Everybody Knows Lyrics
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
This song sort of sums up the 20th century for me - for all the alleged advances made in western society, all these things (in the song) are still true. We arent really better people than we were, even though we like to think so. That either quite depressing or hilarious, depending on how you look at it. I choose to believe Cohen sees the funny side. There's a few topical references to the 80s as well - the obvious one being the verse about AIDS (the plague's coming). I think he's talking about the end of the sexual liberation of the 60's when he says "the scene is dead".
Something about the honest, cynical truth in this song really appeals to me. I think it is the fact the everybody knows the truth about the world, even though they don’t want to admit it, deep down they all know. The honest lyrics just cut through all the backstabbing, all the pretending that something isn’t going all, all the dishonesty with each other and oneself. Whether it is a relationship, a sinking ship, a disease, or even any optimism about the world at all.
This song tells you that everybody knows meanings of this song.
What I find interesting, is that "everybody knows" everything, but nobody does anything.
I'm surprised no one has posted similar thoughts already, I really didn't think there would be so many interpretations to this song!
Personally, I feel this song is about a man telling his girlfriend that he knows, (and everybody knows) that she has been cheating on him. I think all the other things he says are just to build up to this message. He is listing dreadful truths, undeniable truths, yet truths that are kept hidden or undiscussed, leading up to the fact that he has discovered his girlfriend's dreadful secret.
Everybody knows that you love me baby Everybody knows that you really do Everybody knows that you've been faithful Ah give or take a night or two Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes And everybody knows
She claims to love him, but she's been unfaithful, she's been discreet, but everybody knows.
And now we come to the most powerful verse in this song, where he basically calls his girlfriend a whore, with a meter on her bed (as in a meter to put money in while she is having sex), because everybody knows she's a whore.
Everybody knows the scene is dead But there's gonna be a meter on your bed That will disclose What everybody knows
This song is incredibly powerful, no Dylan song can match this in strength. The calm, calculating coldness gives full force to the message, undiminished by petty emotions like anger or jealousy. Each "everybody knows" is meant to shame this girl, each verse about her is an arrow to the heart.
@ismellofhockey thanks for your interpretation.\r\nSeems possible to me.\r\nAnd I think verse 6 says that she\'s very ill.. that she\'s dying... after having lived a very intense life.\r\n\r\nAnd everybody knows that you\'re in trouble.\r\nEverybody knows what you\'ve been through,\r\nFrom the bloody cross on top of Calvary\r\nTo the beach of Malibu.\r\n
@ismellofhockey thanks for your interpretation.\r\nSeems possible to me.\r\nAnd I think verse 6 says that she\'s very ill.. that she\'s dying... after having lived a very intense life.\r\n\r\nAnd everybody knows that you\'re in trouble.\r\nEverybody knows what you\'ve been through,\r\nFrom the bloody cross on top of Calvary\r\nTo the beach of Malibu.\r\n
I first heard this song after buying the soundtrack to the movie "Pump Up the Volume". The album had a song apiece from two of my favorite bands, The Pixies and Sonic Youth. I hadn't seen the film yet.
"Everybody Knows" was covered by Concrete Blonde and I was very moved by the lyrics. The woman singing the song (Johnette Napolitano) sounded to be at the end of her rope with the world. She sang very powerful and passionate. It was the first song on the album
I later see the movie and the very first image presented is a record spinning with the needle down. There was a man singing this song and he sounded 80 years old. I was disappointed not to hear the version I had bought on CD.
But the lyrics intrigued so much that I later bought the L. Cohen CD "I'm Your Man."
I really don't listen to the Concrete Blonde version anymore and have had years of collecting, listening and re-listening to Mr. Cohen's music. Dark, cynical and absolutely essential.
Interest account! Well told!
Interest account! Well told!
@Zoltar Same with me with "Pump Up the Volume" . I bought the Esential Leonard Cohen collection and discovered "If It Be Your Will" and also love his "Hallelujah" I still will occasionaly listen to Concrete Blonde's version it is good, but no one beats Leonard Cohen in my eyes. Ears?
@Zoltar Same with me with "Pump Up the Volume" . I bought the Esential Leonard Cohen collection and discovered "If It Be Your Will" and also love his "Hallelujah" I still will occasionaly listen to Concrete Blonde's version it is good, but no one beats Leonard Cohen in my eyes. Ears?
"Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich"
"Everybody wants a box of chocolates"
Cohen is a genius.
I like the Don Henley version of the song the most, its powerful. The song is the cynic's anthem. It is a haunting piece that bemoans the dreariness and sordidness of reality through the eyes of a now heart-broken idealist.
Of the versions I've heard (Cohen, Concrete Blonde, etc.), I actually like Henley's the least. Too upbeat and chipper...
Of the versions I've heard (Cohen, Concrete Blonde, etc.), I actually like Henley's the least. Too upbeat and chipper...
I think it's simple
Everybody knows so god damn much! or so they think they do anyways...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUfS8LyeUyM
a great version of the song