Teachers
Leonard Cohen

I met a woman long ago

Her hair the black that black can go,

Are you a teacher of the heart?

Soft she answered no.


I met a girl across the sea,

Her hair the gold that gold can be,

Are you a teacher of the heart?

Yes, but not for thee.


I met a man who lost his mind

In some lost place I had to find,

Follow me the wise man said,

But he walked behind.


I walked into a hospital

Where none was sick and none was well,

When at night the nurses left

I could not walk at all.


Morning came and then came noon,

Dinner time a scalpel blade

Lay beside my silver spoon.

Some girls wander by mistake

Into the mess that scalpels make.

Are you the teachers of my heart?

We teach old hearts to break.


One morning I woke up alone,

The hospital and the nurses gone.

Have I carved enough my Lord?

Child, you are a bone.


I ate and ate and ate,

No I did not miss a plate, well

How much do these suppers cost?

We'll take it out in hate.


I spent my hatred everyplace,

On every work on every face,

Someone gave me wishes

And I wished for an embrace.


Several girls embraced me, then

I was embraced by men,

Is my passion perfect?

No, do it once again.


I was handsome I was strong,

I knew the words of every song.

Did my singing please you?

No, the words you sang were wrong.


Who is it whom I address,

Who takes down what I confess?

Are you the teachers of my heart?

We teach old hearts to rest.


Oh teachers are my lessons done?

I cannot do another one.

They laughed and laughed and said, Well child,

Are your lessons done?

Are your lessons done?

Are your lessons done?


