Death of a Ladies' Man – English Lyrics

• By: Leonard Cohen

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Leonard Cohen's intriguing 'Death of a Ladies' Man,' a unique collaboration with Phil Spector that dramatically reshaped his sound. This album offers a rich tapestry of poetic lyrics exploring complex emotions and the unraveling of relationships, making it a fascinating listen for those wanting to understand English through nuanced storytelling and a blend of musical styles.

[English]

Ah, the man she wanted all her life was hanging by a thread

"I never even knew how much I wanted you," she said

His muscles, they were numbered, and his style was obsolete

"Oh, baby, I have come too late," she knelt beside his feet

...

"I'll never see a face like yours in years of men to come

I'll never see such arms again in wrestling or in love"

And all his virtues burning in the smokey holocaust

She took unto herself most everything her lover lost

...

Now the master of this landscape, he was standing at the view

With a sparrow of St. Francis that he was preaching to

She beckoned to the sentry of his high religious mood

She said, "I'll make a place between my legs, I'll show you solitude"

...

He offered her an orgy in a many mirrored room

He promised her protection for the issue of her womb

She moved her body hard against a sharpened metal spoon

She stopped the bloody rituals of passage to the moon

...

She took his much admired oriental frame of mind

And the heart-of-darkness alibi his money hides behind

She took his blonde madonna and his monastery wine

"This mental space is occupied, and everything is mine"

...

He tried to make a final stand beside the railway track

She said, "The art of longing's over and it's never coming back"

She took his tavern parliament, his cap, his cocky dance

She mocked his female fashions and his working-class moustache

...

Now, the last time that I saw him, he was trying hard to get

A woman's education, but he's not a woman yet

And the last time that I saw her, she was living with some boy

Who gives her soul an empty room and gives her body joy

...

So the great affair is over, but whoever would have guessed

It would leave us all so vacant, and so deeply unimpressed

It's like our visit to the moon, or to that other star

I guess you go for nothing, if you really wanna go that far

...

It's like our visit to the moon, or to that other star

I guess you go for nothing, if you really wanna go that far

...

It's like our visit to the moon, or to that other star

I guess you go for nothing, if you really wanna go that far

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
wanted /ˈwɒntɪd/ A1	verb - past tense of want; desired or wished for
hanging /ˈhæŋɪŋ/ A2	verb - suspended or held by a rope, string, etc.
obsolete /ˈɒbəsoʊliːt/ B2	adjective - no longer in use or no longer useful
virtues /ˈvɜːrʧuːz/ B1	noun - moral excellence or good qualities
holocaust /ˈhɒləkɔːst/ C1	noun - a great destruction or sacrifice, especially by fire
sentry /ˈsentri/ B2	noun - a soldier stationed to keep guard
solitude /ˈsɒlɪtjuːd/ B2	noun - the state of being alone
orgy /ˈɔːrdʒi/ C1	noun - an event involving unrestrained indulging in sex, food, or alcohol
rituals /ˈrɪtʃuəls/ B1	noun - a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order
alibi /ˈælɪbaɪ/ B2	noun - a claim or proof of having been elsewhere when an event occurred
tavern /ˈtævərn/ B1	noun - a place serving alcoholic drinks and food
vacant /ˈveɪkənt/ B2	adjective - not occupied or in use
unimpressed /ˌʌnɪmˈprest/ B2	adjective - not impressed or influenced by something
landscape /ˈlændskeɪp/ B1	noun - all the visible features of an area of land
beckoned /ˈbekənd/ B1	verb - past tense of beckon; to signal or summon with a gesture
sharpened /ˈʃɑːrənd/ A2	verb - past tense of sharpen; to make something sharp or more acute
mocking /ˈmɒkɪŋ/ B1	verb - to laugh at or criticize someone in a scornful way
education /ˌɛdʒʊˈkeɪʃən/ A2	noun - the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction
impression /ɪmˈpreʃən/ B1	noun - a strong effect or influence on someone's mind or emotions
moon /muːn/ A1	noun - the natural satellite of Earth