Artist: Leonard Cohen
Track: You Want It Darker

Lyrics
If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game
If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame
If Thine is the glory, then mine must be the shame
You want it darker
We kill the flame

Magnified, sanctified, be Thy holy name
Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
A million candles burning for the help that never came
You want it darker

Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my Lord

There's a lover in the story
But the story's still the same
There's a lullaby for suffering
And a paradox to blame
But it's written in the Scriptures
And it's not some idle claim
You want it darker
We kill the flame

They're lining up the prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
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

Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my Lord

Magnified, sanctified, be Thy holy name
Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
A million candles burning for the love that never came
You want it darker
We kill the flame

If you are the dealer, let me out of the game
If you are the healer, I'm broken and lame
If Thine is the glory, mine must be the shame
You want it darker

Hineni, hineni
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my Lord

Hineni
Hineni, hineni
Hineni

Full Lyrics and Meaning

SongMeanings Interpretations
Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker Lyrics
It's God that wants us to do bad things ("You want it darker") and we tend to always obey that ("We kill the flame"). Not a very merciful and loving God then, ...
You Want It Darker Meanings & Lyrics Discussion
fordablesock discusses the meanings of You Want It Darker lyrics: Yeah its a lot of jiddisch and the best possible explanation is thats it about him dying etc. I listened to this song while being on the verge of breaking up with my then
Leonard Cohen - Treaty Lyrics
... SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It's super easy, we promise! Artists - L · Leonard Cohen · You Want It Darker · Treaty Lyrics. More ...
Leonard Cohen - It Seemed the Better Way Lyrics
It's super easy, we promise! Artists - L · Leonard Cohen · You Want It Darker · It Seemed the Better Way Lyrics. More Featured Meanings. Album art. The Night We ...
Leonard Cohen - Traveling Light Lyrics
It's super easy, we promise! Artists - L · Leonard Cohen · You Want It Darker · Traveling Light Lyrics. More Featured Meanings. Album art. Mountain Song Jane's ...
Leonard Cohen - Steer Your Way Lyrics
It's super easy, we promise! Artists - L · Leonard Cohen · You Want It Darker · Steer Your Way Lyrics. More Featured Meanings. Album art. Dreamwalker Silent ...
Leonard Cohen - Avalanche Lyrics
Well I stepped into an avalanche. It covered up my soul. When I am not this hunchback that you see. I sleep beneath the golden hill. You who wish to conquer ...
Leonard Cohen - If I Didn't Have Your Love Lyrics
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means. ... It's super easy, we promise! Artists - L · Leonard Cohen · You Want It Darker · If I Didn't Have Your ...
Leonard Cohen Lyrics, Songs, Albums And More
... dark and venomous-toned a song as Columbia Records put out in 1971. And the ... You Want It Darker · 19. To The Top. Contribute to Leonard Cohen · Log in to add ...
Leonard Cohen - By the Rivers Dark Lyrics
I thinks it's about a life that went in the wrong direction , to the road that leads to the wrong life and spending time in that life , so much time that you ...
Leonard Cohen - Leaving the Table Lyrics
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means. Don ... It's super easy, we promise! Artists - L · Leonard Cohen · You Want It Darker · Leaving the Table ...
Leonard Cohen - So Long, Marianne Lyrics
We met when we were almost young Deep in the green lilac park You held on to me like I was a crucifix As we went kneeling through the dark. (They probably ...
Joni Mitchell - A Case Of You Lyrics
And the song is purportedly about Leonard Cohen, a star from Canada, a northern country, like herself. Canada is already on her mind, as becomes clear a few ...
Leonard Cohen - Last Year's Man Lyrics
I want to thank you, Joan of Arc, For treating me so well. And though I wear a uniform I was not born to fight; All these wounded boys you lie beside, Goodnight ...
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah Lyrics
Now, I've heard there was a secret chord. That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do ya? It goes like this, ...

