leonardcohenforum.com

I've found on YouTube 2 unattributed recitations. Haven't received replies from the uploaders so far, but I think I cleared up the details.

1. The first recording is inexplicably unclaimed (less than 1 view per day!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M5mMSIX6RY
It is a fragment of

1997 - Beautiful Losers - Arte Network, France - 34m
Interview for French TV, broadcast on 29 July 1997.

See screenshot @ Diamonds in the Mine to receive evidence:
"film & arts" logo, the same suit, the same window frame finally

2. The other one is extremelly popular (more than 1,1 million views) audio-only recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXaRT8CXmGE

Briefly, this recitation is taken from KCRW interview (March 3, 1998). It was mentioned on the Forum by Jean-François Bédard in 2002 and by Tom Sakic in 2003.
This lyrics also appeared here, in Lily's post.

But the lyrics recited in 1997 are little-known. Google finds its ONLY appearance on the Net.

Read this masterpiece below and note the second strophe!

Don't matter if the road is long
Don't matter if it's steep
Don't matter if the moon is gone
And the darkness is complete
Don't matter if we lose our way
It's written that we'll meet
At least, that's what I heard you say
A thousand kisses deep

Don't matter if you lie to me
Don't matter if you cheat
When you sell me down the river
I'll pretend to be asleep
There's a pair of leather gloves for you
And a blade against your cheek
But it's strange what you forget to do
A thousand kisses deep

I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat
You see, I'm just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second hand physique
With all he is and all he was
A thousand kisses deep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M5mMSIX6RY

That version (without 2nd verse!) is sung in 1996 demo version of this poem/song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko7Pyz55ziU It's from documentary entitled LEONARD COHEN SPRING 96.

Thank you, Tom, but I knew it.
That's why I asked to "note the second strophe". Haven't ever heard or read it before.

By the way, I want to ask you about recitations and publications of this poem.

I know the followings:

1992 - Warnes' "Way Down Deep"
1996 - documentary
1997 - video interview (actually, German film, not French)
1998 - radio interview
1998 - on Blackening Pages
2001 - "Ten New Songs"
2006 - "Book of Longing"
some late (?) extra verses, recited during World Tour

Plus - 2006, after BoL publication - 2 different (and - as for me - unknown) variants of "I'm good at love...": see this forum post, and the next one.

Can you add anything?
Would appreciate your help.

The part of the poem printed under 1 in Book of Longing was actually planned as new song entitled Still Into That (on different melody). Sharon Robinson said in 2004 interview they are working on "follow up to A Thousand Kisses Deep" with rest of the verses. First draft of Book of Longing, which was sent as PDF to publishers and translators, had "Thousand Kisses Deep" divided as two poems/songs, "A Thousand Kisses Deep" (album version), and "Still Into That".

1992 - Warnes' "Way Down Deep"
1996 - documentary "Leonard Cohen Spring 96" by Armelle Brusq
1997 - video interview "Beautiful Losers" (ARTE)
1998 - radio interview KCRW
1998 - on Blackening Pages
2001 - "Ten New Songs" - song
2006 - "Book of Longing" early draft sent to publishers, printed as two songs (A Thousand Kisses Deep /album version/ and Still Into That)
2006 - Book of Longing - all verses combined into two parts, 1 and 2 (=album version)
2008-2009 some late (?) extra verses, recited during World Tour, and variations
2009 - Recitation with N.L. (Live in London) - recitation of Part 1 (variation)

I didn't know about the draft BoL version, thanks.
Do you have the "Beautiful Losers" interview?

Yeas, recorded from ARTE from pre-DVD era... It's three part documentary, one part about LC, one about Mariane Faithfull, and third one about Willie de Ville (i think?).

Yes, Willy DeVille.
As it turned out, ARTE is a Franco-German network. Director is from Germany: Diethard Küster (imdb).

I wonder why, but there's no information at The LC Files. Can you write a line?

And is there any chance to see 34-minute fragment online (or just anything else, besides this recitation)?
I contacted with a fellow who has VHS too, but his recording is partial.

Don't matter if you lie to me
Don't matter if you cheat
When you sell me down the river
I'll pretend to be asleep
There's a pair of leather gloves for you
And a blade against your cheek
But it's strange what you forget to do
A thousand kisses deep


that will follow me for a while...thank you..

Because engl. is my second language..I try understand

what it might mean..when you sell me down the river..??a-h

Helia, that means nothing good at all: it's all about betrayal.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/sell+down+the+river
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sell_down_the_river

These days I have updated a bit the part of my personal WEB dedicated to Cohen. I’m here again, now looking for the lyrics of the Rare Song: A Thousand Kisses Deep 1996 (Mount Baldy, Armelle Brusq's documentary, Spring 96), that was already included in the collection of The Other - Another - Leonard Cohen Album Heck Of A Guy. (Rare Song is an expression that ~greg used).
My Rare Songs collection ---A Thousand Kisses Deep

I just write to pay tribute to all of you; those already mentioned, to the creator of this site, to Goldin, tomsakic, Lilifyre, Cohencentric, YouTubers... for all this information. This is an anthropological search that allows me to gather pieces of Cohen's work to flow in a solitary, hermetic, non-transferable, inexplicable way towards my inner deep kisses.