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Chelsea Hotel Lyrics

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
You were talking so brave and so free
Giving me head on the unmade bed
While the limousines wait in the street

And those were the reasons and that was New York
I was running for the money and the flesh
That was called love for the workers in song
It still is for those of us left.

But you got away, didn't you, baby?
You just threw it all to the crowd
You got away, they can't pay you now
For making your sweet little song

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
In the winter of 67
My friends of that year they were all trying to go queer
And me I was just getting even

And those were the reasons and that was New York
I was running for the money and the flesh
That was called love for the workers in song
It still is for those of us left
But you got away, didn't you, baby?
You just threw it all to the crowd
You got away, they can't pay you now
For making your sweet little song
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Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

According to Cohen, this song is about his encounter(s?) with Janis Joplin at the Chelsea Hotel in NY in 67. The lyrics are really straightforward if you read them with that in mind.

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

Nice... I didn't know that..... I always thought (as many people do) it was about a hooker....

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

Janis Joplin indeed

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

damn, I thought I was gonna be all suave lyrical knowledge style

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

imagine janises parents

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

janis joplin

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

According to Colin Meloy, this is the "sexiest song ever".

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

This version of the song – also known as Chelsea Hotel No. 1 – has never been released. And I think Cohen never recorded it at all.

@parsons18 it might not have been recorded but there are records of him singing it. Here is a brilliant edit by Acid Pauli: https://soundcloud.com/marc-menant/chelsea-hotel-2-leonard-cohen-acid-pauli-remix The title is mis-leading - it's not #2 but actually this version!

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

This song is so beautiful, and so heartbreaking. It may be "just" the story of his rendezvous with Janis Joplin, but on a deeper level it's two people who feel oppressed by the pressure to be "pretty"- in more than one way. She found her escape in the drugs that eventually led to her death.

Cover art for Chelsea Hotel lyrics by Leonard Cohen

This song is just amazing... I never heard of Cohen before. This guy I've recently come to know had me listen to it. Him and I have this exact kind of relationship. It's just amazing. The lyrics are beautiful and so perfect.