Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture

Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!

Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture

Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
Has crossed the threshold
And it has overturned
The order of the soul

When they said REPENT, REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT, REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT, REPENT
I wonder what they meant.

You don't know me from the wind
You never will, you never did
I'm the little Jew
Who wrote the Bible

I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
But love's the only engine of survival.

Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going any further.

And now the wheels of heaven stop
You feel the devil's riding crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder.

When they said REPENT, REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT, REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT, REPENT
I wonder what they meant.

There'll be the breaking of the ancient Western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
And a white man dancing..

You'll see a woman
Hanging upside down
Her features covered by her fallen gown
And all the lousy little poets
Coming round
Tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
And the white man dancin'.

Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
Has crossed the threshold
And it has overturned
The order of the soul

When they said REPENT, REPENT ...

Surely the world's greatest ever song writer. He's a living legend, but I prefer this version more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy0Bl18qLvw

>> ^kymbos:
Surely the world's greatest ever song writer. He's a living legend, but I prefer this version more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy0Bl18qLvw


Sheeeit, so do I, now! Thanks for that! He sounds very slightly like Rufus Wainwright.

I've seen him perform in Berlin in July. One of the best concerts I've been in, even though my track record is sort of limited. He's very energetic on stage, jumping around and such.

This is a great performance. I do offer a couple of clarifications. Leonard Cohen was 74 at the time of this concert; he turned 75 Sept 21, 2009. You may also note that the lyrics shown are the original words During the World Tour, "Give me crack and anal sex" have been replaced by "Give me crack and careless sex." This shift is not new but has been invoked intermittently since the song was first released. Finally you might be interested in Cohen's latest songs. During the Leonard Cohen World Tour, 3 songs, Feels So Good (AKA The Other Blues Song), The Darkness, and Lullaby have been played for the 1st time, raising speculation they may be released on a new album. While each has been sung only a few times, multiple versions exist with different lyrics and arrangements. A summary of each song's performances and lyrics with videos and mp3s can be found at these posts:
“ Lullaby ”
“ The Darkness ”
“ Feels So Good ”

*canada

Adding video to channels (Canada) - requested by calvados.