Cohen, Leonard - The Traitor Lyrics






Now the Swan it floated on the English river
Ah the Rose of High Romance it opened wide
A sun tanned woman yearned me through the summer
and the judges watched us from the other side
I told my mother "Mother I must leave you
preserve my room but do not shed a tear
Should rumour of a shabby ending reach you
it was half my fault and half the atmosphere"

But the Rose I sickened with a scarlet fever
and the Swan I tempted with a sense of shame
She said at last I was her finest lover
and if she withered I would be to blame

The judges said you missed it by a fraction
rise up and brace your troops for the attack
Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action
Oh see the men of action falling back

But I lingered on her thighs a fatal moment
I kissed her lips as though I thirsted still
My falsity had stung me like a hornet
The poison sank and it paralysed my will

I could not move to warn all the younger soldiers
that they had been deserted from above
So on battlefields from here to Barcelona
I'm listed with the enemies of love

And long ago she said "I must be leaving,
Ah but keep my body here to lie upon
You can move it up and down and when I'm sleeping
Run some wire through that Rose and wind the Swan"

So daily I renew my idle duty
I touch her here and there -- I know my place
I kiss her open mouth and I praise her beauty
and people call me traitor to my face





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Cohen, Leonard The Traitor Comments
  1. C.... C....

    Dam Schlomo that is a nice watch!
    Thanks! My father sold it to me before he died.

  2. F.... M....

    I have so much to be thankful to Leonard Cohen for. So much. Thank you Leonard.

  3. W.... H....

    Super ...o zo mooi !

  4. B.... S....

    Beautiful video to a beautiful song 🌹♥️
    RIP Mr Leonard Cohan ♥️🌹🕯️✨

  5. S.... T....

    Love the song but I wish you didn't have the text. The rose is meaningful enough.

  6. c.... h....

    RIP You beautiful man.

  7. V.... S....

    We all are in great need of chief editor of stuff, nonetheless I am sure you believe me when I wrote for Mozart...

  8. D.... B....

    Thank You . ... ..

  9. V.... B....

    No man is an island ...nor is anyone perfect ..... But Leonard's songs go right to the heart ....with truth .

  10. D.... B....

    Thank You

  11. D.... B....

    Thank You

  12. P.... R....

    LC -is a great MAN, RIP

  13. S.... O....

    Somebody is a very good photographer! ❤

  14. P.... B....

    I love you in all your imperfections Leonard. And ec.

  15. C.... M....

    Some people aren't traitors...
    They are innocently placed in positions to take over
    The winged beings when they're to far away ?!
    Or Divine Mercy is asking
    You to cradle a precious
    Person......who would not
    Have made it without
    The transport of simple
    Love , understanding.,
    And a gaze of opulence,
    Full and knowing.

  16. P.... B....

    thy falsity ought to sting you....like 3 hornets!

  17. P.... B....

    it's the responsibility of each person (both people, in this case,) to know what we do and admit who we are, as adults. Regardless of what situation.
    Sort of like Hey Jude.
    As far as Leonard is concerned, he admitted early on, he sang his songs to get the girls; amd after, he thanked them. And, he has always been honest about liking sex. versus love. (in his novels and fm other biographies.
    I do not believe he felt self loathing. He knew and admitted who he was. He fell in love several times, and it was evident.
    He was a tumultuos soul, and he was also not one to be bound by convention. ("next time I want a calm spirit" Lover Lover Lover Come Back To Me.)That kind of honesty can be challenging to face, if the other person has feelings.
    And, Today, women know to take responsibility for our decisions about making love and having sex. Back then, not all women knew, (not many men thought like Leonard did,) nor did some take responsibility for making their own choices.
    Our society has been maturing. There were people who had clear heads about this in years past; there,were also alot who were .....misled.

  18. D.... B....

    Thank You

  19. L.... R....

    It's always the real traitor who points his or her finger at another and calls her or him a traitor, to conceal their repugnant misuse and abuse of other human beings in their Roman circus.

  20. M.... D....

    Thank you so much for posting this. I have almost all his CDs but I only have a recording of this from 1979. It's not this good. 🌹🌹

  21. m.... t....

    Should rumor of a shabby ending reach you...that’s one of the best couplets ever penned, in my belief. Thank you Dear Leonard.

