This version of Dress Rehearsal Rag was released by Leonard Cohen in 1971.
Visit the Leonard Cohen Lyrics profile at Decade Lyrics - it has the
Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Leonard Cohen or about the 1970s in general.
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.
Want more lyrics and songs by Leonard Cohen?
Leonard Cohen has released many songs over the years besides
If you're a fan of lyrics from 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1971 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!
About Lyrics and Dress Rehearsal Rag by Leonard Cohen
When you decide to study the lyrics to Dress Rehearsal Rag, you're looking at the words, verses and background chorus from the 1971 song by Leonard Cohen. Some of the lyrics to Dress Rehearsal Rag have clear meanings and some contain metaphorical references. Like most songs, only Leonard Cohen and their collaborators know the full story behind any of the their songs. You can understand the lyrics to Dress Rehearsal Rag if you take apart the structure of the words.
More Songs & Lyrics by Leonard Cohen
- Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye (1967)
- Master Song (1967)
- One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong (1967)
- Sisters Of Mercy (1967)
- So Long Marianne (1967)
- Stories Of The Street (1967)
- Stranger Song (1967)
- Suzanne (1967)
- Teachers (1967)
Show More Lyrics
- Winter Lady (1967)
- A Bunch Of Lonesome Heroes (1969)
- Bird On The Wire (1969)
- Lady Midnight (1969)
- Seems So Long Ago, Nancy (1969)
- Story Of Isaac (1969)
- The Butcher (1969)
- The Old Revolution (1969)
- The Partisan (1969)
- Tonight Will Be Fine (1969)
- You Know Who I Am (1969)
- Avalanche (1971)
- Diamonds In The Mine (1971)
- Famous Blue Raincoat (1971)
- Joan Of Arc (1971)
- Last Year’s Man (1971)
- Love Calls You By Your Name (1971)
- Sing Another Song, Boys (1971)
- A Singer Must Die (1974)
- Chelsea Hotel #2 (1974)
- Field Commander Cohen (1974)
- I Tried To Leave You (1974)
- Is This What You Wanted (1974)
- Leaving Green Sleeves (1974)
- Lover Lover Lover (1974)
- Take This Longing (1974)
- There Is A War (1974)
- Who By Fire (1974)
- Why Don’t You Try (1974)
- Death Of A Ladies’ Man (1977)
- Don’t Go Home With Your Hard-On (1977)
- Fingerprints (1977)
- I Left A Woman Waiting (1977)
- Iodine (1977)
- Memories (1977)
- Paper Thin Hotel (1977)
- True Love Leaves No Traces (1977)
- Ballad Of The Absent Mare (1979)
- Humbled In Love (1979)
- I Came So Far For Beauty (1979)
- Our Lady Of Solitude (1979)
Visit our Leonard Cohen profile for more Leonard Cohen songs, lyrics & info!
- AIR22 Songs & Lyrics
- DIDO22 Songs & Lyrics
- STORY OF THE YEAR22 Songs & Lyrics
- 3RD STOREE22 Songs & Lyrics
- EVANESCENCE22 Songs & Lyrics
- JAMELIA22 Songs & Lyrics
- MELANIE B22 Songs & Lyrics
- UNCLE KRACKER22 Songs & Lyrics
- 2GETHER22 Songs & Lyrics
- RICHARD ASHCROFT22 Songs & Lyrics
