Famous Blue Raincoat Guitar Tab

Songs Of Love And Hate Tabs:

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From: Harlan L Thompson 

FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT- Leonard Cohen

       Am                       F
It's four in the morning, the end of December
      Dm7                   Em7
I'm writing you now just to see if you're better
   Am                     F
New York is cold, but I like where I'm living
          Dm7                   Em7
There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening
 Am                  Bm                   Am                Bm
I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert
 Am                 G
You're living for nothing now
   Am                                G
I hope you're keeping some kind of record

CHORUS #1:
           C                               G
Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair
                             Am
She said that you gave it to her
                                    Bm  G
That night that you planned to go clear
F                  Em7
Did you ever go clear?

         Am
Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder
You'd been to the station to meet every train
And you came home without Lili Marlene
And you treated my woman to a flake of your life
And when she came back she was nobody's wife

CHORUS #2:
         C                                   G
Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth
                      Am
One more thin gypsy thief
                    Bm  G F               Em7
Well I see Jane's awake   she sends her regards

And what can I tell you my brother, my killer
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you
I'm glad you stood in my way
If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me
Well, your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free

CHORUS #3:
           C                          G
Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
                   Am                        G
I thought it was there for good so I never tried
      C                                G
And Jane came by with a lock of your hair
                              Am
She said that you gave it to her
                                     Bm  G
That night that you planned to go clear
 F               Em7
Sincerely, L  Cohen


Dm7: x x 0 2 1 1  Em7: 0 2 2 0 3 0

NOTE: Technically speaking, the bottom E should drop down to D to get a
really low note for the Dm7.  All other chords should be changed
accordingly if you feel it worth the bother.  Also, the standard Cohen
picking pattern can be used on this song (see Winter Lady).
 (from Songs of Love and Hate, 1971)
(sent by Harlan at harlant@hawaii.edu)

From: johngalt@grove.ufl.edu (JONATHAN M NEWMAN)
Subject: CRD: Leonard Cohen, "Famous Blue Raincoat"

I got this off some archive awhile ago, can't remember which. Here are
the chord changes.
VERSE
Am F Dm7 G
Am F Dm7 G

BRIDGE
F F F G
Dm7 Dm7 Dm7 G

CHORUS
C C C C
G G G G
Am7 Am7 Am7 Am7
G G G G
Dm7 G

If you have the music, you can figure it out with these changes. Leonard
Cohen is a genius.

Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net

Source: http://www.guitarmasta.net/c/cohen,_leonard/237154.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Christina Average	#1 by Christina Anderson at Sep 26, 2007 at 11:31 PM EST
	I loved reading everyone's interpretaitions of this song - it is one of those songs you think you understand and then when you listen to it again there is a line that doesn't fit in with your ideas. Malsum, I think, has worked it out. Having been born just a few years after Leonard Cohen, I can relate to the ideas predominant in young people in the 60s. (Free love was not really about having sex with anyone you wanted; there were more serious, ethical issues about not owning anyone.) When he writes this letter to Famous Blue Raincoat, I think he is expressing the fact that he has come to terms with the feelings of rage and jealousy that conflicted with what he THOUGHT he should be feeling. He has, as Malsum says, recognized that 'his' woman was made happy by another man, and can now (a long time after the events but still emotionally involved with her) accept that this was not the end of the world.

No Picture Rodney Wanna Be	#2 by Rodney at Sep 27, 2007 at 3:53 PM EST
	I think the singer is writing this letter to his brother after he died. I may be completely off my rocker here, but after listening to this song, and reading the lyrics to it over and over for the past several months and trying to figure it out, I finally sat down, and decided to read it from a different angle. Maybe his wife cheated on him, and he killed himself? I don't know. Definitely an interesting song, from any interpretation.

No Picture kyle Badass	#3 by kyle .,., at Sep 28, 2007 at 5:19 AM EST
	I've always felt the two men were more than 'friends'-perhaps brothers. "Did you ever go clear?" is a reference to Scientology. This song moves me for it blends envy, longing, compassion, passion and the acceptance of what is.

No Picture sY Average	#4 by sYsTem oWnS rOx at Sep 29, 2007 at 1:07 AM EST
	Anyone whose partner has run off with their best friend must know how he feels here.

No Picture kyle Rhythm Player	#5 by kyle perry at Sep 30, 2007 at 12:43 AM EST
	I think sidebeard's done an unquestionably indepth job of the analysis. In short i feel this song talks about the nature of sexual possession. The jealousy, passion, impulse, anger, resentment, gratitude and love that surround physical relationships.I think Cohen looks at this (i seem to think autobiographical) episode in a rather liberated manner. He speaks in favour of liberating the mind...and not trying to possess everything you love. This view is probably a result of his reflections on the jane incident. inspite of this bohemian outlook...i sense a pain, and forced acceptance in the tome of the song. This is what Cohen had to say about the song when it was still new: Frankfurt, May 6, 1970 ---------------------- [After the second verse, Cohen plays a bad chord.] I wrote this in New York, you know. And I really mean this one because this is... [another bad chord] Where IS that on the guitar? [audience laughs and applauds] Sometimes the guitar mutinies, you know. The rebelling of the guitar... [plays the chord correctly]. Yeah, that's right. No, this is a song that I really wrote recently. You've heard two-thirds of it. And it really is not merciful to a song to interrupt it with a discourse on its creation, but this is one of those songs that I really mean. And it's against the greatest tyranny that I myself experience. I feel many kinds of tyrannies from every... Almost every time men group themselves together, I flash [?] on their tyranny. But this is not a government, this is a tyranny I feel myself which is the possession of women, and woman's possession of man. And I know those chains have to be broken before anything happens. All the manifestos and all the demonstrations will change nothing until we stop enslaving each other, especially within the sexual embrace. [sings third verse] (this transcript was taken from http://alaska.magpage.com/~gm/LC-ng-90-95/1011.htm, from a post by rmura@world.std.com (Ron Mura) 25 Mar 1991)

No Picture HammerOffFreak Professional	#6 by HammerOffFreak at Sep 30, 2007 at 1:58 AM EST
	Well I'm back after three years wandering in the desert. Thanks for the comments (and the e-mail that one of you was kind enough to send). I still have a great affection for this song and stand by most of my previous thoughts (if not the histrionics that accompanied them!). I am most interested in the scientology reference that kconway mentioned and, to Fypast, I agree, the song is all about a man struggling with his shortcomings. I do stand by my thoughts about disloyalty but perhaps I would rephrase them; in Cohen's mind at least 'Jane' has been unfaithful, if not why would he still use the phrase 'my woman'? In my naivety I overlooked the allusions to drug abuse but whoever brought that up is totally on the money; it just adds to the desolation of the whole song really doesn't it? One final thought (until 2009!) ars musica mentioned the Tori Amos cover, I have to agree, it is an amazing version. Best wishes.

No Picture scotty 2 hotty Rhythm Player	#7 by scotty 2 hotty at Oct 1, 2007 at 11:59 PM EST
	Thank you Sidebeard, a perfect interpretation of quiet straight-forward yet complex lyrics. Somehow this song connects very well to Cohen´s novel Beautiful Losers. Read that one, Kconway, and you´ll even more feel that the two men are more than friends.

No Picture Christina Average	#8 by Christina Anderson at Oct 2, 2007 at 6:23 AM EST
	recently (well, 1994!), in an interview with the BBC Radio Station in England, Cohen has commented on this song saying "the problem with that song is that i've forgotten the actual triangle.....it was a song i've never been satisfied with....i've never felt that this one, that i really nailed the lyric...i've always felt that there was something about the song that was unclear". so, you see even Mr. Cohen's not sure what it's about. no wonder we all have such diffuclty finding a completely satisfactory interpretation of it! Sidebeard has done a good job though. great song isn't it?

No Picture Bobby Lead Player	#9 by Bobby Parker at Oct 4, 2007 at 10:22 AM EST
	The title raincoat was probably the article of clothing accidentally left over when she said he hadn't visited. It has to be, otherise it wouldn't be this central. It reminds me of his books. Beautiful Losers is much like this, but more so, Death of a Lady's Man. DoaLM has many poems that are so connected that they intertwine.

No Picture isaac Average	#10 by isaac fritsch at Oct 4, 2007 at 12:50 PM EST
	I didn't read all of the comments (sorry if that's rude), but I wanted to comment that I think sidebeard's analysis misses the point of the song. Jane's action isn't meant to be a "disloyalty." The singer is struggling with realizing that another man gave his woman something he couldn't give her... that he is not a god (a complex many guys have trouble with). He's struggling to realize that it's okay. That he can still love both these individuals... that the "affair" wasn't a betrayal. It was Jane's freedom exposed, along with his own freedom. This common friend caused this, for which the singer is both thankful and regretful.