  22. K.... L....

    Amazing♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️👄👄👄👄

  23. P.... D....

    Incredible song, incredible singer, I miss him so. Can’t wait til next year and his new album 2019

  24. c.... z....

    This song seems to be connected to his song THE PARTISAN.

  25. j.... j....

    Why he stayed in so many loveless relationships we will never know - maybe a high misery quotient and low self esteem

    j.... j....

    Or the desire to dominate - there's always that ...

    j.... j....

    juliet juliet Dear Juliet, am in the same phase of life where I too fell deeply in love with a girl whom I could not marry as destined and endless miseries followed me to remain unmarried still am 33 and lost deeply - L Cohen life relates with me in some or the other way.
    Why I wrote is to fact u mentioned about misery quotient it’s true dear

  26. k.... m....

    forever immortalized

  27. A.... R....

    Merci pour vos belles chansons

  28. A.... P....

    What album is this on never heard before

    A.... P....

    Ann Perry
    Recent songs album.

    A.... P....

    Recent Songs, there's more gems like this song on it...

  29. g.... l....

    l. cohen is ,was a great artist . many thanks to him .

  30. P.... C....

    👍🏻❤️😎✌️😂😁❤️👍🏻😀😃😄😁❤️😎👍🏻

  31. p.... p....

    Me enamora cada vez que escucho su voz .... ❤❤ Wonderful ❤

  32. c.... ....

    A great loss to humanity. Leonard saw me through some hard times. Rest now RIP.

  33. A.... M....

    One of your best Leonard. Thank you.R.I.P

  34. M.... K....

    A most beautiful song, sung from the heart, I am wondering if the violinist is Raffi Kopian, the wonderful violinist who plays on the song "The Window"? Exquisite, sublime and a real treat. Thank you both for the enjoyment delivered by this song

    M.... K....

    I don't think it's Raffi. This was 1979.

    M.... K....

    It’s from the album Recent Songs, which did feature Hakopian, so yes, it almost certainly is.

  35. E.... M....

    pasan (me falla la n)

  36. E.... M....

    Una canción que el gran maestro compuso sin saberlo para un traidor que por un tiempo vivió en la ciudad donde nací cosas que pasa

  37. C.... M....

    Musically perfect but you really have to concentrate on the lyrics. Colm.

  38. E.... C....

    Bellíssima melodia, enorme poesia i genial interpretació. Descansa en pau Leonard, ens mancaràs sempre

  39. H.... R....

    Wonderful video, unique. Hans Rosenthal (A.H.R.D.)

  40. D.... K....

    what a song,the man never disappoints,R.I.P Leonard.

  41. H.... N....

    a poet of utmost delicacy

    H.... N....

    he should have won a Nobel prize too !

    H.... N....

    he is more than nobel

  42. D.... C....

    I was late to you but you always be with me and the rest of us who loved your songs

  43. m.... b....

    Rest in peace you profound poet and minstrel. So long, dear Leonard

    m.... b....

    so proud to have lived along ...

    m.... b....

    marco brenni b

  44. M.... S....

    Rip my man.

  45. R.... f....

    R.I.P Leonard , i will always remember you and your another great song ''here it is'' , Rezan

    R.... f....

    I'm sorry but Leonard will NEVER be dead...even though they named him ..cut your throat Choen.

    R.... f....

    +Chris Daldy-Rowe yes but they don't know brilliant music so fck. them rest in peace len.

  46. L.... C....

    I can't stop listening to this one. Canada's best. RIP Mr. Cohen.

    L.... C....

    He gets you like that, Leonard touches our soul

    L.... C....

    @Pete Roberts Amen..

  47. D.... M....

    A musical and poetic genius with a deep sense of humour and irony. Wonderfully creative, like no other. RIP Leonard

  48. k.... c....

    Thank you for your music. Goodbye LH.

  49. S.... W....

    This is a favorite. <3 The world of music will miss Leonard Cohen.

  50. T.... F....

    Rest in Peace, Leonard. You made me who I am today.
    This unknown treasure here will forever be one of my favourite songs.

    T.... F....

    See too, my friend. Without his songs I wouldn't where I am today !

  51. E.... K....

    His music will never die !!!!

  52. D.... W....

    Thank you for the music, Leonard. We will miss you.

  53. M.... P....

    Now the swan it floated on the English river
    Ah, the rose of high romance, it opened wide
    A sun tanned woman yearned me through the summer
    And the judges watched us from the other side

    I told my mother, "Mother, I must leave you
    Preserve my room but do not shed a tear
    Should rumor of a shabby ending reach you
    It was half my fault and half the atmosphere"

    But the rose I sickened with a scarlet fever
    And the swan I tempted with a sense of shame
    She said at last I was her finest lover
    And if she withered I would be to blame

    The judges said, "You missed it by a fraction
    Rise up and brace your troops for the attack"
    Ah, the dreamers ride against the men of action
    Oh, see the men of action falling back

    But I lingered on her thighs, a fatal moment
    I kissed her lips as though I thirsted still
    My falsity had stung me like a hornet
    The poison sank and it paralyzed my will

    I could not move to warn all the younger soldiers
    That they had been deserted from above
    So on battlefields from here to Barcelona
    I'm listed with the enemies of love

    And long ago she said, "I must be leaving
    Ah, but keep my body here to lie upon
    You can move it up and down and when I'm sleeping
    Run some wire through that rose and wind the swan"

    So daily I renew my idle duty
    I touch her here and there, I know my place
    I kiss her open mouth and I praise her beauty
    And people call me traitor to my face

    M.... P....

    Marcela Poblete Perez..............thanks so much for lyrics, makes it easier to follow. very beautiful but also very deep meaning,,,,,,,,,,

    M.... P....

    So sad!

    M.... P....

    Thanks for posting ! I think the 3rd line should be " A sun tanned woman yawned me through the summer " ( it's what I have always sung ! ) but I do stand to be corrected ! Lots of good wishes from Ely in England ! Dave

    M.... P....

    @Dave Streatfield Actually you and Marcella both stand corrected...The song say's, "A suntanned woman YARNED me through the summer ". As in sewing. As in stringing him along. It's an old fashioned expression.

    M.... P....

    Hey Moon Dancer ! I love it ( even though I think you might be spinning one for me - but I'm just not sure if it's a yearn , a yawn or a yarn ! ) Good wishes from Cambridgeshire in England .

  54. E.... N....

    And Mother said , i suffer in your coming and your going.

    E.... N....

    Eileen Napier didn't all mothers say the same?!!!!...good on ye Leonard hope you had a good life Rest in peace now dear one,,x

  55. H.... F....

    0:43 - "A suntanned woman *yawned me through the summer."

    H.... F....

    Hayyim Feldman thought it was yearned.

    H.... F....

    yawned seems more like what he wouldve prefer, better too i think

    H.... F....

    It is definitely yawned not yearned.

    H.... F....

    Yes; yawned. I'm still getting up to speed on the song and the "suntanned woman" may or may not be the same one he ended up with, but if so...she started out being in it for fun (or whatever) - thus, she "yawned me through the summer". He put on a show (maybe in good faith, but wrongly) of emotional commitment and convinced her to love him, only for them both to realize their mistake too late. What he "missed by a fraction" was either actually feeling the love he thought he should feel, or being honest before one or both got hurt.


    At least, that's how I interpret it at this point.

  56. J.... P....

    Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action/ See the men of action falling back.
    If only...

    J.... P....

    hopefully the Orange Satan will soon die...……..

  57. z.... ....

    He could linger on my thighs any time XD

    z.... ....

    zeldagoblin

    z.... ....

    stephen ward yes?

    z.... ....

    leonard was a ladies man,zelda………………..

    z.... ....

    @Joe V Leonard said he was NOT a ladies man. Rent the movie "I'm your man". He mentioned the 10,000 nights he spent alone. I'm sure he slept around in his youth and middle age but a lot of us did.

  58. D.... H....

    ON my knees, You 2 be

  59. W.... ....

    He's above my head. I like that.

    W.... ....

    I like that you like that.

  60. I.... ....

    Thanks Omar.

  61. R.... ....

    Prophetic.

  62. J.... D....

    So wonderful so touching

  63. A.... P....

    Cohen's comments on the song,

    "The Traitor is about the feeling we have of betraying some mission we were mandated to fulfill and being unable to fulfill it; then coming to understand that the real mandate was not to fulfill it; and the real courage is to stand guiltless in the predicament in which you find yourself".

    A.... P....

    yes..when I first heard this i was stunned...the quote I mean (well the song too). It has such truth and wisdom in it. thank you for reminding me

    A.... P....

    We stand guiltless because we were the one who decided to do whatever it was we did

    A.... P....

    That is what I love about Leonard. He knows who he is.

    A.... P....

    @Pam Bergner First we must forgive ourselves.

  64. B.... P....

    It is very hard to pick any song as your favorite. There are just so many great songs, by so many great artists. If I HAD to name a favorite song though, this is it.

    B.... P....

    i agree.

    B.... P....

    It is impossible, it is like beng asked who your favorite child is..And now, 2019, a new CD will be released on 22 Nov...Thank you Leonard. Although not among us, he is with us

  65. i.... ....

    It's a confession of self loathing and perhaps somel semblance of redemption thru facing,  accepting - and *relating* that he has forfeited all  capacities of passion , joy and the essences of life thru a failure to resist an impulse of cowardice that has now come to defining his life -

  66. O.... B....

    Leonard always has songs that I can relate to as if they had been written by mysellf... Thank you Leonard

    O.... B....

    Oriol BM, this is song about necrophilia

    O.... B....

    Hunter Terrell .......oh please! Leonard was the consummate “gentleman” and hardly desperate for ideas.

    O.... B....

    @Hunter Terrell No, it isn't. You can hear Leonard say what it's about in the movie about him, TOWER OF SONG, or just listen to the video of Martha Wainwright singing this (it's an excerpt from the movie) and you can hear Leonard explain it in the video.
    He isn't singing about LITERALLY keeping her body!!

  67. B.... E....

    i like the video

  68. m.... b....

    Thank you. This was the only Leonard Cohen that I could not work out, until I saw your post.

  69. K.... V....

    Ho perso la fede nell'esistenza di un uomo onesto,
    michael mi hai mentito, perché hai voluto che io faccia il nemico dell'amore, perché pensi che le voci shabby.
    lei ti ha detto la verità ed era onesto,
    lei non era ricco, ma ha dato l'ultimo della sua,
    Pregò Dio che avrebbe inviare i suoi angeli a provocarti,
    quindi si può ottenere un sonno sicuro del
    Hai tradito la sua, fatta piangere,
    È sfruttato il suo perché,

  70. Z.... P....

    tu hai possibilita di bloccarmi e qui?Grazie per rosa?

  71. Z.... P....

    Il tempo non cancella ferite,dolori,lacrime medicine,solitudine,IGNORANZA-li copre,licopre solamente!

  72. Z.... P....

    grazie!Ogni di noi ha propria verita!Ci sentiamo feriti di "qualcuno,a-ma dobbiamo pensare che noi abbiamo provoccato nella vita di una donna o uomo!Buona domenica!Ho abbandonato FB per pericolosita di un uomo,che non mi meritava di amica,ma di mendico di amicizia!Se e stato solo questo!Chi non ti ama,ti oddia!Ho rispetto per se stessa!

  73. L.... K....

    For me, it's either The Traitor or The Window,
    I can't decide, I'll just keep playing them both . . . .

    L.... K....

    Len Kenny I am also confused as to which I prefer..... it is a draw, it is impossible to choose so lets enjoy both............................

    L.... K....

    Same for me my friend. This violin ...

  74. I.... M....

    Vergaaaaaaaaaaaaa, como este wey puede ser tan chingooon!

  75. l.... ....

    Quite possibly the greatest song ever written...

  76. l.... ....

    Weep for The Heroes....

  77. M.... J....

    it's a metaphor. the rose is the betrayed who has left him the shell of her body, but her heart is gone. so she tells him, run that wire thru your own rose / heart and go wind up the swan (the other woman). his own wire has poisoned him. good ending.

  78. R.... M....

    oh Wow!!!!!! No dislikes,.... But then?

  79. s.... ....

    There is a opposition between the true or the natural, and the mechanical, merely giving the appearance of natural, in these lines.

  80. A.... ....

    I'm having a hard time keeping up and he lost me with "run some wire through that rose and wind the swan". Pop music has ruined my brain.

    A.... ....

    puppets I think

  81. J.... M....

    Belle mélodie de Léonard Cohen.

  82. A.... S....

    I really enjoy the song and the video... Great Job!!!

  83. m.... ....

    Very beautiful !
    Thank you .

    m.... ....

    marianna511.................LEONARD SO GIFTED, BUT ALSO THE VIOLINIST WHOM I BELIEVE TO BE RAFFI KOPIAN SUBLIME FOR BOTH OF THEM.................