Leonard Cohen Delivers Dark Present on His 82nd Birthday

Leonard Cohen releases title track from his upcoming album, You Want It Darker, on his 82nd birthday. The album will be released on October 21, 2016.

Today is the 82nd birthday of legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, and he has delivered us a gift. Cohen’s website reveals that his new album, titled You Want It Darker, will be released on October 21st. The first single and title track is available for streaming and will be offered as an instant digital download for those who pre-order the album. According to the announcement on Cohen’s website, the song “delves into an unflinching exploration of the religious mind”.

Both the music and the lyrics to “You Want It Darker” suggest a somber message, an awareness of his own impending demise and his final thoughts on a society in decline. “I struggled with some demons/They were middle class and tame/I didn’t know I had permission to murder and to maim/You want it darker/I’m ready, my Lord.” These are the words of a man who has made his peace and is satisfied with the mark he has left on this world.  Saying “you want it darker” is not so much as a question as it is a response to a request.

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 15: Leonard Cohen performs live on stage at O2 Arena on September 15, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Redferns via Getty Images)

Cohen’s somber spoken lyrics are accompanied by Montreal’s Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir, giving the song a hypnotic and mesmerizing vibe. It’s painful to hear Cohen speak as if the end of his time is near, especially after all of the celebrity deaths over the past year. “If you are the dealer, I’m out of the game,” he says in the opening line. One minute into the track, the collective voice of the choir swells behind him as he muses on “a million candles burning for the help that never came.” Lyrics like “vilified, crucified in the human frame” are in keeping with Cohen’s grim style and commentary on politics and religion. The track ends with Cohen declaring “I’m ready, my Lord.”

The upcoming album, and presumably Cohen’s last, was produced by his son, Adam Cohen. You Want It Darker will feature 9 tracks in all. Here are the titles and description of each of those tracks as listed on Cohen’s website.

1. “You Want It Darker”
Hypnotic groove. The surprise of a great synagogue choir. An unflinching exploration of the religious mind.
“Didn’t know I had permission to murder and to maim.”

2. “Treaty”
One of Cohen’s signature melodies. A confession of the selfishness of love and the hope of a correction.
“Only one of us was real—and that was me.”

3. “On the Level”
An old man’s take on desire.
“I was fighting with temptation, but I didn’t want to win”

4. “Leaving the Table”
A slow, relentless, and somehow joyous ballad of letting it all go by. A guitar solo you will remember.
“I’m leaving the table, I’m out of the game.”

5. “If I Didn’t Have Your Love”
A classic Cohen love song: the deep gratitude felt by one heart opening to another.
“That’s how broken it would be,
what the world would seem to me,
if I didn’t have your love to make it real.”

6. “Traveling Light”
A seeker hits the road and finds the joys of solitude.
“I’m traveling light
It’s au revoir
My once so bright
My fallen star”

7. “It Seemed the Better Way”
The feeling of a prayer that’s been there forever, but the spiritual comforts of the past no longer available.
“Lift this glass of blood, try to say the grace.”

8. “Steer Your Way”
A song of courage as the heart moves into the darkness.
“Steer your heart past the pain that is far more real than you.”

9. String Reprise/ Treaty
A brilliant reimagining of “Treaty” as a string quartet; a truly glorious moment ending with a few words from Leonard himself.
“I wish there was a treaty we could sign.”

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You Want It Darker can be pre-ordered via iTunes.