leonardcohenforum.com

When-Early 1970's
Where-Late One Night On The Radio While Trying To Fall Asleep
What Song?-One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong

End of the seventies,
Some German youth radio programme everybody listened to these days,
The Partisan.

Very impressive song, especially Leonards more generalized view in contrast to the Frech wording. Looking back, it seems to me that it reared my conviction of myself alone being responsible for everything I do during national service (which, 20 years ago, was quite comfortable and not really dangerous in the German army because then we were only supposed to defend our country if the Russians would try to swallow us).

I think I bought "Greatest Hits" one day because I wanted that song, and was very impressed by Suzanne and Bird On The Wire. The beginning of a long story...

In mid 90's or later I found a webpage with samples of Juraj Kukura (Slovak actor) singing Leonard Cohen's songs (with Czech lyrics).
One-minute samples sounded great so I looked for originals.
I found beatiful English in very nice music atmosphere. Waltz, No Cure For Love, Everybody Knows, I'm Your Man, Manhattan, Hallelujah, Dance Me, Suzanne, (I still look for I Can't Forget). Later I discovered great ones Marianne, Raincoat, Chelsea...

I bought Kukura's CD via web but I was little disappointed cause there is not enough of poetism, it is enough for one minute, it is not enough for 3 minute song. It's hard to do cause English is rich for short words and long syllabes.

I am little disappointed with his later works cause he mostly whispers his lines and there is less steam in newer songs. I like Dear Heather song, it's annoying a bit but very nice as well.

When: Whenever it was that Shrek 1 came out
Where: Watching Shrek 1 at home
What song: Hallelujah

It is my all time favourite Cohen song. It just took my breath away the first time I was able to reflect on it.

In guitar class 1982 "Story of Isaac", love at first heed.
He played the song because I could not strum the guitar, he felt that I would like the guitar style on the song.

The teacher gave me the album after he busted my guitar string.

the first time i heard Leonard Cohen was in the mid 70's, the album was Love and Hate. My first reaction was not pretty, and i could not figure out for the life of me how he could have written Suzanne, the one sung by Judy Collins. but in short order i was hook and have been ever since

David Perrings

When : 1972

Where : at school, a friend made a report about Leonard Cohen in the english class (it was in France), explained a few songs, played some of them in a small record player, and among them were Suzanne and The Old Revolution. But the very first one I heard was...

What : The Partisan. Curiously not a Leonard song, but I was impressed by the union of the bass and the guitar. And the voice was there, so...


Patyou

By the way, it is not so fair to remind someone the moment when his life was forced to change...

When: Fall of 1980

Where: In the living room of my childhood home, sitting in front of the stereo.

What: Suzanne. I had bought "Songs of Leonard Cohen" for 99 cents at Titus Oaks, a used record store that had been in a old Wetson's hamburger stand in Hicksville, Long Island. Yes, that's really the name of the town. It had the lyric sheet inside, and it looked like it would be good. I had no idea what I was in for.

Hicksville does exist? I thought it's just Dylan Horrocoks' utopia.

Tom Sakic wrote:Hicksville does exist? I thought it's just Dylan Horrocoks' utopia.

I don't know if there were ever any "Hicks" in Hicksville, by the time I got to Levittown in the 60's (Levittown being due south) the farms were gone. Hicksville is notable throughout Long Island for three things, as far as I know:

1. A Long Island Railroad train station.
2. The childhood home of Billy Joel.
3. Amazing amounts of traffic, especially around the mall.

I discovered Leonard Cohen in 1988, when I was 10 years old, living in a tiny two-bedroom apartment with my parents, my baby brother and baby sister in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

I saw the music video for First We Take Manhatten on MUCH MUSIC. I thought the song was hilarious for some reason. I was hystarical.

The funniest parts were:

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom, and the way he said "I don't like what happened to my sister" that really did it for me.

Then when I was 15 I saw the music video for Closing Time on VH1 in Fort Lauderdale.

When I got to college I bought all his albums!

Maybe two years ago now? Not sure.
But I saw some words from Everybody Knows and went out and bought The Essential Leonard Cohen CD. I played the Everybody Knows track in the shop, so that is the first Cohen song I ever heard. I fell about laughing - that man's sense of humour hits the spot with me every time!

Along time ago!

Only 2 years ago Fljotsdale?Hmm, you must be very young.

I heard LC for det first time around 1972 and it was on Norwegian
radio channel NRK.
The song was "Suzanne"