This has been discussed a bit before, with some people here claiming this song has the best opening lines or is the most romantic. There have been slight discussions about religious imagery and how literal the lyrics were meant to be.
I love this song, but did not realize it took a decade to write, went through 180 variations, was rejected by the studios, was not particularly noted when first sung by Cohen and even Dylan, and really became popular and revitalized Cohen’s career after being performed by Shrek. (See article.)
So if you think of this thread as a rug that ties the room together…
What are the cover versions you like most?
How do you interpret the lyrics of your favourite version, if at all?
Are there other songs you like which are now considered classics which languished until featured in a movie?
I would also humbly add I had the good fortune to hear Cohen sing this song in person, at the best concert (by far) that I ever attended. The man had real class and presence. He sang his heart out for hours and hours.
The original is my favorite, but I do enjoy k.d. Lang’s 2010 version.
Apparently incorrectly. I’ve alway heard it as “the battle king.” It turns out the correct lyric is “the baffled king” which I just now discovered.
The closest I can come up with is Holding out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler, which I first heard when I watched Who’d Harry Crumb? and again gained some fame, ironically given this thread, in Shrek 2.
I haven’t listened to any but now I’m going to search Apple Music for some.
It’s impossible to choose just one. I’d submit three, one each from what I perceive as his young, middle aged, and old age parts of his career.
From his younger years my favorite is Famous Blue Raincoat from Songs of Love and Hate.
From his middle-aged years my favorite is Democracy from The Future.
From his old age years my favorite is Almost Like the Blues from Popular Problems.
His posthumously released Happens to the Heart is also excellent.
My tastes in music run the gamut, from those that are considered great talents by many like Cohen and other greats (Mozart, Sinatra, Selena, Zevon, Vicente Fernandez, and many others) but also those considered low brow. I’d say that I do, but many others would disagree . On the other hand, I still kick myself to this day for missing Cohen’s show in Austin in 2014, which is the closest concert of his that I had the opportunity to attend. I wasn’t keeping track of his tour dates at that time .
I wasn’t aware of that part. The story I’m familiar with is that he had to come out of retirement starting with the recording of his Ten New Songs album due to his manager having stolen all his money.
Well, my daughter’s a capella group did a haunting, almost ethereal version…
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[rabbit hole]
Someone mentioned Famous Blue Raincoat. Jennifer Warnes did an album of Cohen, and even a then-unreleased song of his with Stevie Ray Vaughn’s guitar at its crispiest…
Imagine hearing First We Take Manhattan before the original, that was a treat. Then REM’s, then Leonard’s version, live.
Regarding Famous Blue Raincoat, I associate it in my head with how the characters from Final Fantasy IV could have been living post-game. The narrator is Cecil, the brother / enemy is Kain (not Golbez ), Jane is Rosa, and Lily Marlene is Rydia. Obviously the comparison isn’t anywhere close to exact, but I wonder if Takashi Tokita was familiar with the song and possibly took some inspiration from it.
The song has a really beautiful sound, but the lyrics tell an ugly story. Basically, “I had an affair and caused all sorts of problems, but it’s OK, because we both had some really great orgasms”.
The statement that Columbia rejected the song seems odd as they released it in 1984 on Various Positions. Admittedly the album was a flop. I bought it from a discount bin for $2, not having known that it existed even though I was a fan since the early 70s. He hadn’t had a release for years and no internet. I played it a lot for other people although my favorite track was Dance Me to the End of Love, which he opened with the last couple of times that I saw him.
My favorite other version is from the First Aid Kit tribute show Who By Fire. The whole program is available on YouTube with unfortunately inferior video, but it is terrific as a piece: First Aid Kit with friends - Leonard Cohen Tribute Show | 2017
Individual bits are available with better video including Hallelujah:
Beautiful lyrics that take a lot of interpretation to come to that conclusion (not saying you are wrong on your synopsis, but not saying you are wholly correct). I’ll take it any day of the week over most songs about affairs.
I like the original, but my favorite version is John Cale’s (which I’m surprised no one mentioned). His version IMHO really influenced many of the later covers, a bit slower, a bit more melancholic than the original.
My favorite performance of said cover below -
But if I got to pick a second favorite cover, I’d go with Cinematic Pop’s version, because I love orchestral arrangements of pop songs.
As for the other points, the only song I think was largely returned to an iconic position due to a movie was Bohemian Rhapsody by Wayne’s World. Not that it wasn’t amazing before, but it became iconic to a whole new generation.
An early example of this is As Time Goes By, written in 1931, first recorded by Rudy Vallée that year becoming a modest hit, taking off big time when it was used in the movie Casablanca in 1942.
If you want to take a deep dive into this song- check out the recent documentary I mention in the recent movies thread.
Another interesting fact that comes up is about the controversy over whether this is a secular (sexual) song or a religious song. It turns out that Cohen continuously worked on lyrics over a number of years and there are “canonical” Cohen secular and religious versions (and anything in-between, apparently).
The best Leonard Cohen song? Too many good ones to pick from. “Suzanne,” “The Future,” “Tower of Song”, “Famous Blue Raincoat,” “Bird On a Wire,” “There is a War”…
I’ve always loved this version of “Who By Fire,” featuring Was(Not Was) and Sonny Rollins (!) with Leonard:
My roommate and I used to stay up late Sunday nights watching this show, even though we had to get up early Monday morning…good times.
. On the other hand, I still kick myself to this day for missing Cohen’s show in Austin in 2014, which is the closest concert of his that I had the opportunity to attend. I wasn’t keeping track of his tour dates at that time 
.
