank you for your wonderful reaction.
Greetings from Leonard's home, Canada. Welcome to the guy who gave charisma lessons to Elvis and Robert Plant, both of whom admired LC. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd saw him on his first London show in 2008, then brought his whole family to see him in the rain in rural England later that summer. To get a visual: DVD Live from London is best, and I suggest two songs: 'First We Take Manhattan' and 'I'm Your Man'. Peace, love and bellbottoms.
Brother, thank you so much for this reaction. Cohen is a giant, one of very few who can match up lyrically with Dylan. You catch every reference. Its awesome to watch
Terrific poet and musician. His life, and how he lived it... What a man!
I enjoyed your reaction!
Leonard Cohen is a brilliant song writer! The comments have many great suggestions for more songs (one of my favorites is Dance Me To The End Of Love).
FYI-he wrote Hallelujah with about 80 verses!
Brilliant poet, songwriter. Closing Time is fun, but there are so many. One of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. RIP to a great man
Love Leonard Cohen! I never think of him when listing favorites, but I always enjoy listening to him. And just something about his voice.
Keep digging into Leonard. You’ll love him. Some great suggestions of songs already but a personal favourite is Anthem. Everybody Knows was written at the time of AIDS becoming a pandemic so that might give you context
Thank you so much for this! I had such a difficult time finding an analysis of the song that actually made sense, but I think because you know rap so well you also inherently understand and can relay the meaning of this song. Thank you thank you thank you!💖
Rap music almost pressures you in digging deeper into the lyrics. So yes that really does help when it comes to music like these and even metal music I came to find out. Because there is also a message in those type of music which nearly almost gets overlooked by the music behind it
A Canadian treasure but a magnificent poet for the world and a brilliant lyricist. His voice, well the tonal quality strikes me as being appropriate for his lyrics which were after all, almost always the reason for the song.
Glad you enjoyed it 👍🏻
Sounds like Joe Crocker light. Leonard Cohen has a beautiful voice of course.
First time i heard this song was in the movie Exotica, in my opinion the best Canadian movie of all time.
Brother, I haven't even started watching it yet, but I know it's going to be hilarious to see your face when you hear his voice for the first time. Keep up the great work! 🤘🎵
I absolutely love songs with interesting lyrics. Lyrics I can hear, that I can sing along to in my head especially if there is a storyline. Leonard Cohen's music is very satisfying in that respect. Brilliant!!😁😁🇬🇧
Others have said this already, but it bears repeating - you've really picked up what Cohen is laying down.
Now listen to his song "Hallelujah", that is an amazing song that nobody can top!
As much as I agree to this statement but in my opinion there's another that stands on the same level, it's from John Cale
Oh Canada !
This entire song is poetry. Sad poetry but poetry nonetheless. The most important part in my opinion is his recognition of institutional racism and how little change there really has been in our world.
For some reason whenever I post this on a comment thread, people like to dispute it. However, in fact, this song is largely about the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. The lyrics are point to point on topic, and very well describe what it was like in that time period, when symptoms of AIDS were visible and prominent as treatments and life extension drugs were just in their infancy; it's about what people would think or assume when seeing a person with this affliction. It's also about how society and government dealt with it and because certain groups of people were more associated with it than others (though it absolutely was present throughout all 'groups', prejudice and ostracization were common. It also represents how it felt to be out in the singles/dating world at the time, for many. Yes, the song can also be interpreted and applied in various ways and does have undercurrents of general takes on society at the time (and very much still relevant today) but that is what this song is about. Interesting reaction. Leonard Cohen's music is pretty fascinating overall. I love his voice so much.
I always found it interesting that he changed his lyrics in "The Future" from "Give me crack and anal sex" to "Give me crack and careless sex". There was a definite shift in moral view there.
@@JamesLMason He didn't really change the lyrics. He just didn't like to sing the cruder version in front of an audience. The song was released in 1992 and the alternative lyrics were already sung in 1993 (on TV probably for censorship reasons, but also in live concerts). But he still occasionally used the original lyrics much later (for instance in Moscow in 2010, but then also in France and Germany). So it hardly indicates a shift in his position, I guess.
@@freyc1 thanks for the information. I was not aware that he was using alternate lyrics that early on.
It's made even more interesting because with I'm your Man, he sang lyrics which were more explicit, on his last tour.
If you weren't a cynic in your life before Leonard, you are afterward.
I don't think Cohen is cynical at all, he is a realist though. I would argue that his poetry generally takes a life-affirming view.
Nederlands elftalshirt❤ zoek naar I am a hotel van Cohen, groetjes
If you liked this, you should listen to his song You Want It Darker.
The song is taken down for some reason
Please do George Harrison - That is All
Adam and Eve were the father and mother of mankind-The first humans, flawless in paradise before the Fall from Grace, into darkness from Satan’s temptation-Ousted from the Garden. They were the first and last naked innocent people.
All else, their children, us, are clothed in shame.
Hence the naked man and woman are just a shining artifact of the past.
Dance me
How do you know he is meaning a woman he might be referring to him ?