Other songs performed/written by Cohen but not recorded by him


Chelsea Hotel #1

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel, You were talking so brave and so free. Giving me head on the unmade bed While the limousines wait in the street And those were the reasons and that was New York, I was running for the money and the flesh That was called love for the workers in song, It still is for those of us left. But you got away, didn't you, baby? You just threw it all to the crowd. You got away, they can't pay you now For making your sweet little song. I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel, In the winter of 67. My friends of that year they were all trying to go queer And me I was just getting even And those were the reasons and that was New York, I was running for the money and the flesh That was called love for the workers in song, It still is for those of us left. But you got away, didn't you, baby? You just threw it all to the crowd. You got away, they can't pay you now For making your sweet little song.

Priests

And who will write love songs for you when I am lord at last and your body is some little highway shrine that all my priests have passed, that all my priests have passed? My priests they will put flowers there, they will stand before the glass, but they'll wear away your little window, love, they will trample on the grass, they will trample on the grass. And who will aim the arrow that men will follow through your grace when I am lord of memory and all your armour has turned to lace, and all your armour has turned to lace? The simple life of heroes, and the twisted life of saints, they just confuse the sunny calendar with their red and golden paints, with their red and golden paints. And all of you have seen the dance, that God has kept from me, but he has seen me watching you when all your minds were free when all your minds were free. And who will write love songs for you ... My priests they will put flowers there ...

God is Alive, Magic is Afoot (Lyrics: Cohen, recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie)

God is alive, magic is afoot God is alive, magic is afoot God is alive, magic is afoot God is afoot, magic is alive Alive is afoot, magic never died God never sickened Many poor men lied Many sick men lied Magic never weakened Magic never hid Magic always ruled God is afoot, God never died God was ruler Though his funeral lengthened Though his mourners thickened Magic never fled Though his shrouds were hoisted The naked God did live Though his words were twisted The naked magic thrived Though his death was published Round and round the world The heart did not believe Many hurt men wondered Many struck men bled Magic never faltered Magic always lead Many stones were rolled But God would not lie down Many wild men lied Many fat men listened Though they offered stones Magic still was fed Though they locked their coffers God was always served Magic is afoot, God is alive Alive is afoot Alive is in command Many weak men hungered Many strong men thrived Though they boast of solitude God was at their side Nor the dreamer in his cell Nor the captain on the hill Magic is alive Though his death was pardoned Round and round the world The heart would not believe Though laws were carved in marble They could not shelter men Though altars built in parliaments They could not order men Police arrested magic and magic went with them Mmmmm.... for magic loves the hungry But magic would not tarry It moves from arm to arm It would not stay with them Magic is afoot It cannot come to harm It rests in an empty palm It spawns in an empty mind But magic is no instrument Magic is the end Many men drove magic But magic stayed behind Many strong men lied They only passed through magic And out the other side Many weak men lied They came to God in secret And though they left Him nourished They would not tell who healed Though mountains danced before them They said that God was dead Though his shrouds were hoisted The naked God did live This I mean to whisper to my mind This I mean to laugh within my mind This I mean my mind to serve Til' service is but magic Moving through the world And mind itself is magic Coursing through the flesh And flesh itself is magic Dancing on a clock And time itself The magic length of God God is alive, magic is afoot . . .

Minute Prologue

I've been listening to all the dissention. I've been listening to all the pain. And I feel that no matter what I do for you, it's going to come back again. But I think that I can heal it, but I think that I can heal it, I'm a fool, but I think I can heal it with this song.

Passing Through (written by ?)

I saw Jesus on the cross on a hill called Calvary "Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?" He said, "Talk of love not hate, things to do - it's getting late. I've so little time and I'm only passing through." Passing through, passing through. Sometimes happy, sometimes blue, glad that I ran into you. Tell the people that you saw me passing through. I saw Adam leave the Garden with an apple in his hand, I said "Now you're out, what are you going to do?" "Plant some crops and pray for rain, maybe raise a little cane. I'm an orphan now, and I'm only passing through." Passing through, passing through ... I was with Washington at Valley Ford, shivering in the snow. I said, "How come the men here suffer like they do?" "Men will suffer, men will fight, even die for what is right even though they know they're only passing through" Passing through, passing through ... I was with Franklin Roosevelt's side on the night before he died. He said, "One world must come out of World War Two" (ah, the fool) "Yankee, Russian, white or tan," he said, "A man is still a man. We're all on one road, and we're only passing through." Passing through, passing through ... (let's do it one more time) Passing through, passing through ...

Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)

I was walking in New York City and I brushed up against the man in front of me. I felt a cardboard placard on his back. And when we passed a streetlight, I could read it, it said "Please don't pass me by - I am blind, but you can see - I've been blinded totally - Please don't pass me by." I was walking along 7th Avenue, when I came to 14th Street I saw on the corner curious mutilations of the human form; it was a school for handicapped people. And there were cripples, and people in wheelchairs and crutches and it was snowing, and I got this sense that the whole city was singing this: Oh please don't pass me by, oh please don't pass me by, for I am blind, but you can see, yes, I've been blinded totally, oh please don't pass me by. And you know as I was walking I thought it was them who were singing it, I thought it was they who were singing it, I thought it was the other who was singing it, I thought it was someone else. But as I moved along I knew it was me, and that I was singing it to myself. It went: Please don't pass me by, oh please don't pass me by, for I am blind, but you can see, well, I've been blinded totally, oh please don't pass me by. Oh please don't pass me by. Now I know that you're sitting there deep in your velvet seats and you're thinking "Uh, he's up there saying something that he thinks about, but I'll never have to sing that song." But I promise you friends, that you're going to be singing this song: it may not be tonight, it may not be tomorrow, but one day you'll be on your knees and I want you to know the words when the time comes. Because you're going to have to sing it to yourself, or to another, or to your brother. You're going to have to learn to sing this song, it goes: Please don't pass me by, ah you don't have to sing this .. not for you. Please don't pass me by, for I am blind, but you can see, yes, I've been blinded totally, oh please don't pass me by. Well I sing this for the Jews and the Gypsies and the smoke that they made. And I sing this for the children of England, their faces so grave. And I sing this for a saviour with no one to save. Hey, won't you be naked for me? Hey, won't you be naked for me? It goes: Please don't pass me by, oh please don't pass me by, for I am blind, but you can see, yes, I've been blinded totally, oh now, please don't pass me by. Now there's nothing that I tell you that will help you connect the blood tortured night with the day that comes next. But I want it to hurt you, I want it to end. Oh, won't you be naked for me? Oh now: Please don't pass me by, oh please don't pass me by, for I am blind, but you can see, but I've been blinded totally, oh, please don't pass me by. Well I sing this song for you Blonde Beasts, I sing this song for you Venuses upon your shells on the foam of the sea. And I sing this for the freaks and the cripples, and the hunchback, and the burned, and the burning, and the maimed, and the broken, and the torn, and all of those that you talk about at the coffee tables, at the meetings, and the demonstrations, on the streets, in your music, in my songs. I mean the real ones that are burning, I mean the real ones that are burning I say, please don't pass me by, oh now, please don't pass me by, for I am blind, yeah but you can see, ah now, I've been blinded totally, oh no, please don't pass me by. I know that you still think that its me. I know that you think that there's somebody else. I know that these words aren't yours. But I tell you friends that one day You're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down on your knees, you're going to get down .. Oh, please don't pass me by, oh, please don't pass me by, for I am blind, yeah but you can see, yes, I've been blinded totally, oh, please don't pass me by. Well you know I have my songs and I have my poems. I have my book and I have the army, and sometimes I have your applause. I make some money, but you know what my friends, I'm still out there on the corner. I'm with the freaks, I'm with the hunted, I'm with the maimed, yes I'm with the torn, I'm with the down, I'm with the poor. Come on now ... Ah, please don't pass me by, well I've got to go now friends, but, please don't pass me by, for I am blind, yeah but you can see, oh, I've been blinded, I've been blinded totally, oh now, please don't pass me by. Now I want to take away my dignity, yes take my dignity. My friends, take my dignity, take my form, take my style, take my honour, take my courage, take my time, take my time, .. time .. 'Cause you know I'm with you singing this song. And I wish you would, I wish you would, I wish you would go home with someone else. Wish you'd go home with someone else. I wish you'd go home with someone else. Don't be the person that you came with. Oh, don't be the person that you came with, Oh don't be the person that you came with. Ah, I'm not going to be. I can't stand him. I can't stand who I am. That's why I've got to get down on my knees. Because I can't make it by myself. I'm not by myself anymore because the man I was before he was a tyrant, he was a slave, he was in chains, he was broken and then he sang: Oh, please don't pass me by, oh, please don't pass me by, for I am blind, yes I am blind, Oh but you can see, yes, I've been blinded totally, oh, please don't pass me by. Well I hope I see you out there on the corner. Yeah I hope as I go by that I hear you whisper with the breeze. Because I'm going to leave you now, I'm going to find me someone new. Find someone knew. And please don't pass me by.

Queen Victoria (A Cohen poem set to music)

Queen Victoria, My father and all his tobacco loved you, I love you too in all your forms, the slim and lovely virgin floating among German beer, the mean governess of the huge pink maps, the solitary mourner of a prince. Queen Victoria, I am cold and rainy, I am dirty as a glass roof in a train station, I feel like an empty cast iron exhibition, I want ornaments on everything, because my love, she gone with other boys. Queen Victoria, do you have a punishment under the white lace, will you be short with her, will you make her read those little Bibles, will you spank her with a mechanical corset. I want her pure as power, I want her skin slightly musty with petticoats will you wash the easy bidet out of her head? Queen Victoria, I'm not much nourished by modern love, will you come into my life with your sorrow and your black carriages, And your perfect memories. Queen Victoria, the Twentieth Century belongs to you and me. Let us be two severe giants not less lonely for our partnership, who discolour test tubes in the halls of Science, who turn up unwelcome at every World's Fair, heavy with proverbs and corrections, confusing the star-dazed tourists with our incomparable sense of loss.

