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Leonard Cohen


Hobo

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I'm a big Leonard Cohen fan and I was watching a program on BBC2 last night I think it was called "What Leonard Cohen's Music Did For Me" or something like that. But something that occured to me was that although many people say he is depressing or gloomy because they take the music for how it sounds not for what he says, he can be darkly humourous as was said in this show by someone who mentioned that he sang in Tower of Song "I was born like this, I had no choice I was born with the gift of a golden voice" when he obviously wasn't is evidence of his humour. Or how he can write about getting a blow-job from Janis Joplin in "Chelsea Hotel No.2". It's strange how he can be so misunderstood, come to think of it on his newest album Dear Heather the title track is probably Cohen having a big joke because it's 3 minutes long but only has one verse.

So, is Mr. Cohen the King of Gloom or a misundestood poet of song?

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Cohen is, like most musicians perceived as being "dark" or "depressive", quite a witty individual.

It's quite a common occurence, if you look at lyricists who got famous through "depressing" lyrics, such as Cohen, Nick Cave, Morrissey or Paul Heaton (to a lesser extent), in their later years they will often take on the same subjects with a more tongue-in-cheek approach, which is usually overlooked by all but their fans.

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