No Picture Perfect Pervers Rhythm Player	#11 by Perfect Perversion™ at Oct 6, 2007 at 7:56 PM EST
	This is my combined thoughts about the incredible Leonard Cohen song "Famous Blue Raincoat" This song has allways had a enigmatic pull in me, since the first time i heard it. And from time to time over the years i have thought that i had the interpretation fixed, only to discard my theories the next day. (I work a lot with my hands as a craftsman, so i have lots of time to listen to music and let my thought wander s) I have searshed the web for explanations and intervievs with Cohen, to help me understand the meaning of the lyrics, but have allways come up short. But pice by pice the puzzle has fallen into place, and this is my interpretation...... (and sorry for any eventual grammar misshaps - I`m Swedish) ;-) First of all - lets hear the good L.Cohens own words about the song... -Frankfurt, May 6, 1970 "...this is one of those songs that I really mean. And it's against the greatest tyranny that I myself experience. I feel many kinds of tyrannies from every... Almost every time men group themselves together, I flash on their tyranny. But this is not a government, this is a tyranny I feel myself which is the possession of women, and woman's possession of man. And I know those chains have to be broken before anything happens. All the manifestos and all the demonstrations will change nothing until we stop enslaving each other, especially within the sexual embrace." from 1972 (broadcast on TV in Sweden in Sept., 1973): "Here's a song that was written for two people, for a woman and a man, and especially for a woman that I had to share with another man. But, you know, it's true what they say, that there won't be any free men until there are free women." There are many more quotes about this song out there, but I think these two are really on the spot. Keep them in mind in the back of your head as we move on to define the characters of the lyric........ There are three main characters in the song. Cohen himself, Jane, and the one refered to as brother/my killer/thin gypsy thief. In this text however I will refer to him as "The Brother". So... Cohen is the first one. Nothing special there.. we all know and love the guy ;-) This "brother" should`t be taken litterary.. We are talking about a different era in time here... An era where everyone were eashothers "brother" and "sister". Surely he was a dear friend, but not a blood relative. Jane - Since Cohen never has been married but refers to her as "my wife", I think we can safely assume she is someone he was having a serius relationship with. We mustnt forget the concept of artistic freedom here... I can imagine that it was a hole lot easier to compose a lyric containing the word Wife, than trying to squeeze in The Girl I Was Living With At The moment And Really Really Like ;-) There is also a 4:th character mentioned. One not to be overlooked - Lilly Marlene Now Lili Marlene isn`t one of Cohens own characters - It originally comes from the poem "The Song of a Young Sentry". The theme of the song is "dreaming for one's lover" and were immensly popular during WW2 on both sides of the border. With no doubt Cohen heard the song many many times in his youth, and the symbol Lilly Marlene stuch to hes mind at one of "missing love". http://ingeb.org/garb/lmarleen.html So... Through piecing together the characters and the quotes I have come up with this explanation, here presented in a chronological order of events... Cohen and Jane are a couple. Not married, but living as such for the moment, being faithfull towards each other. Cohen however is troubled by the concept of "owning another person" by demanding faithfullnes. The naturally ocuring jealousy in the realationship (between 2 people "going steady") is eating at not only him but Jane to, and Cohen can clearly see that. His jealously is hurting (limiting) Jane, but he is unable to brake free from he`s own feelings. He is unable to stop hurting/limiting the one he loves... becuse he loves her! Then into this scene comes "The Brother". A person allready troubled himself, being in love with someone that probably doesen`t return he`s feelings, and/or is abcent. He comes home to Cohen and Jane, resignated to his fate (that he will never see his loved one again), and Jane comforts him. He then decides to brake free, and move on with he´s life, and in the heat of the moment Jane feels pity and they end up in bed together. This however is just a 1-time event, and nothing serius. But after coming clean to Cohen about it, his and Janes previously exclusive relationship is never the same again. They still loves each other, but something have changed. He dosent feel the urge to "own" Jane anymore (to be exclusive), and becuse of that. he neither feels owned himself. the letter/lyrics is written some time after these events. Jane is no longer