Oh Leonard.
Eighty-two is a good long life, but for me he’s been taken away far too young, He’s one of my favorite songwriters. Every song is a novel, condensed into three or four minutes.
I’ve got to be honest – I prefer it when other people cover his music, for the most part. I’m not a fan of the production used on his stuff. There are a few exceptions, of course.
I was introduced to his music by the tribute album “I’m Your Fan.” It was a European release, and I only have it on cassette. You can find it out there on the internet.
Here are a couple tracks from there:
Johnny Cash was born to cover Leonard Cohen songs; here’s “Like a Bird on a Wire.” Supposedly, Kris Kristofferson told Cohen that he wants the lyrics from this on his tombstone. So do I.
Of course, everyone recognizes “Hallelujah;” here it is by Jeff Buckley, another good soul who left us too soon.
I’ll close with Cohen performing “Famous Blue Raincoat.”I’ve covered several of his songs, but I’ll never do this one; I’ll never be able to do it justice.
Thanks for the trouble you took from my eyes, L. Cohen. Requiem in pace.
Image by Shawn Carpenter . CC 2.0 License.
EARNOIZE 