Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag

Four o'clock
in the afternoon
and I didn't feel
like very much
I said to myself
Where are you golden boy
where is your famous
golden touch
I thought you knew where
all of the elephants lie down
I thought you were
the crown prince
of all the wheels
in Ivory Town
Just take a look
at your body now
there's nothing much
to save
and a bitter voice
in the mirror cries
Hey Prince
you need a shave
Now if you can manage to get
your trembling fingers to behave
why don't you try unwrapping
a stainless steel razor blade
That's right it's come to this
yes it's come to this
and wasn't it a long way down
wasn't it a strange way down
There's no hot water
and the cold is running thin
Well what do you expect from
the kind of places
you've been living in
Don't drink from that cup
it's all caked
and cracked along the rim
That's not the electric light
my friend
that is your vision growing dim
Cover up your face
with soap there
now you're Santa Claus
And you've got a gift for anyone
who will give you his applause
I thought you were a racing man
ah but you couldn't take the pace
That's a funeral in the mirror
and it's stopping at your face
That's right it's come to this
yes it's come to this
and wasn't it a long way down
ah wasn't it a strange way down
Once there was a path
and a girl with chestnut hair
and you passed the summers
picking all of the berries
that grew there
there were times
she was a woman
oh there were times
she was just a child
and you held her
in the shadows
where the raspberries
grow wild
And you climbed
the twilight mountains
and you sang
about the view
and everywhere
that you wandered
love seemed to go along
with you
That's a hard one
to remember
yes it makes you
clench your fist
And then the veins stand out
like highways
all along your wrist
And yes it's come to this
it's come to this
and wasn't it a long way down
wasn't it a strange way down
You can still find a job
go out and talk to a friend
On the back of every magazine
there are those coupons
you can send
Why don't you join
the Rosicrucians
they can give you
back your hope
you can find your love
with diagrams
on a plain brown envelope
But you've used up
all your coupons
except the one that seems
to be written on your wrist
along with several
thousand dreams
Now Santa Claus
comes forward
that's a razor in his mit
and he puts
on his dark glasses
and he shows
you where to hit
and then the cameras pan
the stand in stunt man
dress rehearsal rag
it's just the dress
rehearsal rag
you know this dress
rehearsal rag
it's just a dress
rehearsal rag
Four o'clock
in the afternoon
and I didn't feel
like very much
I said to myself
Where are you golden boy
where is your famous
golden touch
I thought you knew where
all of the elephants lie down
I thought you were
the crown prince
of all the wheels
in Ivory Town
Just take a look
at your body now
there's nothing much
to save
and a bitter voice
in the mirror cries
Hey Prince
you need a shave
Now if you can manage to get
your trembling fingers to behave
why don't you try unwrapping
a stainless steel razor blade
That's right it's come to this
yes it's come to this
and wasn't it a long way down
wasn't it a strange way down
There's no hot water
and the cold is running thin
Well what do you expect from
the kind of places
you've been living in
Don't drink from that cup
it's all caked
and cracked along the rim
That's not the electric light
my friend
that is your vision growing dim
Cover up your face
with soap there
now you're Santa Claus
And you've got a gift for anyone
who will give you his applause
I thought you were a racing man
ah but you couldn't take the pace
That's a funeral in the mirror
and it's stopping at your face
That's right it's come to this
yes it's come to this
and wasn't it a long way down
ah wasn't it a strange way down
Once there was a path
and a girl with chestnut hair
and you passed the summers
picking all of the berries
that grew there
there were times
she was a woman
oh there were times
she was just a child
and you held her
in the shadows
where the raspberries
grow wild
And you climbed
the twilight mountains
and you sang
about the view
and everywhere
that you wandered
love seemed to go along
with you
That's a hard one
to remember
yes it makes you
clench your fist
And then the veins stand out
like highways
all along your wrist
And yes it's come to this
it's come to this
and wasn't it a long way down
wasn't it a strange way down
You can still find a job
go out and talk to a friend
On the back of every magazine
there are those coupons
you can send
Why don't you join
the Rosicrucians
they can give you
back your hope
you can find your love
with diagrams
on a plain brown envelope
But you've used up
all your coupons
except the one that seems
to be written on your wrist
along with several
thousand dreams
Now Santa Claus
comes forward
that's a razor in his mit
and he puts
on his dark glasses
and he shows
you where to hit
and then the cameras pan
the stand in stunt man
dress rehearsal rag
it's just the dress
rehearsal rag
you know this dress
rehearsal rag
it's just a dress
rehearsal rag
Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag (live 1968)

Early live performance of one of Leonard's darkest songs, Dress Rehearsal Rag. Performed at the BBC in 1968.

Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag

Cohen.

Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag

No Copyright Intended I don't own it Blah Blah Songs of Love and Hate (1971)

Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag (Peel Session)

Dress Rehearsal Rag by Leonard Cohen, taken from the Peel Session recorded on 9 July 1968.

Nick Cave - Dress Rehearsal Rag (Live in 2006 at Leonard Cohen tribute concert)

Nick Cave Dress Rehearsal Rag (cover) Leonard Cohen tribute concert "Came so far for beauty" Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland October 5th, 2006 audio only, ...

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen