  
In
a 1994 BBC Radio Interview Cohen remarked: "The problem with that song
is that I've forgotten the actual triangle. Whether it was my own - of
course, I always felt that there was an invisible male seducing the
woman I was with, now whether this one was incarnate or merely imaginary
I don't remember, I've always had the sense that either I've been that
figure in relation to another couple or there'd been a figure like that
in relation to my marriage. I don't quite remember but I did have this
feeling that there was always a third party, sometimes me, sometimes
another man, sometimes another woman. It was a song I've never been
satisfied with. It's not that I've resisted an impressionistic approach
to songwriting, but I've never felt that this one, that I really nailed
the lyric. I'm ready to concede something to the mystery, but secretly
I've always felt that there was something about the song that was
unclear. So I've been very happy with some of the imagery, but a lot of
the imagery ... "
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Cohen's
songs inspired Canadian artist Elizabeth Laishley to create pieces
called "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Homage to Leonard Cohen." In 1999
Laishley held an exhibit of her Cohen inspired art in Calgary, Canada,
entitled "Poetry and Songs of Leonard Cohen." (thanks, Shannon -
Kathleen, GA, for all above)
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Ron Cornelius played guitar on this album and was Cohen's band leader for several years. Here's what he told us about this:
"We
performed that song a lot of places. Typically gardens in Copenhagen,
the Olympia Theater in Paris, the Vienna Opera House. We played that
song a lot before it ever went to tape. We knew it was going to be big.
We could see what the crowd did - you play the Royal Albert Hall, the
crowd goes crazy, and you're really saying something there. If I had to
pick a favorite from the album, it would probably be 'Famous Blue
Raincoat.' I ran his band for 4 years all over the world and played on 4
of his albums, and hands down the best one was Songs Of Love And Hate.
We worked 18 months on that album, Paul Buckmaster did the strings in
London, and I went to London 9 times recording that album."
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Ron tells us about Paul Buckmaster:
"Buckmaster
is a wonderful string arranger, he did Elton John's records, he's just
one of these guys who can make an orchestra talk. In other words, if the
strings aren't saying something, it ain't on the record. On that album
we cut basic tracks, and then let him live with them for a couple of
months while he was writing the orchestrations. Then we went back in
there, put the strings on and worked for a couple of weeks. Paul
Buckmaster is a genius, no doubt in my mind. To be able to do the songs
on Love And Hate, he had to take those songs and let them get into him and be creative enough to come in with those killer arrangements." Regarding the orchestra, Ron said:
"In
London these guys are all 50, 60, 70 years old, and they're all dressed
nicely in a string section with cellos and oboes and stuff, and they've
got their little lunch pails by them. When it comes time for lunch, I
don't care what you're doing, you have to stop and they all take their
little lunch pails, take their lunch, then fire back up again."
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Singer Jennifer Warnes has an album entitled Famous Blue Raincoat
that features many Cohen covers, including this song. She was a back-up
singer for Cohen in the early '70s and is partially credited for
bringing Cohen back into popularity in the '80s before the release of
his comeback album I'm Your Man.
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Tori Amos does a haunting cover of this. |