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Lyrics by Leonard Cohen

  "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye"   "So Long, Marianne"   A Bunch Of Lonesome Heroes   A Bunch Of Lonesome Heros   A PARTISAN   A Singer Must Die   A Street   A Thousand Kisses Deep   Ain't No Cure For Love   Ain't No Cure For Love   Alexandra Leaving   Almost Like the Blues   Always   Amen   Angels Eyes   Anthem   Anyhow   Avalanche   Avalanche [Gothenburg Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sw...   Avalanche [Gothenburg Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sw...   Avalanche [Live]   Ballad Of The Absent Mare   Banjo   Be For Real   Be For Real   Be My Baby   Because Of   Bird On A Wire   Bird On The Wire   Bird on the Wire [Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, Scotl...   Bird On The Wire [Live]   Blessed Is The Memory   Blessed Is The Memory (Remastered) [Bonus Track]   Boogie Street   Born In Chains   Born to Lose   By The Rivers Dark   California   Came So Far For Beauty   Careless Love   Chelea Hotel No. 2   Chelsea Hotel   Chelsea Hotel (Live Nov 17, 2008; Royal Albert Hal...   Chelsea Hotel [Royal Albert Hall, London, England,...   Chelsea Hotel #2   CHELSEA HOTEL NO. 2   Chelsea Hotel No.2   Chelsea Hotel, No. 2   Choices - Live at Christchurch Soundcheck, 2013   Clap! Clap!   Closing Time   Closing Time [John Labbatt Centre, London, Ontario...   Cohen Talking About His Fedora & Performing On Sta...   Come Healing   Coming Back   Coming Back To You   Coming Back Toyou   Crazy To Love You   Dance Me To The End Of Love   Dance Me to the End of Love [Live]   Darkness   Dear Heather   Death Of A Ladies' Man   Death Of A Ladies' Man   Death Of A Lady's Man   Democracy   Diamonds In The Mine   Did I Ever Love You   Different Sides   Do I Have To Dance All Night   Don't Go Home With Your Hard   Don't Go Home With Your Hard - On   Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On   Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On   Downhearted Blues   Dress Rehearsal Rag   Dress Rehearsal Rag   Everybody Knows   Famous Blue Raincoat   Famous Blue Raincoat [Live]   Famous Blue Raincoat [O2 Arena, London, England, N...   Field Commander Cohen   Field Commander Cohen - Live at Denver Soundcheck,...   Fingerprints   Fire   First We Take Manhattan   First We Take Manhattan [Album Version]   First We Take Manhatten   Get It While You Can   Glimpse Into His Life In A Zen Monastery In Califo...   Gloomy Sunday   Go No More A-Roving   God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot   Going Home   Goodnight Irene   Got a Little Secret - Live at Auckland Soundcheck,...   Hallelujah   Hallelujah - Live in London   Hallelujah (Live)   Hallelujah (Original)   Hallelujah [Coachella Music Festival, Indio, Calif...   Hallelujah [from Watchmen]   Hallelujah [Live]   Heart With No Companion   Heart With No Companion [Live]   Heart with No Companion [Oberhausen King Pilsener ...   Here It Is   Hey, That's No Way To Say Good-bye   Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye   Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbyen   Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye   Humbled In Love   Humbled In Love   Humbled in Love   Hunter's Lullaby   Hunter's Lullaby   I Am The Law! (the Future)   I Came So Far For Beauty   I Can't Forget   I Can't Forget - Live at Copenhagen Show, 2012   I Can't Forget   I Left A Woman Waiting   I Shall Be Released   I Tried To Leave You   I'm Your Man   I've Counted What I Have   I'm Your Man   I've Counted What I Have   If I Didn't Have Your Love   If It Be Your Will   Improvisation   In My Secret Life   Inducted Into The Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fam...   Intro To So Long, Marianne   Intro: Let's Renew Ourselves Now...   Introduction   Iodine   Is This What You Wanted   Is This What You Wanted?   It Seemed the Better Way   Jazz Police   Jezebel   Joan Of Arc   Joan of Arc - Live at Québec City Soundcheck, 201...   La Complainte Du Partisan (The Partisan)   La Manic   La Manic (Live at Québec City Show, 2012)   Lady Midnight   Last Year's Man   Last Year's Man   Leaving Green Sleeves   Leaving The Table   Light As A Breeze   Light As The Breeze   Light as the Breeze - Live at Dublin Show, 2012   Like a Bird (Bird on the Wire)   Love Calls You By Your Name   Love Itself   Lover Lover Lover   Lover, Lover, Lover [Live]   Lover, Lover, Lover [Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, ...   Lover, Lover, Lover [Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, ...   Lullaby   Master Song   Memories   Minute Prologue   Misty Blue   Misty Blue (outtake From Recent Songs)   Morning Glory   My Oh My   Nancy   Nancy (live)   Never Any Good   Never Any Good [#]   Never Gave Nobody Trouble   Never Gave Nobody Trouble - Live at Odense Soundch...   Nevermind   Night Comes On   Night Comes On - Live at Mönchengladbach Show, 20...   Nightingale   Not Known   Nothing to One (You Know Who I Am)   On That Day   On the Level   One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong   One Of Us Cannot By Wrong   Our Lady Of Solitude   Paper Thin Hotel   PAPER THIN MOTEL   Partisan   Passing Through   Passing Through (written By )   Please Don't Pass Me By   PLEASE DON'T PASS ME BY (A DISGRACE)   Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace) [Live]   Please Don\u2019t Pass Me By (A Disgrace)   Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace)   Priests   Queen Victoria   Range Of Subjects   Recitation   Recitation W/ N.L.   Red River Valley   Reflecting On His Songwriting   Rivers Of Dark   Samson In New Orleans   Save the Last Dance for Me   SEEMS SO LONG AGO, NANCY   Show Me The Place   Since You've Asked   Since You've Asked (Dialogue)   Since You've Asked (Dialogue)   Sing Another Song, Boys   Sisters Of Mercy   Slow   So Long Marianne   So Long, Marianne   Song Of Bernadette   Song Of Destruction   Song To My Assassin   Stages - Live at Sydney Show and Hamburg Soundchec...   Steer Your Way   Store Room   Storeroom   Stories Of The Street   Story Of Isaac   Stranger Song   String Reprise / Treaty   String Reprise\/ Treaty   Supermarket In California   Suzanne   Suzanne [DVD]   Suzanne [DVD]   Suzanne [Live]   Tacoma Trailer   Take This Longing   Take This Waltz   Tennessee Waltz   Tennessee Waltz (Live)   Tennessee Waltz [Live]   Tennessee Waltz- Live   That Don't Make It Junk   That Don't Make It Junk [Live]   That Don't Make It Junk   The Bells   The Butcher   The Captain   The Captain   The Darkness   The Faith   The Favourite Game   The Future   The Great Event   The Great Pretender   The Guests   The Gypsy's Wife   The Gypsy's Wife   The Land Of Planty   The Land Of Plenty   The Law   The Letters   The Lost Canadian   The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien Errant)   The Marriage March   The Night Comes On   The Old Revolution   The Partisan   The Partisan [Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland, O...   The Partisan [Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland, O...   The Promise   The Smokey Life   The Smokey Life   The Spice-Box of Earth   The Stranger Song   The Third Invention   The Throne Of Desire   The Traitor   The Walls   The Window   There For You   There Is A War   There's No Reason Why You Should Remember Me   They Locked Up A Man (Poem) / A Person Who Eats Me...   Throne Of Desire Variations   To A Teacher   To Love Somebody   To Love Somebody (The Bee Gees cover)   Tonight Will Be Fine   Tower Of Song   Traditional Demarcations Between Novelist, Poet & ...   Traveling Light   Treaty   True Love Leaves No Traces   Turn! Turn! Turn!   Un Canadien Errant (The Lost Canadian)   Unchained Melody   Undertow   Villanelle For Our Time   Waiting For The Miracle   Waiting for the Miracle [HP Pavilion, San Jose, Ca...   Waiting For The Miracle [Live]   Way Down Deep   We Told You So   What'd I Say   Which Side Are You On?   Whither Thou Goest   Whither Thou Goest (from The Book Of Ruth)   Who By Fire   Who By Fire?   Why Don't You Try   Why Don't You Try   Winter Lady   Wishing Window   Wither Thou Goest   Woke Up This Morning   You Got Me Singing   You Have Loved Enough   You Know Who I Am   You Want It Darker   Your Cheatin' Heart

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