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Genius Meanings
	Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker
	The title track to Leonard Cohen’s most recent album, announced on his 82nd birthday, “delves into an unflinching exploration of the religious mind,” according to a press release.
	Iggy Pop – You Want It Darker
	[Verse 1] / If you are the dealer / I'm out of the game / If you are the healer / It means I'm broken and lame / If thine is the glory / Then mine must be the shame / You want it
	Is Leonard Cohen Coming To Terms With Death On His New Song ”You Want It Darker”?
	This reference may hold the clue.
	Anita Lester – You Want it Darker
	If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game / If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame / If thine is the glory, then mine must be the shame / You want it darker / We kill
	First Aid Kit – You Want It Darker (Live)
	If you are the dealer / Let me out of the game / If you are the healer / It means I'm broken and lame / If thine is the glory / Then mine must be the shame / You want it darker
	Leonard Cohen – It Seemed the Better Way
	Like the title track ‘You Want It Darker", this song starts with Montreal’s Synagogue Choir. An early version of the lyrics already appeared online in 2003. The song seems to
	Leonard Cohen – Traveling Light
	An early version of the lyrics is found in Cohen’s poetry collection Book of Longing (2006). In the song, a Greek bouzouki is heard. Cohen has spent some years of his early life
	Leonard Cohen – Leaving the Table
	Reconciliation is a key theme in Leonard Cohen’s lyrics. In this song, Cohen seems to let go of some form of conflict or battle with an unspecified person. He is ‘leaving the table
	Leonard Cohen – Treaty
	An instant classic Cohen song on which he has worked for at least seven years. The song expresses grief for an impossible love. Like ‘Hallelujah’, we are not sure if this love is a
	Leonard Cohen – Steer Your Way
	First published as a poem in The New Yorker (June 20th, 2016).
	Leonard Cohen – Thanks for the Dance
	Thanks for the dance / I'm sorry you're tired / The evening has hardly begun / Thanks for the dance / Try to look inspired / One-two-three, one-two-three, one / There is a rose in
	James Blake – Death of Love*
	Lyrics from debut live performance in Glasgow, 30/04/2022 / I don't know how we got here / I think we might be sleeping / I think we might be walking to the death of love (To the
	Leonard Cohen – On the Level
	[Verse 1] / I knew that it was wrong / I didn't have a doubt / I was dying to get back home / And you were starting out / I said I best be moving on / You said we have all day
	Leonard Cohen – If I Didn't Have Your Love
	A remarkably sweet love ballad in the late oeuvre of Leonard Cohen. In it, he describes the bitter cold state in which his world would be without his love.
	Leonard Cohen – String Reprise/Treaty
	A wonderful instrumental reprise of the second song on this album, Treaty. This instrumental string composition concludes the album, but Cohen himself gets to speak the last words
	Leonard Cohen – String Reprise/Treaty
	A wonderful instrumental reprise of the second song on this album, Treaty. This instrumental string composition concludes the album, but Cohen himself gets to speak the last words
	Leonard Cohen – You Want to Strike Back and You Can't
	You want to strike back and you can't / And you want to help but you can't / And the gun won't shoot / And the dynamite won't explode / And the wind is blowing the other way / And
	Leonard Cohen – Puppets
	German puppets burnt the Jews / Jewish puppets did not choose / Puppet vultures eat the dead / Puppet corpses they are fed / Puppet winds and puppet waves / Puppet sailors in their
	Leonard Cohen – So Long, Marianne
	Marianne is Marianne Ihlen, ex-wife of the Norwegian author Axel Jensen, who was a friend of Leonard. Leonard lived with Marianne in Greece together, in the 1960s, after Axel
	Leonard Cohen – Happens to the Heart
	I was always working steady / But I never called it art / I got my shit together / Meeting Christ reading Marx / Sure it failed my little fire / But it's bright the dying spark
	Leonard Cohen – Listen to the Hummingbird (2019)
	Listen to the hummingbird / Whose wings you cannot see / Listen to the hummingbird / Don't listen to me / Listen to the butterfly / Whose days but number three / Listen to the
	Leonard Cohen – Everybody Knows
	From Leonard Cohen’s iconic I’m Your Man album. A “dark” song, which some perceive as his pessimistic view of the world, with multiple references to social issues. Written in
	Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah
	By some interpretations, Cohen is in an argument with God. King David’s “hallelujah,” in the book of Psalms, is said to have pleased the Lord. Cohen addresses God: “But you don’t
	Leonard Cohen – Winter on Mount Baldy
	It's winter on Mount Baldy / The monks are shoveling snow / It's swinging free, the Gateless Gate / But no one seems to go / It's cold and dark and dangerous / And slippery as a

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SongTell Meaning
	Meaning of "You Want It Darker" by Leonard Cohen
	The song "You Want It Darker" by Leonard Cohen is a powerful and passionate plea for understanding in dark and difficult times. The song explores the strug...
	Meaning of "You Want It Darker (Live)" by First Aid Kit
	"You Want It Darker (Live)" by First Aid Kit is a cover of the original song by Leonard Cohen, so the following interpretation is based on the overall mean...

SongFacts
	You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen - Songfacts
	You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position
	Traveling Light by Leonard Cohen - Songfacts
	Traveling Light by Leonard Cohen song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position
	Listen To The Hummingbird by Leonard Cohen - Songfacts
	Listen To The Hummingbird by Leonard Cohen song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position
	It Seemed the Better Way by Leonard Cohen - Songfacts
	It Seemed the Better Way by Leonard Cohen song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position
	Treaty by Leonard Cohen - Songfacts
	Treaty by Leonard Cohen song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position
Songfacts - Songs featuring choirs
Songfacts category - Songs featuring choirs

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Genius Albums
	Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen by Various Artists
	Get all the lyrics to songs on Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen and join the Genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics.
	Songs from the Road by Leonard Cohen
	Get all the lyrics to songs on Songs from the Road and join the Genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics.
	Songs from a Room by Leonard Cohen
	Get all the lyrics to songs on Songs from a Room and join the Genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics.

Encyclopedia of Lyrics, Song Meanings & Chords

Artist: Leonard Cohen Track: You Want It Darker

Artist: Leonard Cohen
Track: You Want It Darker