Die Gedanken Sind Frei (apparently completely/partly performed by Cohen)

Die Gedanken sind frei! Wer kann sie erraten? Sie fliegen vorbei wie naechtliche Schatten. Kein Mensch kann sie wissen, kein Jaeger erschiessen mit Pulver und Blei. Die Gedanken sind frei! [Thoughts are free! Who can guess them? They fly along like nightly treasures No man can know them No hunter can shoot them With powder and lead Thoughts are free!] Ich denke, was ich will und was mich begluecket, doch alles in der Still und wie es sich schicket. Mein Wunsch und Begehren kann niemand verwehren, es bleibet dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei! [I think about what I want and what makes me happy But everything quietly, and just how it comes. To my wish and desire Nobody can oppose, It stays this way: Thoughts are free!] Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker, das alles sind rein vergebliche Werke, mit Pulver und Blei. Die Gedanken sind frei! [And if they lock me in a dark dungeon That is something that can be forgiven Cause my thoughts Tear up the bars And walls. Thoughts are free!] Ich denke, was ich will und was mich begluecket ... [I think about what I want and what makes me happy ...] Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker ... [And if they lock me in a dark dungeon ...] Ich liebe den Wein, mein Maedchen vor allen, sie tut mir allein am besten gefallen. Ich bin nicht alleine bei meinem Glas Weine, mein Maedchen dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei! [I love wine, my girl most of all, Only me she pleases best I am not alone With my glass of wine My girl is with me: Thoughts are free!] Drum will ich auf immer den Sorgen entsagen und will mich auch nimmer mit Grillen mehr plagen. Man kann ja im Herzen stets lachen und scherzen und denken dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei! [That's why I will never worry anymore And I will never tease myself with whims anymore Because in one's heart One can keep laughing and joking While thinking Thoughts are free!]

Store Room (by ?) [ I am less than happy with the lyrics transcribed here,

if you can suggest corrections, by all mean do so ] I love you, without caring whom you love. My hands below the belt, or my hands above in the arms of other men, or in my bed again. It's just a man, Taking what he needs, From the store room, Store room, store room. I love to see you sitting there upon your throne, your preachers all around you being bored, and your prophet straight and tall. And yet they'll undermine it all. Just a man, just a man, taking what he needs, from the store room, store room, store room. Yeah, Shakespeare said it all, then he said no more and he left me feeling just like a two bit whore. Well the silence broke my heart, but yes I spread my legs apart. It's just a man ... ????? ????? The hermit in the Wild, the parent in the child. Just a man ... Oh my love, let us unpin you, ???? you done, bringing more: the mother and the father, the daughter and the son. But should one refuse to come, it does not subtract the sum It's just a man ... It's not a (due?) of burning pounds that ruins your mind like a spoon that you turn and you turn and you don't unwind, Though these wars that you did not stop, they don't tear your sleep apart. It's just a man ... ???? that keeps you up, What a (moon?) coming like a headlight through the window Not the thumbnail of a screen, (?) No best way to dream (?) It's just a man ... Now the woman by your side is she awake? But there's nothing you want to give her, and there's nothing that you really want to take. You don't even try to prove that the noisy neighbor's making love. (?) It's just a man ... I love you without caring whom you love ...

Do I Have To Dance All Night

I'm Forty-One, the moon is full, you make love very well. You touch me like I touch myself, I like you Mademoiselle. You're so fresh and you're so new, I do enjoy you, Miss. There's nothing I would rather do than move around just like this But do I have to dance all night? But do I have to dance all night? Ooh tell me, Bird of Paradise, do I have to dance all night? You never really have to tell me what you really think of me - alright. Let's say I'm doing fine, but do I have to dance all night? Do I have to dance all night? ... I learned this step a while ago. I had to practice it while everybody slept. I waited half my life for you, you know, I didn't even think that you'd accept. And here you are before me in the flesh saying "Yes, yes, yes!" But do I have to dance all night? ... I learned this step a while ago ... But do I have to dance all night? ...

Tennessee Waltz (New second verse written by Cohen)

I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz when an old friend I happened to see. I introduced him to my darlin' and while they were dancin' my friend stole my sweetheart from me. I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz 'cause I know just how much I have lost. Yes, I lost my little darlin' the night they were playing that beautiful Tennessee Waltz I remember the night ... She goes dancin' with the darkness to the Tennessee Waltz and I feel like I'm falling apart and it's stronger than drink and it's deeper than sorrow this darkness she left in my heart I remember the night ... That beautiful Tennessee Waltz

Misty Blue (outtake from RECENT SONGS)

Oh but it's been such a long, long time. Thought I'd got you off my mind. Looks like I can't, just the thought of you turns my whole world a misty blue. Just the mention of your name fans the flicker to a flame. I can't forget the things we used to do. My whole world turns misty blue. You know I should forget you I really should, and heaven knows that I tried. But when I told you, when I said that we were through deep in my heart I lied Baby, oh what a long, long time. Thought I'd get you off my mind. Oh but I can't, just the thought of you turns my world misty blue And the very mention of your name fans the flicker to a flame. I think of things we used to do, my whole world turns misty blue.

Song of Bernadette (written by Warnes/Cohen, recorded by Warnes)

There was a child named Bernadette I heard the story long ago She saw the Queen of Heaven once And kept the vision in her soul No one believed what she had seen No one believed what she heard That there were sorrows to be healed And mercy, mercy in this world So many hearts I find Broke like yours and mine Torn by what we've done and can't undo I just want to hold you Won't you let me hold you Like Bernadette would do We've been, we fall, we fly We mostly fall, we moostly run And every now and then we try To mend the damage that we've done Tonight, tonight I cannot rest I've got this joy inside my breast To think that I did not forget That child, that song of Bernadette So many hearts I find ...

