3 of the Best Opening Lines in Leonard Cohen Songs

Sometimes a song is just a song. But other times, it’s poetry set to music. And that is often the case when it comes to the music written, recorded, and released by artist Leonard Cohen. His lyrics are often so poured over, so deliberate, so etched in stone. The result is exquisite language, lovely sentences, and affective storytelling.

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Here below, we wanted to examine three songs of Cohen’s—in particular, the opening lines of three of his songs. You only get one shot at a first impression and these songs hit the nail on the head. Indeed, these are three of the best opening lines in Leonard Cohen songs.

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“Hallelujah” from Various Positions (1984)

From a lyrical point of view, this might be the greatest song ever written. It’s an epic novel put to a few stanzas. If it were a painting, it would be on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. And it all opens with a few magical words that let you know you’ve been placed in the center of a forever tome. Indeed, the low and gravelly voiced Cohen sings, as if summoning the words from some dark cavern,

Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor falls, the major lifts
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

“I’m Your Man” from I’m Your Man (1988)

To some, Cohen is a music star. And that would be accurate. As noted above, he’s written some of the most important songs of all time and rubbed elbows with the giants of his generation. But that doesn’t mean his songs fit into any traditional style or sound. Take the 1988 tune “I’m Your Man,” for example. It’s a song that feels like it drags its leg when it walks. It’s slow and difficult. But it’s also beautiful. That’s Cohen. And on this tune, he sings,

If you want a lover
I’ll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I’ll wear a mask for you
If you want a partner, take my hand, or
If you want to strike me down in anger
Here I stand
I’m your man

“You Want It Darker” from You Want It Darker (2016)

This song earned Cohen a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance. It features a background choir that sounds almost like Gregorian chant. But the song, with Cohen’s 82-year-old voice singing out in a gruff whisper, is like a prayer. And it opens with a lovely set of opening lines that are like a scalpel to Cohen’s soul. He offers,

If you are the dealer, I’m out of the game
If you are the healer, it means im broken and lame
If thine is the glory, then mine must be the shame
You want it darker
We kill the flame

Photo by Terry Lott/Sony Music Archive via Getty Images