Leonard Cohen has to be among the greatest living lyricists. His music and lyrics have inspired countless musicians and songwriters (and more than one VC post). He also seems a particularly appropriate source of Sunday Song Lyrics as so many of songs, like this week’s selection — “Tower of Song” — are about music.
“Tower of Song” was the last track on 1988’s I’m Your Man (not to be confused with the 2006 tribute film). It’s been covered by folks as varied as Peter Gabriel, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Marianne Faithful, and provided the title for a 1995 tribute album. Here’s how the song begins:
Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I’m crazy for love but I’m not coming on
I’m just paying my rent every day
Oh in the Tower of SongI said to Hank Williams: how lonely does it get?
Hank Williams hasn’t answered yet
But I hear him coughing all night long
A hundred floors above me
In the Tower of Song
Here are the full lyrics, a live performance, and a version with U2. Here’s a tribute site with lots of good stuff.