Famous Blue Raincoat

Last updated
"Famous Blue Raincoat"
Song by Leonard Cohen
from the album Songs of Love and Hate
Released1971
Genre Folk
Length5:09
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Leonard Cohen
Producer(s) Bob Johnston

"Famous Blue Raincoat" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It is the sixth track on his third album, Songs of Love and Hate , released in 1971. The song is written in the form of a letter (many of the lines are written in amphibrachs). The lyric tells the story of a love triangle among the speaker, a woman named Jane, and the male addressee, who is identified only briefly as "my brother, my killer." [1]

Contents

Background

The lyrics contain references to the German love song "Lili Marlene," to Scientology, and to Clinton Street. Cohen lived on Clinton Street in Manhattan in the 1970s when it was a lively Latino area. [2]

In 1994 Cohen said that "it was a song I've never been satisfied with". [1] In the 1999 book, The Complete Guide to the Music of Leonard Cohen, the authors comment that Cohen's question, "Did you ever go clear?", in the song, is a reference to the Scientology state of "Clear". [3]

In the liner notes to 1975's The Best of Leonard Cohen , which includes the song, he mentions that the famous blue raincoat to which he refers actually belonged to him, and not someone else:

I had a good raincoat then, a Burberry I got in London in 1959. Elizabeth thought I looked like a spider in it. That was probably why she wouldn't go to Greece with me. It hung more heroically when I took out the lining, and achieved glory when the frayed sleeves were repaired with a little leather. Things were clear. I knew how to dress in those days. It was stolen from Marianne's loft in New York City sometime during the early seventies. I wasn't wearing it very much toward the end.

Ron Cornelius played guitar on Songs of Love and Hate and was Cohen's band leader for several years. He told Songfacts: "We played that song a lot before it ever went to tape. We knew it was going to be big. We could see what the crowd did—you play the Royal Albert Hall, the crowd goes crazy, and you're really saying something there. If I had to pick a favorite from the album, it would probably be 'Famous Blue Raincoat'." [4]

The original recording starts in the key of A minor, but switches to C major during the choruses. Cohen said, "That's nice. I guess I got that from Spanish music, which has that." [5]

Reception

"Famous Blue Raincoat" is widely considered to be one of Cohen's best songs. Far Out and American Songwriter ranked the song number six and number five, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Leonard Cohen songs. [6] [7]

Cover versions

"Famous Blue Raincoat" has also been recorded by numerous other artists, including Tori Amos, Joan Baez, Jonathan Coulton, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Eivør and Jared Louche. [8] [9] It provided the title to Jennifer Warnes' album of cover versions of Cohen's songs.

Damien Rice performed the song at the 2017 Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen concert. [10] First Aid Kit included it in their Who By Fire memorial tribute [11] sung by Maja Francis. [12]

"When I Need You" comparison

The melody of the "hook" line or chorus of "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer is identical to the part of "Famous Blue Raincoat" where the lyrics are as follows: "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." The melody of these lyrics matches the lyrics of "When I Need You" as follows: "(When I) need you, I just close my eyes and I'm with you, and all that I so want to give you, is only a heart beat away."

In a 2006 interview with The Globe and Mail Cohen said:

"I once had that nicking happen with Leo Sayer. Do you remember that song 'When I Need You'?" Cohen sings the chorus of Sayer's number one hit from 1977, then segues into "And Jane came by with a lock of your hair", a lyric from "Famous Blue Raincoat". "Somebody sued them on my behalf … and they did settle", even though, he laughs, "they hired a musicologist, who said, that particular motif was in the public domain and, in fact, could be traced back as far as Schubert." [13]

Related Research Articles

Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet Up Where We Belong and in 1987 for the Bill Medley duet (I've Had) The Time of My Life. Warnes also collaborated closely with Leonard Cohen.

<i>Songs of Love and Hate</i> 1971 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Songs of Love and Hate is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on March 19, 1971, through Columbia Records.

<i>Death of a Ladies Man</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Death of a Ladies' Man is the fifth studio album by Leonard Cohen, produced and co-written by Phil Spector. The album was in some ways a departure from Cohen's typical minimalist style by using Spector's Wall of Sound recording method, which included ornate arrangements and multiple tracks of instrument overdubs. The album was originally released in the US by Warner Bros., and on CD and the rest of the world by Cohen's long-time label, Columbia Records.

<i>Various Positions</i> 1984 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Various Positions is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984. It marked not only his turn to a modern sound and use of synthesizers, but also, after the harmonies and backing vocals from Jennifer Warnes on the previous Recent Songs (1979), an even greater contribution from Warnes, who is credited equally to Cohen as vocalist on all of the tracks.

<i>Tower of Song</i> 1995 compilation album by Various Artists

Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is a tribute album to Leonard Cohen, released in 1995 on A&M Records. It takes its name from a song by Cohen which originally appeared on Cohen's album I'm Your Man. However the song "Tower of Song" does not actually appear on this tribute album.