living with Cohen permanently (perhaps they never did?), but they still love each other and sleep togeter from time to time. *************** It's four in the morning, the end of December I'm writing you now just to see if you're better New York is cold, but I like where I'm living There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening. I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert You're living for nothing now, I hope you're keeping some kind of record. [This is basicly just describing the setting. "See if you're better" however, is probably referring to wether the brother has overcome his depression about the Lilly Marlene-character] Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear Did you ever go clear? [When Jane came over this time she had with her a lock of this Brothers hair. (why? No idea, but probably not that important in the context of the lyrics). Seeing the lock of hair however, trigger memories of the event and questions in Cohen, and it is becuse of this he is writing the letter. This "going clear" has often been interpreted to as drug-rehab or such, something i think is taking teh easy (and wrong) way. "That night that you planned to go clear" is the night that the Brother decided to brake free from he`s love towards the Lilly Marlene-character. Note taht he _planned_ to go clear, and last time Cohen saw/heard from him (presumibly when all these actions took place) he was still unhappily in love. Hence the question "Did you ever go clear?"] Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder You'd been to the station to meet every train And you came home without Lili Marlene And you treated my woman to a flake of your life And when she came back she was nobody's wife. [As stated above, this Brother was unhappily in love, and had aparently hoped to meet his loved one at the train station. When he came back to Jane and Cohen he was in despair, and after comforting him Jane ended up having pity-sex with him ;-) ] Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth One more thin gypsy thief Well I see Jane's awake -- She sends her regards. [Jane wakes up while Cohen is writing, and the topic of The Brother dosen`t seem to be infected since she sends her regards. Jane and Cohen has obviusly talked about it and decided to let it go.] And what can I tell you my brother, my killer What can I possibly say? I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you I'm glad you stood in my way. If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free. ["What can I possibly say?" is to me an indication that Cohen admits that the situation is somewhat absurd... And with all rights! He is actually happy and thanking the man that he`s "wife" was unfaithful with. But i guess the easiest way to explain it is to say that hes not happy about the Brother nad Jane screwing around, but he is happy over the result it brought in the relationship between him and Jane. That the crack in the relationship that occured becuse of this Brother gave Cohen the ability to shake loose his need to _own_ his woman. Cohens and Janes relationship has become better since the event and that is why he says "I'm glad you stood in my way." He allso promises this brother that if he was to come over for a visit, Jane is free to do whatever she pleases, and that the "enemy" (refering to the jealousy he earlier felt) is sleeping.] Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes I thought it was there for good so I never tried. [Now these two scentenses are the key to understanding _why_ Cohen reasons as he does. Why be happy that your girlfriend is being unfaithful? - Becuse She Is Happier. The "trouble you took from her eyes" is trouble brought on by jealousy and the feeling of being "owned" in a relationship. No matter how much Cohen loved her, he could never release Jane from that pain, just becous he loved her and it was that love that brought on the pain!! Through this dramatic turn of events and through the influence of this Brother, hes beloved Jane is no longer troubled. She is free to what she pleases, and in the end that means tha he himself is truly free.] And Jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear -- Sincerely, L. Cohen *************** There... this is my interpretation of this complexed and enigmatic text. and i actually believe all that i have been typing. With no doubt this will neither be the last or final text written about the Famous Blue Raincoat, but I hope that my analyzis have brought some light to the subject.. Finally i´d like to end this text with a quote not my L.Cohen, but by another gigant from the same era - Richard Bach (L.Cohen born 1934 - R.Bach born 1936) Strangely, but possibly not without reason, this famous quote summorize Cohens lyrics perfecly in my opinion... "If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were." -Richard Bach /Malsum July 2006

