Lyrics

Leonard Cohen – Passing Through Lyrics

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A 1948 song by Dick Blakeslee covered live by Cohen who continued to play the piece at least into the 1980s.

In the 1979 book “The Song of Leonard Cohen-Portrait of a poet, a friendship and a film”, Harry Rasky quotes Leonard Cohen as saying:

The song “Passing Through” is a song I learned when I was fifteen, from a very devoted socialist that I knew. That particular version of the song comes out of “The People’s Songbook” which was a song book developed out of the interest that the socialists had at one time in Folk Music, still have. It came out of the “Almanac Singers” who later became “The Weavers”, that’s the group that Pete Seeger was in – the book was edited by John Lomax. The book itself was very influential in interesting me in song and songwriting. I came across it when I was about fifteen.

Passing Through Lyrics by Leonard Cohen

I saw Jesus on the cross on a hill called Calvary
“Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?”
He said, “Talk of love not hate, things to do – it’s getting late
I’ve so little time and I’m only passin’ through.”

Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through

I saw Adam leave the garden with an apple in his hand
I said “Now you’re out, what are you gonna do?”
“Plant some crops and pray for rain, maybe raise a little Cain
I’m an orphan now, and I’m only passin’ through. So are you”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through

I was with Washington at Valley Forge, shiverin’ in the snow
I said, “How come the men here suffer like they do?”
“Men will suffer, men will fight, even die for what is right
Even though they know they’re only passin’ through”

Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through

I was at Franklin Roosevelt’s side on the night before he died
He said, “One world must come out of world war two” (ah, the fool)
“Yankee, Russian, white or tan,” he said, “a man is still a man
We’re all on one road, and we’re only passin’ through.”

Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through

Let’s do it one more time

Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through



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