So Long, Marianne – English Lyrics

• By: Leonard Cohen

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a lyrical journey with Leonard Cohen's "So Long, Marianne" – a song whose profound emotional depth and poetic beauty make it an exceptional piece for language learners. Through its evocative storytelling and accessible folk rock style, you can explore themes of love, loss, and memory, while appreciating Cohen's masterful use of English to convey complex human emotions. This song offers a unique opportunity to connect with the nuances of English expression in a deeply moving and memorable way.

[English]

♪ Come over to the window, my little darling ♪

♪ I'd like to try to read your palm ♪

♪ I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy ♪

♪ Before I let you take me home♪

♪ Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ♪

♪ To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again ♪

♪ Well you know that I love to live with you ♪

♪ But you make me forget so very much ♪

♪ I forget to pray for the angels ♪

♪ And then the angels forget to pray for us ♪

♪ So long, Marianne, it's time that we began ♪

♪ To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again ♪

♪ 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 ♪

♪ Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ♪

♪ To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again ♪

♪ Your letters they all say that you're beside me now ♪

♪ Then why do I feel alone? ♪

♪ I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web ♪

♪ Is fastening my ankle to a stone ♪

♪ Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ♪

♪ To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again ♪

♪ For now I need your hidden love ♪

♪ I'm cold as a new razor blade♪

♪ You left when I told you I was curious ♪

♪ I never said that I was brave♪

♪ Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ♪

♪ To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again ♪

♪ Oh, you are really such a pretty one ♪

♪ I see you've gone and changed your name again ♪

♪ And just when I climbed this whole mountainside ♪

♪ To wash my eyelids in the rain ♪

♪ Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ♪

♪ To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again ♪

Key Grammar Structures

• ♪ I'd like to try to read your palm ♪

  ➔ Polite desire/intention with 'would like to' + 'try to [verb]'

  ➔ The phrase "I'd like to" (short for "I would like to") expresses a polite desire or intention. "try to read" means to make an effort to do something.

• ♪ I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy ♪

  ➔ 'Used to' (Past habit/state)

  ➔ "used to think" describes an action or state that happened regularly or existed continuously in the past but does not happen or exist now.

• ♪ Before I let you take me home♪

  ➔ Causative verb 'let' (Permission)

  ➔ The structure "let you take" (let + object + base form of verb) means to allow or permit someone to do something.

• ♪ Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ♪

  ➔ 'It's time that + past simple' (Suggesting an overdue action)

  ➔ The phrase "it's time that we began" (It's time that + subject + past simple verb) is used to say that something should have been done already or should start happening now. It often implies a slight reproach or urgency.

• ♪ But you make me forget so very much ♪

  ➔ Causative verb 'make' (Compulsion/Cause)

  ➔ The structure "make me forget" (make + object + base form of verb) means to force or cause someone to do something. Unlike 'let,' it implies a lack of choice for the object.

• ♪ You held on to me like I was a crucifix ♪

  ➔ 'Like' as a conjunction for comparison (as if) + Phrasal verb 'hold on to'

  ➔ "like I was" is used here as a conjunction meaning "as if" or "in the way that." It introduces a comparison. "held on to" is a phrasal verb meaning to grasp something firmly.

• ♪ As we went kneeling through the dark ♪

  ➔ 'As' for simultaneous action + 'go + present participle'

  ➔ "As we went kneeling" uses "as" as a conjunction to indicate that two actions are happening at the same time (we went and we were kneeling). The structure "went kneeling" (go + -ing) describes the manner or continuous action of moving.

• ♪ For now I need your hidden love ♪

  ➔ Past participle used as an adjective

  ➔ The word "hidden" is the past participle of the verb "to hide." Here, it functions as an adjective modifying "love," describing a type of love that is kept secret or not openly shown.

• ♪ I'm cold as a new razor blade♪

  ➔ 'As...as' comparison (Equality)

  ➔ The "cold as a new razor blade" uses the "as...as" structure to show that two things are equal in some quality (coldness) or to make a comparison of equality.

• ♪ I see you've gone and changed your name again ♪

  ➔ Idiomatic use of 'have gone and done something' (Perfect tense with an added nuance)

  ➔ The phrase "you've gone and changed" (have gone and done something) is an idiomatic expression that emphasizes an action taken, often implying a sense of surprise, annoyance, or a significant change, sometimes suggesting the action was done without prior consultation or in a way that affects the speaker.