No Picture Bobby Rhythm Player	#12 by Bobby McCorkle at Oct 6, 2007 at 11:42 PM EST
	i have heard that 'jane' is janis joplin.

No Picture chris Average	#13 by chris at Oct 7, 2007 at 6:29 AM EST
	Cohen's 'Famous Blue Raincoat' is a typically inward complexity. Interpreting this epistolary song is made difficult by the ambiguity surrounding the specific relationships of it's subjects. Cohen's description of a love-triangle is none-the-less tremendously astute, provoking great tenderness and empathy for his intense, and often contradictory emotions. Certainly 'Jane' was an intimate of the author, referring to her both in the first and third person as 'his woman', however Jane's relationship with 'Famous Blue Raincoat' is less clear. Unquestionably she was unfaithful to Cohen with him, however the extent to which is speculation. The evidence purports that Jane's involvement was somewhat more than a single act of infidelity. The line, 'And you treated my woman to a flake of your life, And when she came back she was nobody's wife' definately implies that their relationship was sustained for some duration, and sarcastically, that it was an honor. For her to come back, she must have gone away, surely for more than a single night. Moreover, for the incident to inspire such beautiful verse, and such interest and knowledge in the adulterer you would expect the affair to have spanned some time. Cohen's 'enemy', his rival in affection for the woman, deserts her, leaving her with neither Cohen, who is cuckolded, or of course, himself - grown tired of the engagement. The heart of this song is it's exposition of envy. Cohen reluctantly and with devastating resignation, thanks his rival for removing the sadness that pained the face of his woman - something he was impotent to. Because of his love for Jane, his humiliation; his rejection and loss, even though at her hands is abated by her improvement. Furthermore, Cohen is with hindsight, 'glad' that he was prevented from reclaiming his woman, recognising (again with reluctance) that regardless of his love for her, she could never be his. Not after such disloyalty. The tale is composed some time after the conclusion of the affair. The three members of the triangle are essentially independant, although Cohen and Jane remain close enough for a memento of her one-time-only suitor to be brought over to his residence. Perhaps this is the most vague aspect of the song. Cohen and Jane are separated, coming by 'with a lock of your hair' seems an incredibly insensitive act on the woman's part, excusable only if both the author and she, feel together the abscence of 'Famous Blue Raincoat', a man who we are informed has aged, remains unsettled, (is dissatisfied perhaps). Such a supposition though, disagrees with the rest of the song. The detail, 'The last time we saw you... Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder' suggests the loss of eligibility, possibly giving Cohen some form of wicked consolation and the song's proviso, 'Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free', reveals the author's present temper; he refuses to see the man that stole his woman, but cannot inhibit him, should he return for Jane. He is too badly wrecked, made passive by rejection.

No Picture HIYA Wanna Be	#14 by HIYA at Oct 8, 2007 at 6:07 AM EST
	I am here to add what i think has been missed in all of the above interpretations, allthough i do aggree completely with the work of Side board about the parts which I do not write about here I too am toying with the idea that the friend/enemy/brother has manic depression, allthough i'm not completely sure, I almost see it differently everytime i hear it. I myslef am a bi-polar sufferer and can see how many parts of the song correspond with the feelings of someone with the problem "Your living for nothing now" this coldly states the man's will to live being serouisly affected by the dissorder. Other reflections of unstable mood are shown metaphorically for example "Your famous blue rain coat was torn at the shoulder," perhaps the famous blue raincoat being the mans loveable yet sometimes depressive personality or perhaps this refers to the mans physical appearance as I know the depressive phases do actually change a persons appearance also "you looked so much older" rather than having aged litterally in time. Another reason I see this more and more strongly is the metaphoric depiction of isolation in the man being written to " I hear that your building your little house deep in the desert." And the final closing piece of evidence for me is the line " I hope your keeping some kind of record" psychiatrists often ask their patents, including me to keep a record, or daily diary of events and how your mood is feeling, so it can be guessed when another phase is coming on. But! becuase the writer knows about the diary keeping proccess suggests he too has experienced mental difficulties himslef in the past (or present) and therefore joins the two characters, (fiction or non-fiction,) closer together. Another point where the author and friend relate is the feeling of isolation, but the author is himself doing something literal to try and escape it perhaps moving to New York and hearing "music on clinton street all through the evening" (the night times are typically the worst time for a manic deppressive.) Possibly the proffesional help received by the author was due to the betrayl and rejection from Jane. There is of course evidence to support that Jane herself also had a deppressive or troubled mind "the trouble you took from her eyes." I could go on further and further deeper and deeper, untill at a certain point it would become nonsense. In conclusion, I see the song as an elicit love Traingle between three tortured souls.

No Picture metalis4ever Average	#15 by metalis4ever at Oct 8, 2007 at 3:13 PM EST
	This song haunts me, intrigues me, confuses me and unquestionably holds me whenever I listen to it. I have asked numerous people to sit and listen to it inorder to gain their 'insight' and often similar themes emerge of love and betrayal and a three-sided relationship of sorts. For me I was initially caught by the songs complex simplicity. What I mean by this is that it lulls you in with its observations and uncomplicated arrangements only to leave you perplexed and feeling like you know less each time you listen. It's art is hidden. I suppose it's better that way.