You Don't Know What It's Like (by ?)

There's a light, a very special light, never ever shone on me. I would like my whole life to be, with someone like you ... with someone ... with someone like ... You don't know what it's like, You don't know what it's like, to love somebody, to love somebody, the way I love you. There's a way, a very special way, To look at each and every single thing. Ah, but what good would that bring, if I ain't got you ... if I ain't ... if I ain't got you. You don't know what it's like, I don't think you really, really know what it's like, to love somebody, to love somebody, the way I love you, the way I love you. There's a light, a special kind of light, never ever shone on me. I would like my whole life to be, with someone like you ... with someone ... with someone like ... Baby, you don't know what it's like, You, you just don't know what it's like, to love somebody, to love somebody, the way I love you. You don't know what it's like, I don't think you really, really know what it's like, to love somebody, to love the way I love you.

Whither Thou Goest (from the Book of Ruth)

Whither thou goest I will go Whither thou lodgest I will lodge Thy people shall be, My people. Whither thou goest I will go Whither thou goest I will go ... Whither thou goest I will go ...

I've Counted What I Have (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Michael) I've counted what I have; it's not enough And what I need I do not dare to say. I've heard the soul is diamond in the rough That pain must polish it to a bright display; But mine is diamond dust that's blown away. (Angels) I've counted what I have; it's not enough And what I need I do not dare to say. I've heard the soul is diamond in the rough That pain must polish it to a bright display; But mine is diamond dust that's blown away. (Michael) And covered up the world with glittering -- Come back my soul, I cry, it won't obey, And I'm the empty shape of everything ... Come back my soul, come back to me I sing. I'm sick with greed, with unrequited greed And everyman becomes my enemy. I need his woman, his career I need For what he has, he's taken it from me And what is mine he uses clumsily. That pagan there pretending he can dance, This Christian peddling his humility, These carbons of Hitlerian romance, These lovers photographed without their pants. (Frank, Louis & Then, Doubt, sloppy mother mistress that you Jean-Marc) Can't get rid of, who loves you more the more You turn away, whose perfume's pity, who Isn't feeling well, whose shoulder's sore -- Doubt comes generous as a dinosaur. (Doubt) O love forget this metaphysic bit About the lost world and the grieving heart You really can't believe is haunting it; While you brood here, other lovers part Their lips, prettier than you, and just as smart. (F, L & J-M) Doubt has all the reasons why you have to fail And you agree, you've heard them all before. Her heart is broken and her breath is stale And you say, Tell me more my nightingale. (Doubt) Give up your conquering plan, give up your plan. Time makes a choir of our lonely art And women know that since the world began There never was, there is no leading man! (F, L & J-M) Oo tell me more my nightingale. (Doubt & Pinky) And women know that since the world began There never was, there is no leading man. (Michael) I've counted what I have; it's not enough. And women know that since the world began There never was, there is no leading man. (F, L & J-M) Tell me more my nightingale. (Doubt & Pinky) There's no leading man - no leading man!

Wishing Window (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Angels) Come, sleeper to the window, do you know Us know? Have we changed? Have you seen us here Before? Do you remember long ago You summoned us across the high frontier Of sleep, and bid us urgently appear. You called, we came, we waited every night, Like crystals in solution coming clear, Until your dream was sharp enough and bright To waken you with stabs of appetite. (Michael) Is this the moment in my story when The messengers of destiny prepare The usual historic specimen, Some lonely little hero starving there, And feed him with the fruits of solitaire? Is this my miracle of bread and fishes? This the mystery of answered prayer? Is this my table laid with golden dishes? (Angels) Let us not say prayer, let's just say wishes. Don't stand there dreaming, let us in, It wasn't all that easy getting here. We had To metamorphosize at least a hundred Thousand times through all the dreary realms of Sense, just to get us from the astral, to The mental, to the solid and the dense. And that's not counting countless times we spent Manifesting aimlessly as Elements of chaos in the undifferentiated Anti-universe before We even had a chance to be unborn As shadowy particals in streams of light -- Now hurry up, we haven't got all night! (Michael) What am I supposed to do? (Angels) Ask for something. (Michael) I can't think. (Angels) Come on darling. (Michael) Help me! (Angels) You can ask for peace on earth. There's a few That do. Or you can ask for peace of mind. It's very rare but we've had one or two. Or ask that human suffering unwind And justify itself by what's behind. Too abstract -- somewhat off the beaten track. We'd like to have this contract sealed and signed. Then we must get back -- ask for what you lack And we will leave you, sweet insomniac. (Michael) Well could I have someone to love? (Angels) You can (Michael) Can I send her away? (Angels) We have written it down. (Michael) Then could I call her back again? (Angels) You certainly can, you merry-go-man. (Michael) Could I write whatever's in my heart? (Angels) It's on your desk, the writer's mighty pen. (Michael) And could I sing whatever's in my heart? (Angels) Just close your eyes and keep your lips apart. (Michael) I could have my heart's desire when And where and how my heart desires it? And could I bring the whole world to my heart? (Angels) O Jesus, not the heart, the heart again So boring. Everyone's like everyone Your famous heart is like an onion, All layers and layers of wild distress All gathered into rings round nothingness. (Michael) But can I have it, can I have it? (Angels) Yes! (Michael) If woman, heart and song are mine The rest will come, where do I sign? (Troupe) But could he write whatever's in his heart? (Angels) It's on his desk, the writer's mighty pen. (Troupe) And could he sing whatever's in his heart? (Angels) He'll close his eyes and keep his lips apart (Everyone) And could he have his heart's desire when And where and how his heart desires it? (Michael) And could I bring the whole world to my heart? (Everyone) O Jesus, not the heart, the heart again So boring. Everyone's like everyone Your famous heart is like an onion, All layers and layers of wild distress All gathered into rings round nothingness. (Michael) But can I have it? (Troupe) Can he have it? (Angels) Yes! (Michael) Can I have it? (Troupe) Can he have it? (Everyone) Yes! (Angels) The night is ending, we have many duties Still, much gold and silver light to spill On anxious girls and frightened boys like you, All brooding deeply on some window sill. But one condition there remains to fill. One term before the heart begins to play With other hearts the music of its will. (Michael) If I don't agree? (Angels) Still you have to pay The ordinary price that humans pay... With suff'ring, joy, redemption, and decay! (Michael) All my heart's desire ... let's keep the part about joy. (Angels) It's a package. (Michael) ...Suffering, redemption, and decay! (Angels) It's a bitch. (Michael) I have to get some sleep, I'm opening tomorrow night. (Angels) Then you agree? (Michael) Yes, yes, I agree. (Angels) ...Do you remember long ago You summoned us across the high frontier Of sleep and bid us urgently appear.

The Throne of Desire (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Michael) Their bodies Triumphant Their power unfurled I know I am nothing And women the world! A slave to their favours Their no and their yes I'm crushed in the crease Of a cotton dress And I'm dead except In their company And I'm only at rest When they motion to me And night after night I turn to myself And I raise them Out of my panic And they come to me Willing at last Inflamed and fast Mutual and graphic. And suddenly they drill my heart With cavities of absence And they cover their thighs with cellophane And they cover their breasts with a shadow And they nail my good right hand to a wall in the attic O take me away From the thorns and the fire And let me recline On the Throne of Desire From the Throne of Desire I make this solemn decree Every woman I want Will want, will want, will want Will more than want me! o o o

Throne of Desire Variations (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

Let me start with you Miss Shy Bundled up in your mother's lie Tip toe, tip toe Hiding your silky pleasure Miss Shy come to me Along the snowy paths of modesty Tip toe, tip toe Hiding your silky treasure Come to me with downcast eyes Come to me and claim the prize Of your outrageous pleasure How I like you Miss Shy Bundled up in your mother's lie Tip toe -- Claim your outrageous pleasure! o o o And you I want strong With your hatred intact With your father's pipe And your brother's bat And your quaint belief In holy authority With your discipline And your Darwin claws And your legal eye On the peacock's flaws I see what fallen man Was meant to be With your absolute No man can refute Your absolutely unique Contempt for the weak Down on our paws There are no laws Kiss me where I can not speak You I want strong With your hatred intact With your father's pipe And your brother's bat Now kiss me Where I cannot speak! o o o You I want for my friend To gossip with me and drink tea To walk down by the river's bend You I want for my friend To watch the water going by The swallows climbing above To tell me that I lie When I tell you I cannot love, Cannot love To know my heart better than me To be my friend in charity To speak of lovers old and new To say to me, what they've done to you You I want for my friend To make some sense of our difference To eat and drink together To comfort one another, And may our conversation never end! o o o And you I want your Beauty hidden From all Sight but my Own So none may know your womanhood Or hear you moan Your pleasures To an infant thumb You will be True to me There will be no Infidelity For I will weave A cloak so tight About your loveliness No man will ever guess The wild commands you whisper From your childhood to the night And what Drops the moon About a man And draws Him tidal to Your lips And lets your nipples harden I can Hear you moan Your pleasures To an infant thumb And you I want To wink at me And you I want To think of me You I want above I want you below You I want veiled And you to know I want you clumbsy I want you skilled You be ferocious You be mild... You be foolish You be wise You stay here You stay outside You comb out your hair You keep it curled I want, I want, I want I want to know the world You comb out your hair You keep yours curled I want, I want to know the world! o o o And you Who did not come tonight I will wait for you And you Who are not born I will write for you And you Who must appear In veils of chance And mystery I will kneel I will kneel Like a child Who's watching Mary As she stands Upon the air In gentle splendour In the black Mouth of a cave Open-armed and radiant To save mankind And all the broken World to mother And I swear By the obscure Truth Of this Enfolded heart I swear By The unrequited greed Of this Human heart And all Its Disappointed pleasures I swear By The deep light Of my soul Stained And covered over With Intrigues of pride Whose mercy is To let me sing I swear That I will be For the one Who will not come To me I swear that I will be Her lover Her eternal And imperfect Spirit lover.

Angels Eyes (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Angels) You are an angel, dare You mess around down there Arms open wide to save Mankind you are depraved What is wrong oh what? (Judy) I'm in love (Angels) You nut! (Michael) Angel eyes You've been crying lately Paradise Ain't like it used to be Can't get to sleep Can't face the light Weep baby weep You've no angel tonight (Judy) Angel eyes You've been crying lately Paradise Ain't like it used to be Can't get to sleep Can't face the light Weep baby weep You've no angel tonight (Michael & You've been bad Angels) You've been good You've been around Like a good angel should (Judy) One more heart One more town Falling apart When there's no one around (Angels) Falling angel, angel... (Michael & Judy) Angel eyes You've been crying lately All this time Aren't you tired baby Trying to fly when you Don't have the height Cry baby cry You're no angel tonight (Michael & Holy ground Angels) Hollywood You've been around Like a good angel should (Judy) One more heart One more town Falling apart When there's no one around (Angels) Falling angel, angel... You've got to be kidding Yes we know what you're Thinking about but you'd Better stop dreaming, Angel Better stop by here and now He's just an ordinary man And you're all mixed up Why are you listening to him? Why say Angel - say Angel Angel, Angel... oo - oo - oo (Michael) You're no angel, baby (Judy) You're no angel, baby (Michael & Judy) Can't get to sleep Can't face the light Weep baby weep You're no angel, You're no angel tonight!

The Law (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Valkyries) You are the messengers Of celestial machinery You only arrange You cannot change the scenery It is writ in stone And capitals bold You do, you do Just what you're told And you have fun Lots of fun Because you do What must be done We've told you once And we'll tell you again Creatures that fly Will only die If they lie In the arms of men! And this we must condemn!

The Promise (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Judy) Once I was happy to Roam through the gold and blue Now something haunts me I know it's real Someone returns The desire I feel (Angels) We could have passed him by (Judy) Should have passed him by So many others cry (Angels) One more human cry (Judy) So many others Reaching for A thread through the night Or one lover more He has a dream (Angels) It's his dream (Judy) I dream it too (Angels) It's not your dream (Judy) He dreams of the promise We swore we would come through (Angels) The promise is not yours alone to honor (Judy) But we said we'd... (Angels) This is not our part (Judy) Open his heart (Angels) Now it is open (Judy) No, now it must start (Michael) You promised me whatever was in my heart (Angels) We promised him whatever was in his heart (Michael) You swore that I could speak from the heart (Angels) Yes, we said he'd speak from his heart (Michael) Now I have chosen And you must obey (Judy) I will obey (Michael) It's my heart that commands And it must have its way I want you I need you I can't live without you Anymore (Judy) Your heart commands me And I will obey you I need you I can't live without you Anymore (Judy & Angels) We promised him whatever was in his heart (Michael) You promised me whatever was in my heart (Judy & Angels) We said that he could speak from the heart (Michael) You swore that I could speak from the heart (Judy) And now he has chosen And now I must choose Tho' garlands of planets And starlight I lose (Angels) Now you must choose Starlight, starlight You're gonna lose him (Judy & Michael) I want you, I need you I can't live without you (Everyone) I want you, I need you I can't live without you Anymore

The Marriage March (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Everyone) The whole work holds its breath again The marriage ring it shines The billionth trillionth walk begins As another world sighs Sights and best of wishes and A silence you can hear The vow that breaks the world are spoke And the whole world sheds a tear (Beggar) Out of the joy of your marriage feast O brother be good to me The way is long and the shrine is far Where my weary feet would be And feasting is always somewhat sad To those outside the door Still love is only a dream And life itself is hardly more (Everyone) The human company draws close And lends an ear The vows that break the world are spoke As the whole world sheds a tear The vows that break the world And the whole world sheds a tear

The Third Invention (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Angels) Blindly he worked At his third invention Taking the chances Of one who is lost Feeling his way To a cleaner expression Of whatever it was He stumbled across All for the sake Of a possible woman He goaded himself With a technical hope For the sake of his longing We came to the window He put on his cloths And he walked through the smoke All for the sake Of an interested woman Riding to him On a flicker of hope Some tourist of beauty In full disappointment Ready to fall In love with a ghost And here was his ghost With his third invention The usual claim To the highest reward And now it was ready His third invention Ready to fall In love with the world And he falls back And she comes forward The eye of his labour Measures them both And she lies in the arms Of his third invention And back in his room He commences the fourth This is the work Of the highest pretension An automatic Ode to the world O deep in comfort O full employment He's lost to the fourth He's lost to the third.

Clap! Clap! (Mirror Song) (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Michael) I never thought I'd get this far (Audience) We always knew you would (Michael) I've put a little weight on (Audience) Not really, it looks good. (Michael) These lines around my mouth are new (Audience) They're the lines of wisdom (Michael) This puffiness around my eyes? (Audience) The burden of the kingdom! (Michael) You know I like to talk with you (Audience) We do too, we never knew Someone who we could talk to Who was quite as smart as you. We would like to hear you talk all night But tell us if we might Interrupt you with applause If you should chance to pause. We would love to rock the walls Again and again with curtain calls And a standing ovation For your brilliant conversation ... (Michael) Clap, clap! Now silence Have you noticed people wear... (Audience) Copies of your favourite hat? (Michael) You have noticed that my dears? (Audience) O yes we have noticed that. (Michael) They wear copies of my shoes (Audience) Two by twos they wear your shoes (Michael) And they like to sing my blues (Audience) Echoes of your ah's and ooh's. (Michael) You know I like to talk with you (Audience) We do too, we never knew Someone who we could talk to Who was quite as smart as you. (Michael) I'm afraid that I've become For nearly everyone A model of behaviour A devil or a saviour. (Audience) He's afraid that he's become For next to nearly everyone The very latest model of behaviour He's a devil, he's a saviour (Michael) They read my news and they hold their views On whether I'm the devil or a saviour (Audience) He's afraid that he's become For almost everyone The very latest model of behaviour He's a devil, he's a saviour (Michael) I'm the very latest model of behaviour But I've paid my dues (Audience) We know you have! We hold your views! (Michael) You read my news? (Audience) Of course we do! (Michael) I've been a bum. (Audience) How very, very, very, very far you've come! (Michael) I've crossed this country on my thumb. I've met a lot of people... (Audience) Good and evil? (Michael) Good and evil! I've been up hills (Audience) You've been down hills. (Michael) I've been on junk. (Audience) You've beaten junk. (Michael) I don't mean pills (Audience) You don't mean pills! (Michael) I mean the needle (Audience) He means the needle He means the needle! He means the needle! (Michael) I've noticed my words on everyone's lips And women are always leaving me slips Of paper I'm supposed to get back to them later And sometimes I do (Audience) It's only your due After all that you've been through To lie down with some grateful stranger To think he honours someone's bed With his wine and with his bread And his legendary member It is April in December It's charity It's religion Saint Francis with the birds Jesus with the leper Please talk to us forever And ever and ever (Michael) Clap, clap Now silence! But now I make my confession Before all the mirrors of history This power was given to me It must have been given to me For something more Than a star on the door And a foot in this shabby profession (Audience) This is surely the sound Of the most profound Remark that has ever been made From the pulpit or the stage Or even the gates of heaven (Michael) There's something waiting for me There's something I must feel There's something that must bend its knee And I must see it kneel There's nothing to be conquered there A beast that keeps the crown And marble steps into the air And one man looking down (Audience) He's smiling He's smiling There is something that is waiting for him Something that he must feel Something that must bend its knee And it's he must see it kneel There is something to be conquered there There's a beast that keeps the crown And marble steps into the air And one man looking down Smiling, smiling (Michael) Clap clap! (Audience) Smiling, smiling (Michael) Clap, clap!

Hunter's Lullaby (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

[cf lyrics from the Cohen album "Various Positions"] (Judy) Your father's gone a-hunting Into the forest wild He cannot take his wife with him He cannot take his child Your father's gone a-hunting In the quicksand and the clay A woman cannot follow him Although she knows the way Your father's gone a-hunting Through the mirror and the glass Where only greed can enter But spirit cannot pass Your father's gone a-hunting For the beast he cannot bind And he's left a baby sleeping And his blessings all behind Your father's gone a-hunting And he's lost my lucky charm And he's lost the guardian heart That keeps the hunter from the harm There's a darkness in the thicket That was not there before And among the tangled undergrowth There is one tangle more Your father's gone a-hunting

We Told You So (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Angels) We told you so We told you dear You didn't have To come here The human life Is full of quirks We can't work it out Nothing works It's a lemon This mechanic Live, love, suffer Die and panic It lives, it loves Suffers and dies It eats cow's meat And apple pies Dumb, dumb, dumb And full of fear Anxiety and strife.. This is the human life! ...We have many duties still Much gold and silver light to spill On anxious boys and frightened girls like you...

Fire (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Michael) I burnt the house of love tonight It made a perfect ring In which I saw some weeds and stone Beyond not anything Certain creatures of the air Frightened by the night They came to see the world again And they perished in the light So now I sail from sky to sky And all the blackness sings Against the boat that I have made Of mutilated wings Fire in this house of mine Fire of my own design Fire from the sky Fire from the sea Come fire come Fire onto thee Fire in the house of love I burnt the house of love tonight I burnt the house of love tonight I burnt the house of love tonight

Song of Destruction (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Frank & Louis) Are you still here? What are you waiting for? Your lives to change? An oracle to speak? Some version of the wounded matador Who turns toward the bull his other cheek And entertains you with a torn physique? Some prisoner in pyjamas dancing lewd Trablinka waltzes, while another freak Hangs himself to concentrate your mood And sweeten up your putrid solitude? (Michael) My drummer is the only one I trust Let the drums go rolling through the night And let them pulverise my deep disgust With steady thunder, whips and dynamite The man of sticks and skins is always right. I found him near the cremetorium Humiliated, begging for a fight. I wrote the name of honour on a drum O drummer tell the people why I've come! O listen to him and his saxophone (Frank & Louis) Our musical genital unicorn (Michael) He's very well hung with his golden horn He'd like to be standing out here alone The light on his hands, his mouth, and his bone. (Frank & Louis) So take your solo now and loose your way In every fingered hole and brassy groan... You'll soon begin to choke on what you play (Michael) You're choking now exactly as I say! (Michael, Frank As for the deeper spirits in the hall & Louis) Annointed ones and truely different Whom orgy doesn't satisfy at all Who loathe the horizontal argument (Frank & Louis) It is to such as you that he was sent. (Michael) I understand the loyalties that insist You burn a child or shoot a president Or tattoo numbers on a woman's wrist I know the sorrow of the good idealist. It is to such as you that I was sent To speak directly to your deepest shame And light the fires of experiment And burn all hesitation in the flame -- I claim you now, I claim you in the name Of that which you have never done before And having done it never be the same. The victim shall be smitten on his sore. The haughty one shall have a visitor. (Michael, Frank We heard that drummer, do not think we missed & Louis) Your subtle derivation from the beat (Michael) Which I established with an iron fist A thousand years ago, a small deceit To be enlarged until you have complete Control of the mood and the atmosphere -- Your crooked time endangering my defeat -- Now all your instruments must disappear And on your traitor's face pursue your dark career!

The Walls (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Michael) It's late, it's very late How did it get so late? (Judy) What was it we were thinking of? (Michael & Judy) We didn't want this, did we? (Judy) There must be some mistake (Michael) What was it I forgot to tell you? (Judy) What was it I forgot? There was a promise here A child who knew me A bitter bedtime story (Michael & Judy) Another house of some forgotten family It's very late There must be some mistake And now this place for none (Michael) There was a woman here A woman who knew me A table set before me (Michael & Judy) It is the walls it is the victory of the walls It is the room it is the distance of the room (Michael) Without her... (Judy) Without you.

Coming Back (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Angels) You can't do this You must do what We must do what must be done (Judy) I hear my baby calling He is asking to be born I see the curtains parting That our kisses have outworn ... (Angels) Kisses all outworn... (Judy) I'll raise a tent of shelter Now though every thread is torn (Angels) Every thread is torn... (Judy) I take my life from realms of light And hang it on a thorn (Angels) Hanging on a thorn... (Judy) I hear the children calling Asking to be born I see the curtains parting And my life upon a thorn The stars have lost their fire And the moon has lost her voice And I'm coming back to find you I have made the human choice. (Angels) You've made your choice The world you choose Garlands of planets and starlight Now you lose (Judy) He's the only one who knows me He's the riddle of my life And they'll never tell the story Of the husband and the wife (Angels) The world she chooses, she loses... (Judy) He's the stone that broke my heart The foundation of my home -- (Angels) This we must do! (Judy) He's the sweetness of the sweetness Of the sweetness honeycomb (Angels) We must do what we must do! (Judy) And he's welcome to his glory And he's buried in my life And they'll never tell the story Of the husband and the wife (Angels) She takes her life from realms of light (Valkyries) She hangs it on a thorn (Angels) She disobeys the law (Valkyries) The law is broken You must get them (Angels) Get him. (Valkyries) Get them! Messenger Listen Messenger Do what must be done And our will be done Will be done

Song to My Assassin (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

(Michael) We were chosen, we were chosen Miles and miles apart I to love your kingdom You to love my heart (Angels) We were chosen We do what must What must be done (Michael) The love is intermittent The discipline continues I work on your spirit You work on my sinews. (Angels) We work on his sinews And the discipline continues We have fun 'cause We do what must What must be done (Michael) I watch myself from where you are Please do not be mistaken The spider web you see me through Is the view I've always taken Begin the ceremony now That we have been preparing I'm tired of this marble floor That we have both been sharing. (Angels) Now we will be sharing What he has been preparing! (Girls) He's the only one He's the only one He's the riddle of the music He's the music of my life (Boys) Now it begins Now it begins He's the riddle of the music He's the music of the sacrifice (Valkyries) Messenger Messenger Our will Will be done (Angels) We work on his sinews And the discipline continues (Everyone) Begin the ceremony Begin the sacrifice ...

The Bells (written by Cohen, performed in "Night Magic")

[cf the lyrics to the song "Anthem" on the Cohen album "The Future"] (Judy) The birds they sang at break of day Start again, I heard them say Nor dwell on what has passed away Or what is yet to be. The wars they will be fought again The holy dove be caught again Bought and sold and bought again Until we set them free. Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything The light behind to see. Add up the parts, not yours the sum Strike up the march, there is no drum Every heart to love must come Like a refugee

Way Down Deep (written by Warnes/Cohen, recorded by Warnes)

way down, way way down way way down deep you're got me way down, way way down, way way down deep you're got me way down, way down deep I wander with you in my sleep I'm way down, way way down, way way down deep it came to me this morning I was walking down the street was like my soul could taste you and God, you tasted sweet finally I can breathe again finally I can speak I've got you in the glory place I've got you way down deep I've got you way down, way way down, way way down deep you're got me way down, way way down, way way down deep you're got me way down, way way down, I wander with you in my sleep I'm way down, way way down, way way down deep it's a funny feeling but I cannot say I mind I know that I'm dealing with a love that's far from blind I see every single angle I look before I leap how else can I put it when you're got me way down deep you've got me way down, way way down, way way down deep you've got me way down, way way down, way way down deep you've got me way down, way down deep I wander with you in my sleep I'm way down, way way down, way way down deep don't matter what we gave away was nothing we could keep don't matter what we gave away you know that talk is cheap forgive me if I hate you you're a liar and a thief but I've got you in the glory place I got you way down deep you've got me way down, way way down ... don't matter if the road is long don't matter if it's steep don't matter if the moon goes out and darkness is complete don't matter if we lose our way I know we;re gonna meet I've got you in the glory place I've got you way down deep you've got me way down, way way down ..

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