Leonard Cohen is a poet, musician and a fantastic artist!

This of course is a Leonard Cohen post. I'm not as familiar with his work as I'd like to be. I only discovered his music 17 years ago while doing a stretch in prison. The first song I ever heard from him was "The Future".

I cannot and will not label him as a prophet, although some might want to. Should I describe the man I would say that he appears to think very deeply and with great concerns about many things. He addresses many topics that most would not care to even concern themselves with. Call that what you will but I myself call it an honesty that few men I have ever met have with their own fears.

He is from Canada which to me seems odd because Canada is to me like a close neighbor but in America his work is almost considered underground in nature except by the artist (or wanna-be artist) world and they try so hard to be elite that they hide the really good stuff from us for fear we might all become enlightened and take away from their status of being "well educated" in the arts at bullshit meetings with phony users seeking only to steal profit from an artists accomplishments and stow away on their fame hiding behind them. (I'm sorry but YOU FUKKIN PRODUCERS SUCK!!!!!"

Aiight, I got that off my chest an now I'm just so happy-happy-happy....

Anyway, where was I again?
"Oh Yea" I like him and I think he's fantastic!

"Cohen has published 12 books the most recent 2006's Book of Longing, a collection of poetry, prose and drawings. Book of Longing reached #1 on the Top 10 Hardcover Fiction Books in Canada, as compiled by Maclean’s Magazine, being the first book of poetry ever to reach the top of the bestsellers’ lists in Canada.
Leonard Cohen has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1991, Cohen was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2003, a Companion to the Order of Canada - the latter of which is Canada's highest civilian honor recognizing a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. In June 2008, he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec."

Above was taken from a bio page on leonardcohen.com. It's all I snagged & half way down the page. I would have grabbed more but I expect that if you want more you should visit the official site [here] because it has never been my intent to deflect from the artists traffic. If anything I only try to peak your interests and entice you to seek more.

These are the lyrics to "The Future"
I do not like the authors interpretation of a few lines in this song on the bio page. You might see it or you might miss it. If you do notice them then please take note that I disagree with Sony Entertainment Canada's over-payed & under-educated writers... "pfffffft~"

The Future...
Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!

Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant

You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I'm the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going
any further
And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil's riding crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant

There'll be the breaking of the ancient
western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
and the white man dancing
You'll see a woman
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the lousy little poets
coming round
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
and the white man dancin'

Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said repent, repent
I wonder what they meant

When they said repent,
Repent ...

Official version vid, 20% shorter and censored but still pretty good.