No Picture Will Wanna Be	#16 by Will Hay at Oct 9, 2007 at 12:16 PM EST
	Just a quick thought - when I heard this song I imagined that the "woman" and Jane were two differnt people. The author has a retaliatory affair with jane after "Famous Blue Raincoat" has had an affair with his woman. Does that make some sense?

No Picture Frost Wanna Be	#17 by Frost Bite at Oct 10, 2007 at 12:34 PM EST
	I see this song through a different lens, perhaps colored or clouded, as much as informed, by personal experience... I believe the singer is "writing" to someone (his “brother”, for lack of more insight) suffering from manic-depression (clinically, bipolar disorder). For sufferers. the inevitable bouts of depression combined with reckless manic episodes and periods of relative calm, make personal lives extremely complex and trying. The imagery created in many lines ("just to see if you're better", "You're living for nothing now", "Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder", "Did you ever go clear") paint a picture of a very troubled soul for which the singer feels concern and compassion, tinged with admiration. But manic-depressives are also often unusually gifted, compelling, and charismatic individuals (particularly while manic - "I see you there with the rose in your teeth/One more thin gypsy thief") whose occasional more serious depressive dispositions can lend air of drama and complexity of character. With this backdrop, I imagine the brother, perhaps insulated by mania or wrapped in the depths of his own illness, and despondent about losing "Lili Marlene,” having a brief, careless affair with Jane ("treated my woman/to a flake of your life”) , his personality (complex and compelling in part due to his illness) awakening a passion she never experienced before with the singer, and making her realize that she must therefore leave her husband, even though the brother had no plans to stay with her. Which yields the tragic sense infusing the song - the singer is made aware of his own inadequacy, shallowness, or humanity, by the way just a "flake" of his brother's life transformed Jane. "And when she came back she was nobody's wife" seems to reference a spiritual or psychological journey and awakening, rather than a separation in time or space. The singer’s resigned acceptance of the "good" this did Jane implies that he has acknowledged to himself that he would never have been able to touch her - "I'm glad you stood in my way", "Thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes/I thought it was there for good so I never tried." Jane is no longer the singer's wife or his woman, and only dallies with him for companionship and the distant link to his brother ("Jane came by with a lock of your hair"). Near the close of the song is a cryptic line that feels like the key to understanding why the brother, the powerful figure who has touched and shaken so deeply the lives of others, seems so lost himself ("You’re living for nothing now" "Just to see if you're better"): "If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me [While] your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free." The brother's enemy is not the singer - the brother clearly won Jane's affection with a "flake" of his life - almost incidentally - with the singer's hold on her nothing of consequence and the object of desire (Jane) clearly transitory. The brother's enemy is his illness, which drives him to build a house in the desert and live for nothing, which he planned to escape by "going clear", the illness that is so integral to his mythic and transformative character that it, "the enemy," is what took the trouble from Jane's eye, and made her "his woman". I can find no other way of interpreting this line, or the whole song, of reconciling the brother's tragic emptiness and aimlessness with his dramatic impact on Jane and others without acknowledging the hulking shadow such an enemy. I do know that L. Cohen has made multiple and somewhat conflicting references to love triangles, to him being the owner of the famous blue raincoat, to going clear alluding to scientology (which he has rejected), and the official lyrics do not include the “While” in “While your enemy is sleeping (though I hear it in the song, and others hear the word “well”), so I may be literally wrong about the intended meaning. But the story in the words rings true to life, something that could or did or must have happened.

No Picture Crystal Average	#18 by Crystal at Oct 12, 2007 at 3:10 PM EST
	Oh I love that interpretation of the song. It IS very vague, as is not uncharacteristic of Leonard Cohen, but I really love this song. The first time I heard it, I knew I had fallen in love with Cohen. I know of now other lyricist who can evoke such power in his words. The melody is simple and clean. Listening to this on an old Cohen record is simply one of the greatest musical experiences one can ever have, in my opinion. This will always be one of my favorite songs of all time. Tori Amos has also done quite a haunting cover of this song that I think most Leonard Cohen fans would enjoy.

No Picture ian Average	#19 by ian mckinly at Oct 13, 2007 at 5:35 AM EST
	i enjoyed reading everyones thoughts and particulars of these lyrics.. sidebeard and malsum appear to be on the ball. I much prefer the simplicity in which malsum presented it. This song always gives me very strong mixed emotional feelings. I read all the comments and would just like to thank everyone who contributed to my gaining a better understanding of it. This song has had me perplexed for too long now.

No Picture Daniel Average	#20 by Daniel Gordon at Oct 14, 2007 at 1:02 AM EST
	Does anyone understand the reference to "Lili Marleen"? It was the name of a WWII song that was well known in various languages in most of Europe.

No Picture Aaron Average	#21 by Aaron Doyle at Oct 14, 2007 at 3:30 AM EST
	My dad and I used to listen to this song when I was very young. I was always under the impression that it presented a love triangle of sorts. And that the man with the Famous Blue Raincoat was one of the author's close friends, he does refer to him as Brother. I think that the man with the Famous Blue Raincoat was a drug addict, and that the woman was in love with him, but always harboured the hope that he would stop taking drugs. Eventually he was too far gone to ever be whole again, and the woman returned to the author, because they too love eachother. The author looks upon the man in the Famous Blue Raincoat with a tired, weary affection. He understands that his woman and the man are in love. There is no anger in this song. Just saddness, and loss.

No Picture chris Wanna Be	#22 by chris valverde at Oct 14, 2007 at 7:12 AM EST
	Leonard Cohen has stated many times over this song was a failure. Despite the popularity of it amongst his fans he has always felt that this song never said anything on what most consider his masterpiece album. The fact that it sits so close to his most dense songs ever(man of the year and jon of arc) was a testament to how much lyrical thought he put into those. While a brilliant atmosphere piece, leonard has always(in interviews) denied there is any significant story behind or to this song other than it's mere existence as a straightforward piece of fition.

No Picture Jesus Average	#23 by Jesus Christ at Oct 16, 2007 at 9:32 PM EST
	One of the nice things about these lyrics is that they're so ambiguous that a woman can sing them. I first knew the Jennifer Warnes version (better than the Tori Amos one, I think) and I always thought Jane was the singer's little sister. Read like that, and with a change from "my woman" to "some woman", the song is about the singer forgiving the man who broke Jane's heart - at the time it seemed he'd just played with her (a flake of your life) but in the end she's realised that he did give something to Jane after all (thanks for the trouble you took from her eyes). This is the wonderful thing about songs - they can mean so many things dependent upon the context.

No Picture MysticCat Wanna Be	#24 by MysticCat (Janis johnny Udodovs) at Oct 17, 2007 at 3:27 AM EST
	So glad for a chance to discuss this. I've actually been toying with a completely different interpretation altogether. I may be completely crazy but I'm guessing that there is no love triangle at all. It appears to me that the brother/killer who has taken off to make his home in the desert was a friend to both Cohen and Jane who was addicted to heroin. I believe that heroin is the "flake of your life" that Jane is treated to which "takes the trouble from her eyes" and that the reason that "when she returned, she was nobody's wife" is because she had given herself over to addiction. I believe that the addiction to heroin is the reason that the estranged friend "appeared so much older" the last time he was seen by Jane and Cohen. I'm thinking that "going clear" is synonymous with "getting clean". When LiliMarlene doesn't show up at the train station, the brother/killer plunges deeper into the depths of his addiction and goes so far as to take Jane along with him. In short, I think the brother/killer hooks Jane on the junk, splits town and leaves Cohen to deal with the mess. I dunno- that's just how the lyrics hit me. Would love to hear comments...Thanks!

No Picture Tony Average	#25 by Tony Riemer at Oct 17, 2007 at 4:40 AM EST
	I just looked up "flake" on dictionary.com, and it says flake is a slang term for cocane. So Seagull could be onto something with his interpretation. But if his lyrics "thanks for taking the trouble from her eyes" is refering to the drugs, why would he be thanking him for turning her into an addicted zombie. I think maby the other interpretation, a moment in his life, makes more sense. Also, i just wanted to add that before reading these comments, i always thought the flake line was implying that Jane and the blue raincoat guy had an affair, and then he tossed her into the hands of another man that turned out to be a flake . Because when i hear flake, i think of a person. But i think i was probably way off.