- BREAKING POINT22 Songs & Lyrics
- FROM ZERO22 Songs & Lyrics
Show More
- LIL' MO22 Songs & Lyrics
- PUDDLE OF MUDD22 Songs & Lyrics
- EARSHOT22 Songs & Lyrics
- N.O.R.E.22 Songs & Lyrics
- PEPPER22 Songs & Lyrics
- ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI22 Songs & Lyrics
- ARMIN VAN BUUREN22 Songs & Lyrics
- ELEMENT EIGHTY22 Songs & Lyrics
- FREEWAY22 Songs & Lyrics
- THE KILLS22 Songs & Lyrics
- DEM FRANCHIZE BOYZ22 Songs & Lyrics
- EVERLIFE22 Songs & Lyrics
- KINGSPADE22 Songs & Lyrics
- PRINCE22 Songs & Lyrics
- VYBZ KARTEL22 Songs & Lyrics
- RYAN CABRERA22 Songs & Lyrics
- BO BICE22 Songs & Lyrics
- FIGHTSTAR22 Songs & Lyrics
- GRACE POTTER AND THE NOCTURNALS22 Songs & Lyrics
- LCD SOUNDSYSTEM22 Songs & Lyrics
- PUBLIC ENEMY22 Songs & Lyrics
- BRANDON HEATH22 Songs & Lyrics
- TITO EL BAMBINO22 Songs & Lyrics
- SOULJA BOY22 Songs & Lyrics
- BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR22 Songs & Lyrics
- ryan22 Songs & Lyrics
- THE TRAVELING WILBURYS21 Songs & Lyrics
- ISRAEL KAMAKAWIWO'OLE21 Songs & Lyrics
- GOSSIP21 Songs & Lyrics
- MARK SCHULTZ21 Songs & Lyrics
- GROOVE ARMADA21 Songs & Lyrics
- HANDSOME DEVIL21 Songs & Lyrics
- OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW21 Songs & Lyrics
- NIKKA COSTA21 Songs & Lyrics
- DISTURBING THA PEACE21 Songs & Lyrics
- MURDERDOLLS21 Songs & Lyrics
- TAKING BACK SUNDAY21 Songs & Lyrics
- MARC BROUSSARD21 Songs & Lyrics
- SMOKIE NORFUL21 Songs & Lyrics
- HOWIE DAY21 Songs & Lyrics
- ENTER SHIKARI21 Songs & Lyrics
- KEM21 Songs & Lyrics
- JOSE GONZALEZ21 Songs & Lyrics
- KATHLEEN EDWARDS21 Songs & Lyrics
- THE MUSIC21 Songs & Lyrics
- BRIAN MCFADDEN21 Songs & Lyrics
- COSIMA21 Songs & Lyrics
- CROSSFADE21 Songs & Lyrics
- MODERN DAY ZERO21 Songs & Lyrics
- STRATA21 Songs & Lyrics
- 10 YEARS21 Songs & Lyrics
- INGRID MICHAELSON21 Songs & Lyrics
- BIRDS OF TOKYO21 Songs & Lyrics
- DETHKLOK21 Songs & Lyrics
- ANGELS & AIRWAVES21 Songs & Lyrics
- DEADBOY & THE ELEPHANTMEN21 Songs & Lyrics
- richard21 Songs & Lyrics
- MEW20 Songs & Lyrics
- IDINA MENZEL20 Songs & Lyrics
- PANDA BEAR20 Songs & Lyrics
- JAH CURE20 Songs & Lyrics
- OZMA20 Songs & Lyrics
- GROOVE COVERAGE20 Songs & Lyrics
- MAGNA-FI20 Songs & Lyrics
- SINCH20 Songs & Lyrics
- THE DARKNESS20 Songs & Lyrics
- BROOKE FRASER20 Songs & Lyrics
- DAY OF FIRE20 Songs & Lyrics
- CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH20 Songs & Lyrics
- FLYLEAF20 Songs & Lyrics
- MARION RAVEN20 Songs & Lyrics
- BEACH HOUSE20 Songs & Lyrics
- BOB SINCLAR20 Songs & Lyrics
- DIDDY20 Songs & Lyrics
- HANNAH MONTANA20 Songs & Lyrics
- LUPE FIASCO20 Songs & Lyrics
- BROKENCYDE20 Songs & Lyrics
- JORDIN SPARKS20 Songs & Lyrics
- willie20 Songs & Lyrics
- MC HAMMER19 Songs & Lyrics
- EVE 619 Songs & Lyrics
- DAFT PUNK19 Songs & Lyrics
- YOUNGBLOODZ19 Songs & Lyrics
- OPM19 Songs & Lyrics
- CROSSBREED19 Songs & Lyrics
- OLIVIA19 Songs & Lyrics
- THE MOLDY PEACHES19 Songs & Lyrics