Everybody knows

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded;
everybody rolls with their fingers crossed.
Everybody knows that the war is over;
everybody knows that the good guys lost.
Everybody knows the fight is fixed;
the poor stay poor and the rich get rich.
That's how it goes....

Everybody knows that the boat is sinking;
everybody knows that the captain lied.
Everybody's got this broken feeling,
like their momma or their dog just died.
Everybody's hands are in their pockets,
everybody wants a box of chocolates
and a long stemmed rose...everybody knows.

Everybody knows, everybody knows.
That's how it goes, everybody knows.
Everybody knows, everybody knows.
That's the way it goes, everybody knows.

Everybody knows that it's now or never;
everybody knows that its me or you;
everybody knows that you'd wait forever,
when you've had a line or two;
everybody knows that the deal is rotten,
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
for your ribbons and bows...

Everybody knows you love me baby,
everybody knows that you really do.
Everybody knows that you've been faithful,
give or take a night or two.
Everybody knows you've been discreet;
so many people you had to meet...without your clothes,
and everybody knows.

Everybody knows, everybody knows.
That's the way it goes, everybody knows.
Everybody knows, everybody knows,
that's how it goes and everybody knows.
Everybody knows, everybody knows,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I take it back . I do like the origial version of this one in fact I think its great .
 
One of my favorite Cohen songs.

There is another...not sure about the name- Meet Me in Berlin


munk
 
I have only herd the Chrissy hine (sp) version . Considering she is anything but laidback for the most part she did her best to tone down her lively voice .
I think Mr . Cohen is great . There is also a school of thought that says poetry should be told in a neutral voice so as not to pick up individual meaning from the teller . This allows the listener to develop their own ideas . The song Where Leonard digresses from this the most is "Everybody Knows " While it is hardly a lively piece there is a black wry humour in it that appeals to me . There is a down beat in it that suits him as well . Do you know of any other of his songs where he digresses from his neutral style ?
 
My man Lennie. His singing's only got a loose relationship with the melody ... but the world-weary but amused expression in his voice makes up for it, for me. I used to prefer Jennifer Warnes' version of "Famous Blue Raincoat" because she knows how to sing. Now I prefer Leonard's own version ... 'cause he sounds like the poet he is.
 
I like Jennifer Warne though I confess to know little of her music . These days I mostly rely on what comes my way . Knowing an Irish flute teacher helps a great deal .
I,ll try and take a listen To Jennifer,s version of the song . Thanks
 
It's "First we take Manhattan" I think Munk.

Two really good LC cover albums "I'm your Fan" which is my favorite, and then "Tower of Song" that has a great Jan Arden cover of If It Be Your Will and also a great cover by Billy Joel of "Light as the breeze"

She stands before you naked
you can see it, you can taste it,
and she comes to you light as the breeze.
Now you can drink it or you can nurse it,
it don't matter how you worship
as long as you're
down on your knees.

So I knelt there at the delta,
at the alpha and the omega,
at the cradle of the river and the seas.
And like a blessing come from heaven
for something like a second
I was healed and my heart
was at ease.

O baby I waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen,
oh something like this.

And you're weak and you're harmless
and you're sleeping in your harness
and the wind going wild
in the trees,
and it ain't exactly prison
but you'll never be forgiven
for whatever you've done
with the keys.

O baby I waited ...

It's dark now and it's snowing
O my love I must be going,
The river has started to freeze.
And I'm sick of pretending
I'm broken from bending
I've lived too long on my knees.

Then she dances so graceful
and your heart's hard and hateful
and she's naked
but that's just a tease.
And you turn in disgust
from your hatred and from your love
and comes to you
light as the breeze.

O baby I waited ...

There's blood on every bracelet
you can see it, you can taste it,
and it's Please baby
please baby please.
And she says, Drink deeply, pilgrim
but don't forget there's still a woman
beneath this
resplendent chemise.

So I knelt there at the delta,
at the alpha and the omega,
I knelt there like one who believes.
And the blessings come from heaven
and for something like a second
I'm cured and my heart
is at ease.
 
I am getting to be a Jan Arden fan . Her latest offerings interest me . She also put a talk show host in his place by calling him on a compliment he gave her .
Sounds weird I know its a case of "You had to be there."
You guys are giving me new avenues of thought . Its nice to be among those who appreciate the words to music as opposed to music with words thrown in as an after thought . I realise that is not an absolute . It does seem to me there is a great deal of waiting for what comes down the pipe instead of exploring . I have to confess my own guilt in this . Times change .
 
I'm listening to New Skin for the Old Ceremony and what do I see but a thread on Leonard Cohen. I'm just hoping that I'm Your Man, a documentary coming in June or July, will be released around here. Now if I could only find Songs of Love and Hate, I seem to have "misplaced" (okay, lost) a CD.

Concrete Blond did a fair cover of Everybody Knows. Was it on I'm your Fan?

Frank
 
Concrete blond ? Is that anything like "Four non Blonds" ? L:O:L
I,ll have to check out That version of "Everybody knows"
That Leonard is a busy boy . I wonder if he likes Kukuuris ?
 
A song has an advantage over just words; music imparts emotion and communicates nuance.

I read a review of one of Neil Young's introspective albums being compared to one of Charles Bukowski's book of poems. Neil Young 'won'. It was better, the critic said, because the music brought the message home.

But if Neil Young's lyrics had been directly compared to Bukowski's words, Neil would not have been considered a peer even for an instant.

As good as Leonard Cohen is, even the great song, "First we take Manhatten" (thanks, hollow) doesn't stand all that well alone. "Everybody Knows" is needlessly repetitious without the music and the force of Cohen's voice.



munk
 
You know Munk , I understand what you mean . There is inflection there that means a great deal . What is a word or words without meaning ?
Sometimes a silence expressed can mean more than all the words in the world .
While we may say there is a fine line between driving a point home and monotony in this case I believe it is necessary for the Author to put in his two cents . While he does add some pizazz with his delivery . I think it is more his delivering the poetry in its proper form that makes the most difference .
 
Well I stepped into an avalanche,
it covered up my soul;
when I am not this hunchback that you see,
I sleep beneath the golden hill.
You who wish to conquer pain,
you must learn, learn to serve me well.
You strike my side by accident
as you go down for your gold.
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
is neither starved nor cold;
he does not ask for your company,
not at the centre, the centre of the world.

When I am on a pedestal,
you did not raise me there.
Your laws do not compel me
to kneel grotesque and bare.
I myself am the pedestal
for this ugly hump at which you stare.

You who wish to conquer pain,
you must learn what makes me kind;
the crumbs of love that you offer me,
they're the crumbs I've left behind.
Your pain is no credential here,
it's just the shadow, shadow of my wound.

I have begun to long for you,
I who have no greed;
I have begun to ask for you,
I who have no need.
You say you've gone away from me,
but I can feel you when you breathe.

Do not dress in those rags for me,
I know you are not poor;
you don't love me quite so fiercely now
when you know that you are not sure,
it is your turn, beloved,
it is your flesh that I wear.
....................................

I think it's better with the music and his voice but it's written more like a poem and less like a song. Just my two bits. Who by Fire? is another that reads more like a poem.

And who by fire, who by water,
who in the sunshine, who in the night time,
who by high ordeal, who by common trial,
who in your merry merry month of may,
who by very slow decay,
and who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate,
who in these realms of love, who by something blunt,
and who by avalanche, who by powder,
who for his greed, who for his hunger,
and who shall I say is calling?

And who by brave assent, who by accident,
who in solitude, who in this mirror,
who by his lady's command, who by his own hand,
who in mortal chains, who in power,
and who shall I say is calling?
......................................

Again, just my two bits.

Frank
 
From "Beautiful Losers," Cohen's novel from the mid 1960s. The wife (english prof that she is) introduced me to this one. While not a song, it works better when spoken.

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 led.
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.


2..

Magic is afoot. God rules.
Alive is afoot. Alive is in command.
Many weak men hungered
Many strong men thrived
Though they boasted 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 did 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,
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 say who healed
Though mountains danced before them
they said that God was dead
Though his shrouds were hoisted
the naked God did live

3...

This I mean to whisper to my mind
This I mean to laugh with in 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
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top