stories of the street

[MargaretABartley]

You are locked in to your suffering and your pleasures are the seal.

I've always loved LC. I quit listening to recordings decades ago, only friends and live music. In the past year or two, I've looked up some old favorites here. Like some extraordinary bottle of wine, LC aged exquisitely over the years. His soul comes through clearly, with deep vulnerability and nobility. His ability to switch perspectives at once with rapidity and explicitness is pure poetry, almost psychedelic.

[Zeokoz]

Is it just me or did a certain God like tattoo this fucking masterpiece to Cohen's soul? If not, then Cohen has tapped into something beyond subway crowds, old hotels, and fairytale telling nurses.

[dpdvatika]

Pure genius! lyrics of sheer beauty with an exquisite arrangement - as are all the tracks on this album.

[dpdvatika]

Pure genius! lyrics of sheer beauty with an exquisite arrangement - as are all the tracks on this album.

[spikemansss]

If you like leonard cohen and celtic music check my channal

[winggoddess]

@spikemansss the song on your profile at the moment sounds more like easy listening than celtic or leonard cohen.

[Xaxannoul4]

I love the way it starts....

[zimmawoman]

god i love this song. to me it really defines life, all its love and pain and strangeness. it doesnt coat anything with sugar, leonard talks honestly, with no white lies or dillusions behind him. to me its really definitive about anything i've ever believed. life is very strange and complex yet can be so simple at the same time.

[NickleJ]

December 27, 1967

[xrockangelx]

Mmm.. Love this.. Love the cracks and pops too.. <3

^_^

[MOUCHADOR]

it's from "songs of leonard cohen" and i think this one was in 66 or 67

[rauxmedia]

No way 1950. I say its 1960s - like 63 or 64

[vneach]

Ah! The good years brought back to life "Hallelujah"

G'wan y gud ting, Celticboy.

Grandma, Eire

[celticboy1950]

Why thankyou.

Best wishes to you and everyone in Eire.

My favourite country. celticboy

[ssampanthan]

I know you've heard it's over now and war must surely come,

the cities they are broke in half and the middle men are gone.

But let me ask you one more time, O children of the dust,

All these hunters who are shrieking now oh do they speak for us?

This verse is talking about how warmongers often invoke the dead to justify their wars, but "do they speak for us"?

[colt45joe]

what is the meaning of this song? it makes no sense.. a few parts kinda make sense, but as a whole wtf is going on?

[celticboy1950]

To me, a brief encounter with a stranger leads to the birth of a child who in turn also becomes a stranger. The difference maybe that the child is always your child and always in your heart. re the line:

and lost among the subway crowds I try to catch your eye. It's the story of life today, the story of the street. If you have a child you will know what I mean. Thanks for your comment.

[avbjork96]

@colt45joe

it's about loneliness, it's about love and madness.. it does not intend to make sense : kind of short cuts , lonely man in a lonely city .....

[celticboy1950]

Side one (in wikipedia) "Suzanne" 3:48 "Master Song"  5:55 "Winter Lady" 2:15 "The Stranger Song" 5:00 "Sisters of Mercy" 3:32 Side two "So Long, Marianne" 5:38 "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" 2:55 "Stories of the Street" 4:35 "Teachers" 3:01 "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" 4:23 cheers eagleray, but your request is not on the LP (songs of Leonard Cohen) 1967

[FriedEggsandChips]

Thank you for this! Terrific song.

It's from 'Songs of Leonard Cohen', an album recorded in 1967. It was given a limited release in 1967 and a wider release in 1968. It was given gold status in 1989. The song title above is correct.

[celticboy1950]

Cheers. That song comes from an audio cassette found up in roof, all the other songs are there so it must have been an ancient but complete copy of the original album. Yeah a really great song. people used to say it was music to slash your wrists to.

I wonder if that was really the case! Anyway, give me another title and I'll see if I can post it up

[Eagleray99]

Stroy of Isaac would be nice. Thanks for this; great lyrics. :o)

[femiinvestigates]

"story of isaac" is from his second album: "songs from a room"... I may get around to uploading it soon.

[Eagleray99]

That would be nice, although I just realised that I have a double album CD with Songs from a Room and Songs of Love and Hate, so I am being lazy really! Thanks celticboy and femiinvestigates. It is great that Lenny is getting some long-overdue recognition.

[Eagleray99]

BTW, I had "Songs of Leonard Cohen" on vinyl, but my brother-in-law's friend shot it with an airgun, which I thought was a bit of an extreme critical reaction!

[yeahsee33]

Boo!! to Him.  That's the only Leonard Cohen I have on Vinyl. ("Songs of Leonard Cohen")