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Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen Quotes

Singer-songwriter

Leonard Cohen, a renowned Canadian singer-songwriter, is celebrated for his profound lyrics and distinctive voice. His musical career spanned over half a century, encompassing a variety of styles from folk to rock and jazz. Cohen's music and poetry have been beloved by fans worldwide, and he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

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Famous Leonard Cohen Quotes

“As soon as anybody does one of my songs, I rejoice. This particular case of all these great singers doing my work - the implications are very rich and the temptation to think of the outcome of these masses of the mainstream injecting my work into the marketplace, it's a very sweet speculation.”

Thinking Doe Song Cases Rich Particular Sweet Mass Singers Temptation Outcomes Rejoice Mainstream Speculation Marketplace Implications Very Sweet

Author:Leonard Cohen

“There are a few things that deal with passion. There's Prozac.”

Passion Deals Prozac

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I looked into [Prozac]. I must say that it is certainly a wonder drug.”

Wonder Drug Prozac

Author:Leonard Cohen

“What [Prozac] does is completely annihilate the sexual drive, so the question of passion hardly arises.”

Doe Passion Arise Prozac

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I noticed that when I was on Prozac my relationship with the landscape improved. I actually stopped thinking about myself for a minute or two, because most of the thoughts one has about oneself are involved with desire or loneliness or isolation or strategies to overcome them.”

Thinking Two Desire Minutes Loneliness Involved Overcoming Strategy Oneself Landscape Isolation Prozac

Author:Leonard Cohen

“[Prozac] didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever on my melancholy, my dark vision, and everything else that I'd taken it for.”

Seems Dark Vision Taken Effects Melancholy Prozac

Author:Leonard Cohen

“You can do anything you want to [ in ashram] if you can find the time. It's a very rigorous day. It starts at 2:30 in the morning and often doesn't end until midnight, so if you can actually find a moment to have a drink or a smoke, you're quite welcome to, as long as it doesn't interfere with your capacity to follow the schedule.”

Ifs Want Long Ends Moments Can Do Morning Drink Capacity Welcome Smoke Interfere Schedules Midnight

Author:Leonard Cohen

“[I had a sense of interior panic].Always. I didn't really know what to call it for a long time, but I have a friend in Greece who used that word panic a lot, and I found myself resisting it, until I totally accepted that as a precise description of my interior condition. It was mostly panic from one moment to the next. And nothing much else was going on.”

Knows Long Moments Used Next Found Conditions Long Time Accepted Description Panic Precise Interiors Greece Resisting

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Any of the decisions that I made, if one could actually locate a shape or form, were all within a wall, the landscape of music.”

Ifs Made Form Decision Wall Shapes Landscape

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Most of our distractions are designed to invite us away from this recognition, which is a good idea.”

Ideas Recognition Distraction Invites Good Ideas

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I think culture's always been violent, and it is something we find very entertaining. Not only does it reflect our social reality, but it also reflects our psychic reality.”

Thinking Doe Reality Culture Social Violent Entertaining Psychics

Author:Leonard Cohen

“We actually lead very violent, passionate lives and I think that we're hungry for insights into this condition. That's why we get all that stuff on television. It's really where we are, really what we are.”

Thinking Stuff Conditions Television Passionate Insight Violent Hungry Passionate Life

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Probably all cultures, certainly Western culture, always have been violent.”

Has Beens Culture Western Violent Western Culture

Author:Leonard Cohen

“At the very center of our culture is a crucified man, a tortured man hanging on a cross of wood. You have an image of violence at the very center of our spiritual investigation.”

Men Spiritual Culture Violence Crosses Woods Investigation Hanging On

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Suffering, violent suffering, seems to be something that corresponds with something that we experience.”

Seems Suffering Violent

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Maybe the culture is [particularly] shabby now. Maybe it's because I'm over sixty, that I can feel that about everything.”

Feels I Can Culture Sixty Shabby

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Certainly within any decadent period, you would probably find the purest expressions of conviction, and I do not see that in many of the people I know.”

People Knows Expression Periods Conviction

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Today [people] are ready to take emergency cures, whatever they are, if it's violence, if it's a fascination with serial killing or whatever - the discomfort is so intense. Maybe it's always been like that, certainly it is now.”

People Ifs Today Violence Ready Killing Intense Cures Emergencies Fascination Discomfort Serials

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I don't have a television set up [in the mountains], of course, but I find I don't miss it at all, or the newspaper. I've sneaked a radio into by cabin, but I find I turn it on very rarely.”

Turns Courses Missing Television Mountain Radio Newspapers Cabins

Author:Leonard Cohen

“There's always a nice tune [on radio] - helps you get the dishes done . I like to get the news from time to time - not too often. I don't feel deprived.”

Feels Done Helping Nice News Radio Tunes Dishes Deprived

Author:Leonard Cohen

“We are awakening from the dream of isolation, from the dream of loneliness, and it's a terrible shock.”

Dream Loneliness Terrible Awakening Isolation Shock

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Part of the shabbiness of our culture, if indeed it is shabby, is that it doesn't seem to prepare people. With all the songs about love and all the movies and all the books, there doesn't seem to be any way that we can prepare the human heart for this experience.”

People Ifs Way Humans Heart Book Seems Song Culture Human Heart Shabby

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Maybe we, the cultural workers , could apply ourselves. We're not going to resolve it in this moment or even in this generation, but perhaps as some kind of agenda we could invite our writers and cultural workers to address the problem a little more responsibly, because people are suffering tremendously from a want of data.”

People Want Kind Littles Moments Problem Suffering Generations Workers Data Addresses Agendas Resolve Invites This Generation

Author:Leonard Cohen

“The psychologists are valiantly trying to provide us with answers, the religious people are trying to provide us with answers. I think it properly falls on the cultural workers to investigate this predicament with a little less concern for the marketplace and a little more concern for their higher calling.”

People Thinking Trying Littles Fall Religious Answers Higher Calling Concern Workers Marketplace Psychologist Predicaments Higher Calling

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Just to get serious about this thing, you know. One has to be compassionate. It's true that people are up against things, economically and emotionally.”

People Knows Serious Compassionate

Author:Leonard Cohen

“The obstacles are great and the suffering is great and people have got to make a living.”

People Suffering Obstacles

Author:Leonard Cohen

“It's easy to look down from the summit you've reached, or even the summit I've reached, and talk about the responsibilities of the artist, but most people are just trying to get their foot in the door and make a living.”

People Trying Looks Artist Easy Responsibility Doors Feet Summit

Author:Leonard Cohen

“We've got to temper anything we say with that. On the other hand, you've got to be serious about what you do. And you've got to understand the price you pay for frivolity or just for greed - it's a very high price, especially if you're involved in this sacred material, which is about the human heart and human desire and human tragedy.”

Ifs Humans Heart Hands Desire Pay Serious Materials Involved Tragedy Sacred Greed Temper Human Heart High Prices Frivolity

Author:Leonard Cohen

“It's hard to be serious about so many things. [Look at the whole emphasis] on the charts, if you're a songwriter.”

Ifs Looks Hard Whole Serious Songwriters Emphasis

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I think there's an appetite for seriousness. Seriousness is voluptuous, and very few people have allowed themselves the luxury of it.”

People Thinking Luxury Appetite Seriousness Voluptuous

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Seriousness is not Calvinistic, it's not a renunciation, it's the very opposite of that.”

Opposites Seriousness Renunciation

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Seriousness is the deepest pleasure we have.”

Pleasure Seriousness

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I see people allowing their lives to diminish, to become shallow, so they can't enjoy the deep wells of experience. Maybe it's always been this way, when the heart tends to shut down. If only the heart shut down and there were no repercussions, it would be O.K., but when the heart shuts down, the whole system goes into a kind of despair that is intolerable.”

People Ifs Way Wells Heart Kind Whole Would Be Enjoy Despair Down And Allowing Shallow Diminish Repercussions

Author:Leonard Cohen

“To keep our hearts open is probably the most urgent responsibility you have as you get older.”

Heart Responsibility Urgent

Author:Leonard Cohen

“When you're younger, you do have that thing that you were talking about where the mouth goes dry. I mean you have reactions, and you do fall in love.”

Mean Fall Talking Mouths Falling In Love Reactions Dry

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I don't think there's any difference between a crush and profound love. I think the experience is that you dissolve your sentries and your battalions for a moment and you really do see that there is this unfixed free-flowing energy of emotion and thought between people, that it really is there.”

