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Track: The Stranger Song
Artist: Leonard Cohen
Album: Songs Of Leonard Cohen

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Name: Leonard Cohen
Spotify Genres: singer-songwriter
Followers: 3,704,305
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Biography

Leonard Cohen was born September 21,1934, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and died November 7, 2016 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a Canadian poet, singer and songwriter. The father of [a290771] and [a1848518]. His first collection of poetry, [i]Let Us Compare Mythologies[/i], was published in 1956, followed by [i]The Spice Box of Earth[/i] in 1961. After traveling throughout Europe, he settled on the Greek island of Hydra, where he stayed for seven years. There he wrote another collection of poetry, [i]Flowers for Hitler[/i] (1964), and two novels, [i]The Favorite Game[/i] (1963) and [i]Beautiful Losers[/i] (1966). In 1967, Cohen moved to the United States to pursue a career as a folk musician. In 1994, Cohen retreated to the Mt. Baldy Zen Center near Los Angeles, beginning what became five years of seclusion at the center. In 1996, Cohen was ordained as a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and took the Dharma name "Jikan", meaning "silence". During his lifetime he recorded 14 studio albums. A tribute [url=https://www.discogs.com/Various-Im-Your-Fan-The-Songs-Of-Leonard-Cohen-By/master/3820]album[/url] with 18 songs was released in 1991, featuring [a74500], [a66358], [a31844], [a37859], [a231577], [a107077] and [a45641] among others. John Cale's cover of the song "Hallelujah" on this album served as the basis for the version released by [a159169] in 1994. Inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 (Performer) Inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010 Published by Stranger Music, Inc.

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Release Cover

Release: Leonard Cohen - The Stranger Song
Year: 1972
Genres: Rock, Stage & Screen

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Source: MusicBrainz

LYRICS

It's true that all the men you knew were dealers
who said they were through with dealing
Every time you gave them shelter
I know that kind of man
It's hard to hold the hand of anyone
who is reaching for the sky just to surrender,
who is reaching for the sky just to surrender.
And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind
you find he did not leave you very much
not even laughter
Like any dealer he was watching for the card
that is so high and wild
he'll never need to deal another
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

And then leaning on your window sill
he'll say one day you caused his will
to weaken with your love and warmth and shelter
And then taking from his wallet
an old schedule of trains, he'll say
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger.

But now another stranger seems
to want you to ignore his dreams
as though they were the burden of some other
O you've seen that man before
his golden arm dispatching cards
but now it's rusted from the elbows to the finger
And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter
Yes he wants to trade the game he knows for shelter.

Ah you hate to see another tired man
lay down his hand
like he was giving up the holy game of poker
And while he talks his dreams to sleep
you notice there's a highway
that is curling up like smoke above his shoulder.
It is curling just like smoke above his shoulder.

You tell him to come in sit down
but something makes you turn around
The door is open you can't close your shelter
You try the handle of the road
It opens do not be afraid
It's you my love, you who are the stranger
It's you my love, you who are the stranger.

Well, I've been waiting, I was sure
we'd meet between the trains we're waiting for
I think it's time to board another
Please understand, I never had a secret chart
to get me to the heart of this
or any other matter
When he talks like this
you don't know what he's after
When he speaks like this,
you don't know what he's after.

Let's meet tomorrow if you choose
upon the shore, beneath the bridge
that they are building on some endless river
Then he leaves the platform
for the sleeping car that's warm
You realize, he's only advertising one more shelter
And it comes to you, he never was a stranger
And you say ok the bridge or someplace later.

And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind ...

And leaning on your window sill ...

I told you when I came I was a stranger.