<i>Live Songs</i> 1973 live album by Leonard Cohen

Live Songs is Leonard Cohen's first live album, released during the three-year silence between Songs of Love and Hate and New Skin for the Old Ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)</span> 1984 single by Leonard Cohen

"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984). Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a new version recorded by John Cale in 1991. Cale's version inspired a 1994 recording by Jeff Buckley that in 2004 was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

<i>Famous Blue Raincoat</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Jennifer Warnes

Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is the sixth studio album recorded by the American singer Jennifer Warnes. It debuted on the Billboard 200 on February 14, 1987, and peaked at No. 72 in the US Billboard chart, No.33 in the UK albums chart, and No.8 in Canada. Originally released by Cypress Records, it was reissued by Private Music after Cypress went out of business. It is the only Jennifer Warnes album to make the UK albums chart.

"Bird on the Wire" is a song written by Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, which became one of his signature songs. It was recorded 26 September 1968 in Nashville and included on his 1969 album Songs from a Room. A May 1968 recording produced by David Crosby, titled "Like a Bird", was added to the 2007 remastered CD. Judy Collins was the first to release the song on her 1968 album Who Knows Where the Time Goes. Joe Cocker also covered the song on his second studio album the following year and his version reached #78 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First We Take Manhattan</span> Song by Leonard Cohen

"First We Take Manhattan" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was originally recorded by American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1986 Cohen tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat, which consisted entirely of songs written or co-written by Cohen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perla Batalla</span> American singer-songwriter

Perla Batalla is an American vocalist, composer and arranger who first gained international attention as a backup singer for Leonard Cohen before embarking on a solo career at his encouragement. Her debut album, Perla Batalla, was released on Discovery Records in 1994. She formed her own record label, Mechuda Music, and released the album Mestiza in 1998, making sales through her website. Discoteca Batalla (2002) was recorded as an homage to her parents' record shop of the same name. In 2005, Batalla recorded a tribute album to Cohen, titled Bird on the Wire, and featured in Hal Willner's Cohen tribute concert film, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.

"Ain't No Cure for Love" is a song written by the Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">When I Need You</span> 1977 single by Leo Sayer

"When I Need You" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager. Its first appearance was as the title track of Hammond's 1976 album When I Need You. Leo Sayer's version, produced by Richard Perry, was a massive hit worldwide, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in February 1977 after three of his earlier singles had stalled at number 2. It also reached number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in May 1977; and the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. Billboard ranked it as the No. 24 song of 1977. Sayer performed it on the second show of the third season of The Muppet Show.

<i>The Best of Leonard Cohen</i> 1975 greatest hits album by Leonard Cohen

The Best of Leonard Cohen is a greatest hits album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1975. In some European countries, it was released under the title Greatest Hits. This alternative title was used for the original vinyl release and for CD reissues from the 1980s onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Sorrentino</span> American singer-songwriter

Elizabeth Sorrentino is an American pianist and singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She lives in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Cohen</span> Canadian singer-songwriter and poet (1934–2016)

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011 he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.

<i>Live at the Isle of Wight 1970</i> (Leonard Cohen album) 2009 live album by Leonard Cohen

Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 is a combo CD/DVD live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Released in October 2009, it is his nineteenth album. The album was recorded in 1970 at the Isle of Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Night (Good Charlotte song)</span> 2011 single by Good Charlotte

"Last Night" is a song by American pop punk band Good Charlotte, from their fifth studio album Cardiology. It was released as the third single under Capitol Records on March 7, 2011. The song is a pop punk and alternative rock track and was written by the band and talks about having a not-so-memorable evening but enjoying it. It received mixed reviews from music critics; some thought it was a "weak and forced song", while others felt it was a "party anthem". The video is a reconstructed version of the early 1990s Nickelodeon game show Family Double Dare featuring its former host Marc Summers.

Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen was a concert, which was held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on November 6, 2017 as a tribute to singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen marking the first anniversary of his death. The concert, which featured musicians performing Cohen songs, was subsequently broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a radio and television special, airing on CBC Music on November 7, 2017 and on CBC Television on January 3, 2018.

Maja Francis is a Swedish singer best known for her work with First Aid Kit and her closing track on the Netflix series Love & Anarchy.

References

  1. 1 2 "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Leonard Cohen Songs". Rolling Stone . 26 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Kurutz, Steven (September 17, 2006). "The Lonesome Casita". The New York Times .
  3. ↑ Ratcliff, Maurice; Charlesworth, Chris (1999). The Complete Guide to the Music of Leonard Cohen. London, England: Omnibus Press. p. 37. ISBN   0-7119-7508-6.
  4. ↑ "Famous Blue Raincoat". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  5. ↑ Zollo, Paul (2003). Song-writers on Song-writing, 4th Ed. New York City: DeCapo Press. p. 343. ISBN   978-0-306-81265-1.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Tom (November 7, 2021). "Leonard Cohen's 10 greatest songs of all time". Far Out . Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  7. ↑ Patton, Alli (March 8, 2023). "Top 10 Songs by Leonard Cohen". American Songwriter . Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Leonard Cohen: 10 great covers". The Daily Telegraph . 21 June 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Steininger, Alex (July 30, 2020). "Jared Louche and the Aliens: Covergirl". In Music We Trust (26). Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Watch Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen on Wednesday, January 3 on CBC". CBC Arts, December 29, 2017.
  11. ↑ Brown, Helen (25 March 2021). "First Aid Kit review, Who by Fire: A live covers album Leonard Cohen would have loved". The Independent . Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "First Aid Kit Release Who By Fire Live Tribute Album Honoring Leonard Cohen". Sony Music . Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Adams, James (11 February 2006). "Legal battles? Cohen's Zen with that". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.