The Stranger Song
By: Leonard Cohen

Original Performance: Leonard Cohen
Written by: Leonard Cohen

Versions:
  1. The Stranger Song (5:26)
    Available on Songs Of Leonard Cohen.
    Credits
    Ben Goldwasser: Bass
    Bram Inscore: Bongo
    Andrew Van Wyngarden: Drums
    Devendra Banhart: Maracas, Vocals
    Brian Lebarton: Percussion
    Beck Hansen: Vocals
    Will Berman: Vocals
 
Lyrics:
The Stranger Song [Version (a)]:

It's true that all the men you knew were dealers
Who said they were through with dealing
Every time you gave them shelter
I know that kind of man
It's hard to hold the hand of anyone
Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender
Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender

And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind
You find he did not leave you very much not even laughter
Like any dealer he was watching for the card that is so high and wild
He'll never need to deal another
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

And then leaning on your window sill
He'll say one day you caused his will
To weaken with your love and warmth and shelter
And then taking from his wallet
An old schedule of trains, he'll say
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger

But now another stranger seems
To want you to ignore his dreams
As though they were the burden of some other
Oh you've seen that man before
His golden arm dispatching cards
But now it's rusted from the elbows to the finger
And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter
Yes he wants to trade the game he knows for shelter

Ah you hate to see another tired man lay down his hand
Like he was giving up the holy game of poker
And while he talks his dreams to sleep
You notice there's a highway
That is curling up like smoke above his shoulder
It is curling up like smoke above his shoulder

You tell him to come in, sit down
But something makes you turn around
The door is open you can't close your shelter
You try the handle of the road
It opens, do not be afraid
It's you, my love, you, who are the stranger
It's you, my love, you, who are the stranger

Well, I've been waiting, I was sure
We'd meet between the trains we're waiting for
I think it's time to board another
Please understand, I never had a secret chart
To get me to the heart of this or any other matter
When he talks like this, you don't know what he's after
When he speaks like this, you don't know what he's after

Let's meet tomorrow if you choose
Upon the shore, beneath the bridge
That they are building on some endless river
Then he leaves the platform
For the sleeping car that's warm
You realize he's only advertising one more shelter
And it comes to you, he never was a stranger
And you say ok, the bridge or someplace later

I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
 
The Song:

"The Stranger Song" can originally be found on Leonard Cohen's debut record Songs Of Leonard Cohen. The album was the second project by Beck's Record Club, where he and some friends got together and recorded a cover of an entire album in one day. The Leonard Cohen project was done by Beck, Devendra Banhart, MGMT and some of Beck's band.

The original Cohen song is a somewhat hushed folk song, brilliant and affecting. Beck and the Record Club go a different way, giving it a deep, ungroovy beat. They decorate that with various electro flourishes.
 
Notes: