Love seeing an old fan of something that doesn't take issues to youngin's discovering it from new media! OFMD introduced me to a lot of great music and I'm interested in learning more about Leonard Cohen.
@@JasminaRoxaneovic yes indeed it does.. For me it took 30 fckng years to feel what real happiness is. But no matter what, we are alive and as long as we are alive there is a hope. It worth it to wait that much long
He surfed the dephts of emotional obliteration and existentialism, it's beautiful. It's like a surfer in the midnight sky between waves, sky, raindrops and beach.
He was more than a mortal he was sent to teach us thru his poems his music ,, I luv this ,,a swan song for sure ,, his hat ,, I have this on my playlist for my funeral
I've loved Leonard Cohen's music for years, but just coming off binge-watching Our Flag Means Death in a single night, I am in pain because of this song.
@@dark12794 his death was off screen, there's no way he's actually dead, people have survived way worse things in the show, like being stabbed twice or the Yardies so yeah
A SINGLE NIGHT?! No wonder you're gutted! Emotional overload, plus the shock of just discovering such a surprising, funny, REAL love story 😍❤ Stories, I mean - such a safe space for LGBT+ viewers, AND softies like me, not gay but very supportive! 😄🥰🤗
I came to listen to this for the same reason, and the opening notes made my stomach drop because of the association with the scene, I've watched the entire series 8 times now and it hits so hard every time
I had heard his songs for years without actually knowing it was him. The first song I heard was Everybody Knows from Pump up the volume soundtrack when I was a teenager. He has a lot of great work and my personal favorite is Never Mind but you really can't go wrong with his music.
I remember exactly where I was when I first heard this song. It was 50 years ago and I was a teenager standing by the fireplace in the living room. It started playing on the radio and I was forever lost in his music. I was so fortunate to see him live in 1979, totally unique. There will never be another like him. It was great to hear part of it being played on the new Dexter series. My ears pricked up the second the intro stated to play. Timeless!
"If I knew where the good songs come from, I would go there more often", he said at an award ceremony. (Induction to Canadian singer songwriter hall of fame, I believe.)
I've always known of Cohen's talent but never delved deep into his music. After hearing this song on the season finale of Our Flag Means Death, I just might.
“The crumbs of love that you offer me, they’re the crumbs I’ve left behind”. Beautiful. Inspired me to reevaluate a lot of my relationships. Thank you Leonard 🥰
Everyone, at some point, steps into an avalanche. Just few people are able to articulate it like this. Thank you Maestro. One of the greatest song ever written. After two years you are still speaking to all of us sweetly from a window, in the tower of song. Fare thee well, my old friend.
After years of analyzing "Avalanche," a song as wonderful as it is heartbreaking, I remain entangled in the multipolarity of the poem. Who sings after Leonard’s voice? A grotesque and lewd creature? A soul tormented by depression? A disillusioned man? A failed Messiah with the crumbs of the Holy Supper and thrown into the side? A spiteful and demanding Jehovah?. It seems as if the singer is reflected in multiple crystals of loneliness, desire and despair. There is nothing in contemporary music like this masterpiece. As if Leonard Cohen said: "There’s my mirror, look at yourself".
I look at it like this: I see this as one of Leonard's love songs. On one side you have some one who is crippled and poor (possibly metaphorically) and who in their failures has found some kind enlightenment and sense of superiority. People flock to this man who has continued to live in a crippled state. They come to him for enlightenment and the secrets to conquering pain. After someone decides to live under his rule to teach them, he gains some form of kinship with them. But as time goes on his "student" eventually grows doubt and drifts away from him. This person who has no greed nor no need for kinship has begun to long for them, constantly cursing them and telling them "you'll be back". The character seems to have gained a superiority complex from the relationship (where he plays the dominant role) and deep down wishes for their disciple to return. I'm probably missing some stuff so please give your own interpretation, because I still feel like the way I'm looking at things is a bit flawed.
I've been a fan of Cohen since I was a teenager many many moons ago, and Avalanche means to me more than any other song, and this is the first time I'm not bummed a song I love was in a TV Series. Usually I feel like songs are turned "cheaper" when used in sappy modern TV, but OFMD just did it right. The song was used in the right time and the parts they ommited kinda set the tone almost as much as the part they used. And I'm glad more people will get to know this masterpiece.
This is easily one of the best songs ever written and performed. One of my absolute favorites of all time. I am always getting goose-bumps, when I hear this song. There is so much power in his voice and the words are so wonderfully weired.
Ditto! Do you listen to it on vinyl? I highly suggest doing so, if not. The tonal range and depth is, well, spellbinding. It's the audio equivalent of a top-rate head massage! Seriously! 👍
I've grown up with a psychotic brother I'm not going into detail to what he did to me and my parents but I listened to this song and first i felt completely absurd and intense rage for a time, then i broke out in tears and just now it dawns to me why. this song was a huge trigger but it's so beautifully made clear how it felt for me/feels now and i just noticed it, before it was just a song to me and i didnt understand it was linked whatsoever to that time of my life... its a brilliant and gruesomely beautiful song.
Well I stepped into an avalanche It covered up my soul When I am not this hunchback that you see I sleep beneath the golden hill You who wish to conquer pain You must learn, learn to serve me well You strike my side by accident As you go down for your gold The cripple here that you clothe and feed Is neither starved nor cold He does not ask for your company Not at the centre, the centre of the world 🎵🎶 When I am on a pedestal You did not raise me there Your laws do not compel me To kneel grotesque and bare I myself am the pedestal For this ugly hump at which you stare You who wish to conquer pain You must learn what makes me kind The crumbs of love that you offer me They're the crumbs I've left behind Your pain is no credential here It's just the shadow, shadow of my wound 🎵🎶 I have begun to long for you I who have no greed I have begun to ask for you I who have no need You say you've gone away from me But I can feel you when you breathe Do not dress in those rags for me I know you are not poor And don't love me quite so fiercely now When you know that you are not sure It is your turn, beloved It is your flesh that I wear
I brought the album home, put it on the turntable, Avalanche was the first track, the sinister intro, the arpeggio chords, the doomy words, gosh it felt like someone had dropped ice cubes down my back, ive been a big Leonard ever since that day many years ago, brilliant intense album
This is my favorite of all times. I always listen to it both Cohen's and Cave's versions consequently, since they can touch my soul in different ways, yet with same verses. Lyrics of this song remind me my id cruelly trying to take the control over my ego.
Tbh I couldn't stand Nick cave's cover. I love Nick cave, he's one of my favorite songwriters/singers, but I think he really screwed that one up. I knew Leonard's version first and adored it, and I always wanted to cover it but *sing* similarly to Nick cave when he is in lower register but very rough and dark, and when I was going through Nick's discography I got so excited when I saw he covered it but then when I checked it it just felt uninterested and like he was just doing the rounds. Idk, maybe he felt the original was dark enough and wanted to show a different emotional side to it but I think it would've been wayyyyyy way better had he sang it in the gravelly voice he used to sing with so much in his youth with Birthday Party and early solo career, I think it would've added an extra darkness to it that i think would've been the cherry on top for a song as good as avalanche. Edit: I must've been thinking about the live piano version because I just went and double-checked it and he did literally exactly what I said I wished he had done. Though I don't like the instrumentation so much on it, but wow I couldn't have been more wrong lmao my apologies. My god I can't believe how wrong I was on that hahaha
The lyrics can be interpreted differently on several levels, but for me, this is a profoundly spiritual song about the relationship between God and Man. Cohen was a great poet, and I don't even like poetry that much.
@@watteau6 the moment of transition from old to new testament as god becomes jesus is what it feels like to me. there's that old testament harshness but a hint of love that he makes clear is unearned by the recipient
for me they speak to me learning to accept love and love myself despite my demons. i am the pedestal that holds up the demons which i once held so high. and i had to learn to accept them to love my self
Agreed. To me, it is the God within, the immortal aspect in man trying to guide the seeker, who is full of misconceptions. I think the song is so fascinating even without understanding the lyrics because something touches the soul directly, bypassing the rational mind ...
I've loved this song for years now, I almost shot out of my chair when I heard it in OFMD. Perfectly chosen for the scene, too! I recommend to anyone here who hasn't seen it :)
Sad reality we live in now... false handshakes, lies about important things... Love, compassion, real things that matter in life... its just gone for so many people. I wish people would be more... real.
Two fingers of a Speyside single malt with two fingers of room temperature water + Songs of Love and Hate (vinyl). When alone, I can't think of a better way to spend an hour in the evening. Edit: add some 'smoke' into the mix, too. ;)
_Your pain is no credential here_ _It's just the shadow of my wound_ This song for me, like no other, epitomises the sensation of spinal shivers and waves of goosebumps across my entire body. Particularly when I play it from the heavyweight LP, through my half-decent stereo, cranked up. The tonal depth is mesmerising.
It is quite rare that a song can make you feel certain things that no other song can... Just different, raw and real. Astral Weeks is my favorite album of all time and this song and album reminds me of that raw authenticity that just a handful of artists achieve. Just comes from a place deep in the subconscious, and the soul.
Always loved Cohen but thank the show "Outer Range" for bringing me back. Great show & soundtrack. Leonard is a pure poet. This style of guitar play is fantastic, would love to learn how to play this tune..
I inherited _Songs of Love and Hate_ (as part of a wider, eclectic collection of vinyl) from my somewhat older (than me) cousin when he tragically died young. At that point, in my early 20s, I'd heard of, but not heard any Cohen. _Songs of Love and Hate_ was my introduction to him. At a time when I was mourning the loss of my inspirational cousin, while struggling with drug addiction myself. It's a gross understatement when I say that _Songs of Love and Hate_ - but, _Avalanche_ in particular - spoke to me. And I didn't - still don't - own a TV! 👍
After several deppressive episodes in my life i´m certainly sure that this songs depicts that exactly. "You who whish to conquer pain you mst learn to serve me well". Maybe about inner and unconscious fears and complexes. It´s like a doppleganger of yourself. I´m happy that old Leo finally overcomed it in its late years XD. Anyway, precious song about a very very ugly thing.
@@asorahigh1270 Yeah i remember that! The song, the lyrics, yeah they could perfectly match with certain Lynch 'moods' haha.. Its like, the concept of 'The Shadow' but autonomous, like in Twin Peaks indeed :) Btw this song reminds me to what could be a good counterpart: The Partisan, maybe?
OMG...life long fan and only discovered this pure gold now!! Even after alllll these years, he never ceases to amaze me!! Thank you, Dexter, thank you mr. Cohen!!!
"You who wish to conquer pain must learn what makes me kind." I don't know if anyone interprets that the way I do. To be so broken and in pain that it humbles you. Like meeting someone younger that really hasn't experienced anything near what you have.
Honestly, I don't even like the notion that we should compare ourselves to younger people like that because whereas it's natural for one who is older to have experienced more, it's a bit ridiculous to hold that over someone else who is currently experiencing something either for the first time or hasn't went through it to the same level, it isn't being childish or insensitive to be affected by something because you had not experienced it yet. It's human nature for things to feel more important early in life, whether it be your first rejection or first breakup or a death in the family, whatever. It doesn't sound so humble the way you explain yourself, it sounds more accurately like holier-than-thou type thinking. In fact you are literally saying you think your pain is a credential that makes you better in some way, which as the lyrics in the song specifically say your pain *is not* a credential. Everyone experiences pain and how they deal with it is their own. One shouldn't hold that above someone else's head as though it makes you or your perspective more valid than another. And just in that, it just really boils down to ageism in my opinion. I think it kinda sounds like you just want something artificial that you made into a personal standard to judge younger people by.
Were you trying to be ironic? Maybe I totally missed a joke or something? Cuz this just seems almost too ridiculous to be serious. Maybe I'm being too charitable but I just have a hard time believing you're saying you've been humbled by pain but then you're literally expressing the opposite the next sentence by bashing younger people just because they statistically haven't experienced as much *on average* compared to a person older than then. This disregards the fact that everyone has a different experience in life and that some are less fortunate and end up experiencing pain much more often at a younger age than others, I don't think most people who have actually experienced pain at great lengths judge other people in this way either. It comes off as a kind of an exaggeration on your part. Lastly, you aren't even old - judging from your picture you look like you're in your mid-to-late 20s, so I'm sure someone who's 60 (and also ageist) would say the exact same thing about you as you're pretending you've experienced it all.
I love this line so much but it’s hard for me to un tangle it from our flag means death because that’s where I heard the song. Given that context my personal interpretation is deciding whether or not letting your guard down is worth being more easily hurt
merci de nous avoir laisser tout c est belle melodie une heritage a faire decouvrir au generation a venir, merci de la haut votre musique resonnera a toujours,
Maestro Cohen, you have conquered my heart. The first time II heard about you was in 1968. Some Norwegian girl and a song, but it was in the early 80thies I "found" you. Ever since you have been with me in dark times and in lighter times, always there to support me. Rest in peace my Maestro, you will stay in my life for ever. Thanks for your gift with all the Gems in there. Inger Svinsaas, Trondhein, Norway.
I was living in Germany when I first heard Leonard in the late 60’s. Something deep in me simply resonated with his voice and music. And I’ll take that to MY grave. We miss you, Leonard... Hobbes agrees.
This is pristine darkness painted on a canvas which is the soul of the listener. I was a kid when i've listened to this song for the first time, now it has the same impact but with a lot of more significance.
Got introduced to this song because Fontaines D.C. played it as an intro for their Montreal concert. And… I am from Montreal. 🥲 I am not worthy, should listen to more Cohen. Local legend. Thanks FDC for that. 🙌
This is the song that made me a Cohen fan. It mentions Big East Fork Creek, where I moved 20 years ago. Someone from an LC fan club contacted me to ask whether I know where he lived in a cabin while in Franklin TN. My LC journey began. I lived right next door and somehow managed to buy the old broken down cabin and property.
Well I stepped into an avalanche It covered up my soul; When I am not this hunchback that you see I sleep beneath the golden hill You who wish to conquer pain You must learn, learn to serve me well You strike my side by accident As you go down for your gold The cripple here that you clothe and feed Is neither starved nor cold; He does not ask for your company Not at the centre, the centre of the world When I am on a pedestal You did not raise me there Your laws do not compel me To kneel grotesque and bare I myself am the pedestal For this ugly hump at which you stare You who wish to conquer pain You must learn what makes me kind; The crumbs of love that you offer me They're the crumbs I've left behind Your pain is no credential here It's just the shadow, shadow of my wound I have begun to long for you I who have no greed; I have begun to ask for you I who have no need You say you've gone away from me But I can feel you when you breathe Do not dress in those rags for me I know you are not poor; You don't love me quite so fiercely now When you know that you are not sure It is your turn, beloved It is your flesh that I wear
It's not the grimmest song on the album though. 'Dress Rehearsal Rag' probably is, or 'Joan of Arc' or 'Diamonds in the Mine'. There are no really cheerful songs on the album.
J’espère de tout mon cœur que Doli soit maintenant avec toi dans ce royaume . Pour l’instant j’ai du mal à écouter toutes ces merveilles car mon deuil est trop récent. Merci pour tout Mr Cohen.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Man do I love it when a show exposes me to this profund of a piece that I propably would have never found
Invincible
@@adamsogbeyessssirrrr
The one used in invincible was a tribute tho, if you wanna go listen to that one
@@AlexWajoe Yh we know that
For me, it was Our Flag Means Death 🏴☠🖤
I don't know what ofmd is, but I am an older man and love seeing younger people introduced to Leonard's music 🎵. Dive deeper into his catalog!
OFMD is "Our Flag Means Death", a HBO Max series. This song plays in an episode
@@iclesrodrigues You missed his point entirely
@@King-mj2bn he did but he was just trying to help
Will do, sir
Love seeing an old fan of something that doesn't take issues to youngin's discovering it from new media! OFMD introduced me to a lot of great music and I'm interested in learning more about Leonard Cohen.
Whoever was responsible for scoring ofmd deserves a raise for this decision alone
This isn't the score but the sound track
@@alexarias5717 oh sorry, I didn't know there was a difference
@@elliart7432 no worries haha
the lyrics are so accurate i can’t handle it
One of the best albums of all time.
Rest in peace Leonard, you make me feel not alone when life is dark.
Love from Germany
Totally agree. This album makes me feel so much better.
Life is not Dark brother, It is full of light. Just needs some time to reach out to you
@@asherdorockhazard1384 it sure is taking its goddamn time, then.
@@JasminaRoxaneovic yes indeed it does.. For me it took 30 fckng years to feel what real happiness is. But no matter what, we are alive and as long as we are alive there is a hope. It worth it to wait that much long
@@JasminaRoxaneovic yeah. But then again it's always there. Best wishes.
Leonard Cohen traveled the depths of emotional obliteration and existentialism, like a rare few of us.
BEAUTIFULLY EXPRESSED.
He surfed the dephts of emotional obliteration and existentialism, it's beautiful. It's like a surfer in the midnight sky between waves, sky, raindrops and beach.
@@hafsaabida2843 beautifully expressed, it reads like you are surfing your own poetry in motion wave xxx
He was more than a mortal he was sent to teach us thru his poems his music ,, I luv this ,,a swan song for sure ,, his hat ,, I have this on my playlist for my funeral
That is the longing ,and this is the hook
I've loved Leonard Cohen's music for years, but just coming off binge-watching Our Flag Means Death in a single night, I am in pain because of this song.
The ending left me gutted, from the moment Lucious dies to the moment the trail of books gets left behind....
@@dark12794 I refuse to accept that Lucious is dead.
no.. no... nope, no, no...
So to summarize, it's a NO from me.
@@dark12794 his death was off screen, there's no way he's actually dead, people have survived way worse things in the show, like being stabbed twice or the Yardies so yeah
A SINGLE NIGHT?! No wonder you're gutted! Emotional overload, plus the shock of just discovering such a surprising, funny, REAL love story 😍❤ Stories, I mean - such a safe space for LGBT+ viewers, AND softies like me, not gay but very supportive! 😄🥰🤗
I came to listen to this for the same reason, and the opening notes made my stomach drop because of the association with the scene, I've watched the entire series 8 times now and it hits so hard every time
This was the first Leonard Cohen song I ever heard, and I was hooked on him forever after.
This is one of his best songs.
Me too
Y
for me it was Suzanne
I had heard his songs for years without actually knowing it was him. The first song I heard was Everybody Knows from Pump up the volume soundtrack when I was a teenager. He has a lot of great work and my personal favorite is Never Mind but you really can't go wrong with his music.
I'm here from OFMD, this was such a well choosen song for that scene! so much that I had to search for it and been listening to it again and again
Same! Along with 'Perfect Day' and 'The Chain'. Such a great show.
SAME!!! Such a perfect song. I have been listening to this whole album. so many songs speak to their relationship.
@@212melc same! I am also revisiting both albums so many memories for me from when I was younger.
Is it in the last episode of OFMD?
@@tannedbrunette1 yes, I think it's in the end of the final episode
What a poem. Wish Leonard had got the Nobel prize like Bob did.
I prefer his lyrics to Dylan
@@ericschroeder5519 well I prefer Dylan but Cohen is wonderful too. And they have many similarities.
Their both great...
Our appreciation of him or anyone should surpass public recognition. It should come from inside of us.
Peace prize doesn't mean shit Leonard is the goat
This guy saved my life more than once. Now he has time do it again even though he is gone.
The absolute heartbreak and fear I felt when "the kraken" came back. My heart suffers for Ed.
Right???
I've listened to this song for 45 years and still find solace that another soul voiced this darkness.
makes us all feel less lonely knowing he could feel that too
I remember exactly where I was when I first heard this song. It was 50 years ago and I was a teenager standing by the fireplace in the living room. It started playing on the radio and I was forever lost in his music. I was so fortunate to see him live in 1979, totally unique. There will never be another like him. It was great to hear part of it being played on the new Dexter series. My ears pricked up the second the intro stated to play. Timeless!
I wish I had been able to see him live. What an experience
Your generation must have been amazing 👏 I'm jealous actually....
I hear ya sis
Love your memories 😊
A masterpiece,Leonard must have been in a very deep dark place when he wrote this.
Why so serious
He must have been because this song speaks to me too well.
"If I knew where the good songs come from, I would go there more often", he said at an award ceremony. (Induction to Canadian singer songwriter hall of fame, I believe.)
he once said, 'there's a lot of subdued laughter in my songs'
@@erichferdinand9742 That's a great quote. Wasn't aware of it
I've always known of Cohen's talent but never delved deep into his music. After hearing this song on the season finale of Our Flag Means Death, I just might.
Ever seen Natural Born Killers? That deep voice on the opening song Waiting For The Miracle is his song. His voice sounds great with age...
Take This Longing is a fantastic Cohen song and it fits right in with where Ed & Stede are at as of Ep 10
“The crumbs of love that you offer me, they’re the crumbs I’ve left behind”. Beautiful. Inspired me to reevaluate a lot of my relationships. Thank you Leonard 🥰
Everyone, at some point, steps into an avalanche. Just few people are able to articulate it like this. Thank you Maestro. One of the greatest song ever written.
After two years you are still speaking to all of us sweetly from a window, in the tower of song.
Fare thee well, my old friend.
Lorenzo Dini indeed
Perfect 👌🏼❤️
this is by far the greatest opening line of an album
How many roads must a man walk down...
Both equally powerful albums
Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine
Agree😌
If you wish to conquer pain you learn to serve it well ,, beautiful part for someone who gets stress out and now knowing the reality of the world
what a deep song, with richness of meanings .
Indeed, Cohen was THE poet and we have all missed him ♥
After years of analyzing "Avalanche," a song as wonderful as it is heartbreaking, I remain entangled in the multipolarity of the poem. Who sings after Leonard’s voice? A grotesque and lewd creature? A soul tormented by depression? A disillusioned man? A failed Messiah with the crumbs of the Holy Supper and thrown into the side? A spiteful and demanding Jehovah?. It seems as if the singer is reflected in multiple crystals of loneliness, desire and despair. There is nothing in contemporary music like this masterpiece. As if Leonard Cohen said: "There’s my mirror, look at yourself".
you get it,you really do...amen
I look at it like this: I see this as one of Leonard's love songs. On one side you have some one who is crippled and poor (possibly metaphorically) and who in their failures has found some kind enlightenment and sense of superiority. People flock to this man who has continued to live in a crippled state. They come to him for enlightenment and the secrets to conquering pain. After someone decides to live under his rule to teach them, he gains some form of kinship with them. But as time goes on his "student" eventually grows doubt and drifts away from him. This person who has no greed nor no need for kinship has begun to long for them, constantly cursing them and telling them "you'll be back". The character seems to have gained a superiority complex from the relationship (where he plays the dominant role) and deep down wishes for their disciple to return. I'm probably missing some stuff so please give your own interpretation, because I still feel like the way I'm looking at things is a bit flawed.
@@burtburt9321, And why not? ... A personal interpretation, one more shot of Mr. Cohen's polyhedral poetry. MERRY CHRISTMAS.
@@manuelantoniocortesballest6006 Ghost did a pretty good job with this song: ruclips.net/video/rCTkqDHuGGM/видео.html
I think the song is about drug addiction, as the title sugests, the song is the voice of a white drug (cocaine or heroin)
I've been a fan of Cohen since I was a teenager many many moons ago, and Avalanche means to me more than any other song, and this is the first time I'm not bummed a song I love was in a TV Series. Usually I feel like songs are turned "cheaper" when used in sappy modern TV, but OFMD just did it right.
The song was used in the right time and the parts they ommited kinda set the tone almost as much as the part they used. And I'm glad more people will get to know this masterpiece.
This is easily one of the best songs ever written and performed. One of my absolute favorites of all time. I am always getting goose-bumps, when I hear this song. There is so much power in his voice and the words are so wonderfully weired.
Ditto! Do you listen to it on vinyl? I highly suggest doing so, if not. The tonal range and depth is, well, spellbinding. It's the audio equivalent of a top-rate head massage! Seriously! 👍
I've grown up with a psychotic brother I'm not going into detail to what he did to me and my parents but I listened to this song and first i felt completely absurd and intense rage for a time, then i broke out in tears and just now it dawns to me why. this song was a huge trigger but it's so beautifully made clear how it felt for me/feels now and i just noticed it, before it was just a song to me and i didnt understand it was linked whatsoever to that time of my life... its a brilliant and gruesomely beautiful song.
Well I stepped into an avalanche
It covered up my soul
When I am not this hunchback that you see
I sleep beneath the golden hill
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn, learn to serve me well
You strike my side by accident
As you go down for your gold
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
Is neither starved nor cold
He does not ask for your company
Not at the centre, the centre of the world
🎵🎶
When I am on a pedestal
You did not raise me there
Your laws do not compel me
To kneel grotesque and bare
I myself am the pedestal
For this ugly hump at which you stare
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me kind
The crumbs of love that you offer me
They're the crumbs I've left behind
Your pain is no credential here
It's just the shadow, shadow of my wound
🎵🎶
I have begun to long for you
I who have no greed
I have begun to ask for you
I who have no need
You say you've gone away from me
But I can feel you when you breathe
Do not dress in those rags for me
I know you are not poor
And don't love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you are not sure
It is your turn, beloved
It is your flesh that I wear
Fantastic !
I brought the album home, put it on the turntable, Avalanche was the first track, the sinister intro, the arpeggio chords, the doomy words, gosh it felt like someone had dropped ice cubes down my back, ive been a big Leonard ever since that day many years ago, brilliant intense album
This is my favorite of all times. I always listen to it both Cohen's and Cave's versions consequently, since they can touch my soul in different ways, yet with same verses. Lyrics of this song remind me my id cruelly trying to take the control over my ego.
Ra Serves The Dinner
Cave and Ellis added such a sombre tone to it. It’s brilliant.
Normally I like Leonard Cohen to be left alone - he does them so well. But, in my opinion, this song is done better by Cave/Ellis
Tbh I couldn't stand Nick cave's cover. I love Nick cave, he's one of my favorite songwriters/singers, but I think he really screwed that one up. I knew Leonard's version first and adored it, and I always wanted to cover it but *sing* similarly to Nick cave when he is in lower register but very rough and dark, and when I was going through Nick's discography I got so excited when I saw he covered it but then when I checked it it just felt uninterested and like he was just doing the rounds. Idk, maybe he felt the original was dark enough and wanted to show a different emotional side to it but I think it would've been wayyyyyy way better had he sang it in the gravelly voice he used to sing with so much in his youth with Birthday Party and early solo career, I think it would've added an extra darkness to it that i think would've been the cherry on top for a song as good as avalanche.
Edit: I must've been thinking about the live piano version because I just went and double-checked it and he did literally exactly what I said I wished he had done. Though I don't like the instrumentation so much on it, but wow I couldn't have been more wrong lmao my apologies. My god I can't believe how wrong I was on that hahaha
I'll be gone in the dark brought me here, man what a song
Me too, me too...
Ahmed Omer same
Aimee Mann’s rendition was pretty great
Me too ! I love Aimee man”s version though too !
The lyrics can be interpreted differently on several levels, but for me, this is a profoundly spiritual song about the relationship between God and Man. Cohen was a great poet, and I don't even like poetry that much.
I always thought it’s perfect comment on the old testament.
@@watteau6 the moment of transition from old to new testament as god becomes jesus is what it feels like to me. there's that old testament harshness but a hint of love that he makes clear is unearned by the recipient
for me they speak to me learning to accept love and love myself despite my demons. i am the pedestal that holds up the demons which i once held so high. and i had to learn to accept them to love my self
it's about addiction.
he is actually "talking" to his addiction, or the demons behind it.
Nick Cave knows it very well.
Agreed. To me, it is the God within, the immortal aspect in man trying to guide the seeker, who is full of misconceptions. I think the song is so fascinating even without understanding the lyrics because something touches the soul directly, bypassing the rational mind ...
Best Leonard Cohen song ever
Chris Williams surely better than Teachers, not sure whether it’s the best though
I've loved this song for years now, I almost shot out of my chair when I heard it in OFMD. Perfectly chosen for the scene, too! I recommend to anyone here who hasn't seen it :)
Most important than never in this era of narcicism and vanity
Sad reality we live in now... false handshakes, lies about important things...
Love, compassion, real things that matter in life... its just gone for so many people.
I wish people would be more... real.
Record player + Whiskey + this song = Legendary vibes
Two fingers of a Speyside single malt with two fingers of room temperature water + Songs of Love and Hate (vinyl). When alone, I can't think of a better way to spend an hour in the evening.
Edit: add some 'smoke' into the mix, too. ;)
Music is one of highest arts, thank you Leonard.
I just discovered this song today on the reboot of Dexter. What a masterpiece!
And me too
Yup..me too..
me too
Same
Same here!!!
coming from OFMD but even before that i loved his music, this man was just built different. Such strong yet relaxing song
I miss you Leonard...I miss the darkness...
I won't say Leonard was all light, though he explored the darkest corners of the human mind and heart deeper than any explorer before or since.
@Linda Rose Smith My comment was in part a reference to his song Darkness. His work clearly has a great deal of darkness to it.
I always found the darker side of his songs to be very warm, more like the comfortable darkness under a blanket than a cold dark pit.
I have always recognized this as the inner voice of addiction. "It is your flesh that I wear"
As an 'opiate' addict, I concur.
_Your pain is no credential here_
_It's just the shadow of my wound_
This song for me, like no other, epitomises the sensation of spinal shivers and waves of goosebumps across my entire body.
Particularly when I play it from the heavyweight LP, through my half-decent stereo, cranked up. The tonal depth is mesmerising.
Played pass the parcel to this at my 4th birthday party. Hats off to my dad for having great taste and no ability to read a room.
Here because of the Ghost cover. Damn, this is so good.
same
Leonard is so much darker...it's almost funny.
Nice Magma picture, Gojira kickass \m/ Ghost not my taste, I prefer King Diamond.... but Cohen, a legend, the real deal, nothing more to say!
Check out Nick Cave’s version, it’s just as dark, but in a different way..
@@kevanbaconofficial Nick cave! The man, the myth, the legend \m/ Kickass version for sure!
When I have not this hunchback that you see I sleep beneath the golden hill .......
My god what a line .
the pain in my heart brought me here
Deep...I feel that
The possibility of pain and it's crushing weight brought me here. Leonard always understood.
And it brings me back
The pain in my heart goes everywhere
@@tomorrowaboutthistime2958 Runs like yolk across the floor to every rain soaked lonely shore.
You’ve gone away from me but I can feel ya when you breathe
😩💔
It is quite rare that a song can make you feel certain things that no other song can... Just different, raw and real. Astral Weeks is my favorite album of all time and this song and album reminds me of that raw authenticity that just a handful of artists achieve. Just comes from a place deep in the subconscious, and the soul.
Amazing lyrics, this melody is so huntingly beautiful. Leonard Cohen's music is just beauty itself.
I can listen to this a million times. This is my favorite song of all times
Thanks Rich
I think that it was his Best album.. Thanks Master for all these Diamonds. We will not forget you
forget you
Our Flag Means Death introducing me to some great new songs 🏴☠
What an absolute genius. This and Famous Blue Raincoat are phenomenal masterpieces!
Leonard wishes us a Merry Christmas with this song.
I can barely breath when you're gone...
This has always and will always give me goosebumps.
Always loved Cohen but thank the show "Outer Range" for bringing me back. Great show & soundtrack. Leonard is a pure poet. This style of guitar play is fantastic, would love to learn how to play this tune..
just over 2 years since you left us , im glad your music will always stay with us !
I tip my hat to whoever knew Leonard Cohen was a legend without needing a TV show to tell you he was
I inherited _Songs of Love and Hate_ (as part of a wider, eclectic collection of vinyl) from my somewhat older (than me) cousin when he tragically died young.
At that point, in my early 20s, I'd heard of, but not heard any Cohen. _Songs of Love and Hate_ was my introduction to him. At a time when I was mourning the loss of my inspirational cousin, while struggling with drug addiction myself.
It's a gross understatement when I say that _Songs of Love and Hate_ - but, _Avalanche_ in particular - spoke to me.
And I didn't - still don't - own a TV! 👍
Found years ago Suzanne than dance me to the end were the first song that got me into him.
It’s good that TV shows or movies have introduced new people to Cohen though.
After several deppressive episodes in my life i´m certainly sure that this songs depicts that exactly. "You who whish to conquer pain you mst learn to serve me well". Maybe about inner and unconscious fears and complexes. It´s like a doppleganger of yourself. I´m happy that old Leo finally overcomed it in its late years XD. Anyway, precious song about a very very ugly thing.
That's how I see this as well.
Have you seen Twin Peaks The Return ? Your doppelgänger comment reminded me of Evil Cooper...how awesome if Lynch would have used this song
@@asorahigh1270 Yeah i remember that! The song, the lyrics, yeah they could perfectly match with certain Lynch 'moods' haha.. Its like, the concept of 'The Shadow' but autonomous, like in Twin Peaks indeed :) Btw this song reminds me to what could be a good counterpart: The Partisan, maybe?
This eternal song I will always remember playing with you Tru🤘🏾
OMG...life long fan and only discovered this pure gold now!! Even after alllll these years, he never ceases to amaze me!! Thank you, Dexter, thank you mr. Cohen!!!
Thanks Nolan
"You who wish to conquer pain must learn what makes me kind." I don't know if anyone interprets that the way I do. To be so broken and in pain that it humbles you. Like meeting someone younger that really hasn't experienced anything near what you have.
If you want to stop suffering, find the key to the redemption of the archetype and it's real meaning
Like meeting someone older who never understood the lesson of pain, suffers blindly and forever and has become bitter and hostile.
Honestly, I don't even like the notion that we should compare ourselves to younger people like that because whereas it's natural for one who is older to have experienced more, it's a bit ridiculous to hold that over someone else who is currently experiencing something either for the first time or hasn't went through it to the same level, it isn't being childish or insensitive to be affected by something because you had not experienced it yet. It's human nature for things to feel more important early in life, whether it be your first rejection or first breakup or a death in the family, whatever. It doesn't sound so humble the way you explain yourself, it sounds more accurately like holier-than-thou type thinking. In fact you are literally saying you think your pain is a credential that makes you better in some way, which as the lyrics in the song specifically say your pain *is not* a credential. Everyone experiences pain and how they deal with it is their own. One shouldn't hold that above someone else's head as though it makes you or your perspective more valid than another. And just in that, it just really boils down to ageism in my opinion. I think it kinda sounds like you just want something artificial that you made into a personal standard to judge younger people by.
Were you trying to be ironic? Maybe I totally missed a joke or something? Cuz this just seems almost too ridiculous to be serious. Maybe I'm being too charitable but I just have a hard time believing you're saying you've been humbled by pain but then you're literally expressing the opposite the next sentence by bashing younger people just because they statistically haven't experienced as much *on average* compared to a person older than then. This disregards the fact that everyone has a different experience in life and that some are less fortunate and end up experiencing pain much more often at a younger age than others, I don't think most people who have actually experienced pain at great lengths judge other people in this way either. It comes off as a kind of an exaggeration on your part. Lastly, you aren't even old - judging from your picture you look like you're in your mid-to-late 20s, so I'm sure someone who's 60 (and also ageist) would say the exact same thing about you as you're pretending you've experienced it all.
I love this line so much but it’s hard for me to un tangle it from our flag means death because that’s where I heard the song. Given that context my personal interpretation is deciding whether or not letting your guard down is worth being more easily hurt
droning pipes, cavernous despair... man, Cohen has it all.
Tonight's the night
Was für eine stimme
Leonard Cohen .....never forgotten................
merci de nous avoir laisser tout c est belle melodie une heritage a faire decouvrir au generation a venir, merci de la haut votre musique resonnera a toujours,
You have always accompanied my life. I admired you for your songs. I am sad that you died. Your songs will always accompany me.
This was my number 1 song for 2020 on Spotify
Masterpiece
Maestro Cohen, you have conquered my heart. The first time II heard about you was in 1968. Some Norwegian girl and a song, but it was in the early 80thies I "found" you. Ever since you have been with me in dark times and in lighter times, always there to support me. Rest in peace my Maestro, you will stay in my life for ever. Thanks for your gift with all the Gems in there. Inger Svinsaas, Trondhein, Norway.
I was living in Germany when I first heard Leonard in the late 60’s. Something deep in me simply
resonated with his voice and music. And I’ll take that to MY grave. We miss you, Leonard...
Hobbes agrees.
This is pristine darkness painted on a canvas which is the soul of the listener.
I was a kid when i've listened to this song for the first time, now it has the same impact but with a lot of more significance.
this is top 5 Cohen songs easily. the imagery it evokes is great.
Got introduced to this song because Fontaines D.C. played it as an intro for their Montreal concert. And… I am from Montreal. 🥲 I am not worthy, should listen to more Cohen. Local legend. Thanks FDC for that. 🙌
You, who wish to conquer pain, you must learn..learn to serve me well...
Thank you ghost for bringing me here to this masterpiece
Omni man brings me to this masterpiece. 😍
This is the song that made me a Cohen fan. It mentions Big East Fork Creek, where I moved 20 years ago. Someone from an LC fan club contacted me to ask whether I know where he lived in a cabin while in Franklin TN. My LC journey began. I lived right next door and somehow managed to buy the old broken down cabin and property.
Well I stepped into an avalanche
It covered up my soul;
When I am not this hunchback that you see
I sleep beneath the golden hill
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn, learn to serve me well
You strike my side by accident
As you go down for your gold
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
Is neither starved nor cold;
He does not ask for your company
Not at the centre, the centre of the world
When I am on a pedestal
You did not raise me there
Your laws do not compel me
To kneel grotesque and bare
I myself am the pedestal
For this ugly hump at which you stare
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me kind;
The crumbs of love that you offer me
They're the crumbs I've left behind
Your pain is no credential here
It's just the shadow, shadow of my wound
I have begun to long for you
I who have no greed;
I have begun to ask for you
I who have no need
You say you've gone away from me
But I can feel you when you breathe
Do not dress in those rags for me
I know you are not poor;
You don't love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you are not sure
It is your turn, beloved
It is your flesh that I wear
His gone is existence, he always takes himself and goes and all salvations are angelic in his wrists...
Leonard Cohens songs helped comfort me when my fiance died 19 years ago.
It makes me happy to see that I'm not the only one who comes for Sweet Tooth❤✨
I don't know why but this song gives me strength.
I grew up with Black Metal, but this is the grimmest song I`ve ever heard.
It's not the grimmest song on the album though. 'Dress Rehearsal Rag' probably is, or 'Joan of Arc' or 'Diamonds in the Mine'. There are no really cheerful songs on the album.
The trailer for The Mustang brought me here....and im so glad! What a GREAT song!
This song and Leonard Cohen are legendary. I really love Ghost's Cover of it as well. They are both top notch.
J’espère de tout mon cœur que Doli soit maintenant avec toi dans ce royaume . Pour l’instant j’ai du mal à écouter toutes ces merveilles car mon deuil est trop récent. Merci pour tout Mr Cohen.
sometimes I need to come back to this song. Truly amazing.
this song keep's me alive sins I was 16. Reminds me my Avalanche...
The crumbs of love that you offer me...so touching
That's a clean E-flat down there. No sweat, Sarastro!
The crumbs of love that you offer me,
They're the crumbs I've left behind.
Wow. Ghost covered this note for note, the original is wow.
Leonard Cohen. A great man.
screaming kicking my legs applying eyeliner throwing up sobbing crying pushing lucius off the boat
Top 50 song all time
This song is about ego "at the center or the world" "must learn to serve me well" "i myself am the pedistal"
The cripple here that you clothe and feed is neither starved nor cold...
For my sister, bell stray, who introduced me to Leonard , rest in peace
Images from The Shining always come to my mind when I hear this song.
Love the guitarrsound….