People Thinking Moments Energy Differences Emotion Profound Crush Profound Love

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Your heart opens and of course you're completely panicked because you're used to guarding this organ with your life.”

Heart Used Courses Organs Guarding

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I think that all the spiritual training is just to be able to allow you to experience this from a slightly different perspective - one that's a little more stabilized.”

Thinking Littles Different Able Spiritual Perspective Training Different Perspective

Author:Leonard Cohen

“We all need that experience of forgetting who you are. Forgetting who you are is such a delicious experience and so frightening that we're in this conflicted predicament.”

Needs Forget Who You Are Frightening Delicious Predicaments

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I think that really what our training, what our culture, our religious institutions, our educational and cultural institutions should be about is preparing the heart for that journey outside of the cage of the ribs.”

Thinking Should Heart Culture Religious Journey Training Institutions Educational Preparing Cages Ribs

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I'm never sure why I do anything, to tell you the truth.”

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I would like to study Judaism. I feel that my own Jewish education was really quite superficial from a certain point of view. Although I think the values were very clear and were presented very clearly, there's - there were aspects of the whole tradition that were not emphasized. And, you know, I've come to those areas myself as I've grown older. But I would like to go deeper.”

Thinking Knows Feels Whole Certain Values My Own Views Study Clear Areas Aspect Tradition Deeper Point Of View Superficial Judaism

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Everybody knows that the boat is leaking. Everybody knows the captain lied. Everybody got this broken feeling, like their father or their dog just died. Everybody talking to their pockets. Everybody wants a box of chocolates and a long-stem rose. Everybody knows.”

Knows Want Long Feelings Father Talking Dog Broken Died Rose Boxes Boat Pockets Chocolate Captains Stem Lied Box Of Chocolates

Author:Leonard Cohen

“It's inappropriate for an elderly chap to register, you know, authentically, his feelings, you know, because they really can be interpreted. So you have to get quite covert as you get older. Or you have to find some avuncular way, you know, of responding.”

Knows Way Feelings Elderly Responding Register Inappropriate Chaps Covert

Author:Leonard Cohen

“Anyone who's been a heavy drinker and heavy smoker and has the good future to survive that and give it up knows what a very different kind of daily existence one has. I was smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes a day. And I was drinking heavily on tours.”

Giving Kind Different Existence Couple Drinking Smoking Different Kinds Cigarette Good Future

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I've never thought of myself as a singer anyway. . . I've been free from those considerations because so many people over the years told me I don't have a voice. I kind of bought that. I never thought that much about it to begin with. I knew I didn't have one of the great voices. As my Damon Runyanesque lawyer used to say, "none of you guys can sing. If I want to hear singing, I'll go to the Metropolitan Opera."”

People Kind Guy Singing Lawyer Consideration Damon

Author:Leonard Cohen

“this is every musician's dream, to stand in front of an audience and not have to prove your credentials.”

Dream Audience Prove

Author:Leonard Cohen

“I do cherish those moments when I can just relax in the hotel room. Because there are a lot of details that have to be taken care of aside from just getting up onstage. You're dealing with a number of human beings whose well-being and safety you're concerned about. There are people I like to meet and talk to in the crew and the band.”

People Moments Care Taken Concerned Safety Relax Hotel Cherish

Author:Leonard Cohen

“i would like to remind the management that the drinks are watered and the hat-check girl has syphilis and the band is composed of former ss monsters However since it is new year's eve and i have lip cancer i will place my paper hat on my concussion and dance”

Years Girl Drink Band Paper Management Lips Cancer Monsters Checks Former Hats New Year New Years Eve Syphilis Concussions

Book:Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs

Source: Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs

“I don't even hate books anymore.”

Author:Leonard Cohen

About the Author

Born: September 21, 1934
Died: November 10, 2016
Known for: Singer-songwriter
Quotes: 438

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Ifs Knows People Song Thinking Men Heart Kind Want Poetry

Popular Topics

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Books & Sources

Beautiful LosersRelated source material

Book of LongingRelated source material

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The Favourite GameRelated source material

Stranger Music: Selected Poems and SongsRelated source material

The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen: Enhanced EditionRelated source material

Leonard Cohen on Leonard CohenRelated source material

The Favorite Game: A NovelRelated source material

Atras Das Linhas Inimigas De Meu AmorRelated source material

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