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]

The same melody can be heard in Elton John's "Little Jeannie" in the lyrics: "Stepped into my life from a bad dream / Making the life that I had seem / Suddenly shiny and new."

Related Research Articles

Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer and songwriter who 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Leonard</span> American musician, producer (born 1956)

Patrick Ray Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums True Blue (1986), Who's That Girl (1987), Like a Prayer (1989), I'm Breathless (1990) and Ray of Light (1998). He scored Madonna's 2008 documentary I Am Because We Are, played keyboards with her at Live Aid (1985), and was musical director and keyboardist on The Virgin Tour (1985) and the Who's That Girl World Tour (1987).

<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>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>Broadway Melody of 1938</i> 1937 film by Roy Del Ruth

Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 American musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film is essentially a backstage musical revue, featuring high-budget sets and cinematography in the MGM musical tradition. The film stars Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor and features Buddy Ebsen, George Murphy, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Raymond Walburn, Robert Benchley and Binnie Barnes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Without You</span> 2003 single by Ringo Starr

"Never Without You" is a tribute song from Ringo Starr to his former Beatles bandmate George Harrison, who died on 29 November 2001. The recording appeared on Starr's 2003 album Ringo Rama, and was also released as a single.

Word painting, also known as tone painting or text painting, is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics or story elements in programmatic music.

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

Live Songs, recorded in 1970 and 1972, released in 1973, during the three-year silence between Songs of Love and Hate and New Skin for the Old Ceremony, is Leonard Cohen's first officially released live album; though Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 had been recorded in 1970, that album was not released until 2009.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance Me to the End of Love</span> 1984 song by Leonard Cohen

"Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen. It was first performed by Cohen on his 1984 album Various Positions. It has been recorded by various artists and in 2009 was described as "trembling on the brink of becoming a standard."

<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 at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.

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.