2016Released
4:44

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about You Want It Darker. By Songfacts®.

Like many of Leonard Cohen's songs, "You Want It Darker" takes a look at religion: Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name Vilified, crucified, in the human frame A million candles burning for the love that never came You want it darker We kill the flame In press materials, Cohen wrote of this song: "Hypnotic groove. The surprise of a great synagogue choir. An unflinching exploration of the religious mind." The presser adds: "Cohen created this hypnotic groove with the addition of Montreal's Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir, whose voices invoke a sound from Cohen's youth."

This is the title track of Cohen's 14th album, which was released when the poet/songwriter was 82. It was produced by his son, Adam.

Adam Cohen's production contrasts his father's minimal vocals with Montreal's Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir. The repeated cries of "Hineni, hineni" translates to "Here I am" in Hebrew. The word is seldom used in modern language but appears nine times in the Torah, when a man responds to God's call.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of You Want It Darker.
EKey
MinorMode
4/4Time Signature
109BPM

Album

The album You Want It Darker is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released You Want It Darker.
Columbia
(P) 2016 Sony Music Entertainment

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