Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag (live 1968)

[Nunatag1]

Only sings it on extremely joyless occasions ? he sings it now

[dbx42dot21]

once i loved to listen to this when i was a gardener, married to a chestnut haired girl. i left her for another, shortly after that i nearly died in a road crash, then the girl left me. now i am alone and unemployed, sitting in my wheelchair, still loving to listen to this song.

[Bobjb999]

"Favourite Christmas song ever"

-(I "stole" this line from another YT commenter (yeahsee33) on another thread with the studio version of this song, but hey, it's so good, it deserves to be repeated - & credited!)

[Hirnlego999]

It's not so gloomy in this live version.

[sprint382]

@purplepelican69 and all of you. He is Leonard Cohen, not LC. This man deserves his full name not just two letters.

[purplepelican69]

@sprint382 I know,I know,but I only have 500 characters to go at!! I had to make economies somewhere.

[purplepelican69]

Most people seem to miss the wry humour in LC's songs - his warmth and charm come out best in interview. I love his dry Jewish wit and eloquence. This has always been my favourite track on a sensational album - for me,in the top 3 albums ever released. "that's a hard one to remember,it makes you clench your fist,and the veins stand out like highways all along your wrist." This is stunning poetic imagery of the highest quality. Depressing? No. Awe-inspiring? Absolutely! LC is incomparable.

[LokiErdmann]

by far the darkest song from LC. just so depressing and so great.

[eviaah]

Ah this song is rad. I listen to it all the time. It's heaps funny too - the imagery is.

[Staunomat]

IN 1938, the back then famous austrian jewish journalist, essayist, dramatist etc. Egon Friedell "escaped" the Nazis by jumping out of his window into his death. Before he jumped, he yelled out for the people on the street to be careful so nobody gets hurt except for him. I don't know why, but whenever I hear "Wasn't it a strange way down" I have to think of this...

[pamicocci60]

Almost a perfunctory performance, much less persuasive than the album version....

[pamicocci60]

He did well to realize the mortal force of this song among those customers of the Grocer of Despair...

[judashellraider]

Except for song #4, "Songs of Love and Hate" is truly a masterpiece

[JonathanStrayer]

@judashellraider but there are no diamonds in the mine.

[apacolipps]

Quite existential lyrics, even for the man himself; biographer Ira Nadel wrote of how LC was consciously trying to write more serious, ponderous music circa '70 and '71. This and "Love Calls You by Your Name" are probably my least-listened to songs on Songs of Love and Hate. But I do like some lines: "You can find your love with diagrams in a plain black envelope." Even at his least listenable, Cohen's lyrics far surpass anyone by a mile.

[messalina79]

@apacolipps This song is a hard listen sometimes... however LCYBYN is probably in my top 5 Cohen songs. Love it!

[nogololo]

@apacolipps hey prince, you need a shave.

[apacolipps]

"I would never do that song in concert; I can't get behind it." -Leonard to interviewer Paul Zollo, 1993.

[addman27]

Oh yeah, also try Leonard's song "Leaving Greensleeves." It's even more fun!

[addman27]

Most depressing song I've ever heard, The album "Songs of Love and Hate" it's from is equally as DARK. Quite deep. If you Like Leonard it's a must have.

[gohummingbirdmywill]

Does anyone have in their possession an MP3 of this?

[drk321]

@gohummingbirdmywill Get youtube downloader, download this video, then get mp3rocket (both free) and strip the audio from the video. You will have your mp3.

[feedboi]

Ya think?

[feedboi]

They should do this on Glee

[messalina79]

@feedboi  LOL!

[DeepIsSpace]

True liquid song poison!

More than 4 drops in a glass of water might kill you!

[DeepIsSpace]

True liquid song poison!

More than 4 drops in a glass of water might kill you!

[UntouchableMonkey]

The Rosicrucians may be my only hope.

[Hexonox]

this is pain.

[dannyamosflynn]

I would have jumped out of a window but I was afraid someone would see me on the way down.

[tabernakul999]

I thought you were a racing man,

ah, but you couldn't take the pace.

That's a funeral in the mirror

and it's stopping at your face........ufffffff

[fuckingchaka]

i love this song so much. i think that leonard cohen is the greatest writer of the 20th century, bar none.

[herrjemischnee]

never saw that picture before...love it.

[yeahsee33]

Such a sad song. Too bad I relate to it.  Beautiful.

[brendanseanbarry]

I hope the venue wasn't higher than 2 stories.

[sewforvictory]

damn you L. Cohen

[Baxxter101]

Thumbs up only because I know what you mean... As cliche and horrible as it may be, I choose to quote Kurt Cobain...

"Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld

So I can sigh eternally"

Honestly, were it not for this lyrical reference I probably would have never discovered the profound beauty found in early Cohen works... Cobain is remembered as a pop-culture figure this image is false... He was a real man caught between who he was and the image of himself created by marketing... RIP.

[vperes]

so dark and deep

[dwood16]

This is one of his best ones

[Ermengarde11]

Have no heard this one in soooo long.

[puketastic666]

i love this song