Leonard Cohen – Tonight Will Be Fine Lyrics

One of the more straightforward songs in Cohen’s oeuvre, the unadorned lyrics speak to a sad and ascetic existence, sweetened by the night’s coming together. It closes his second album, and—like the albums closers pre- and post-ceding this one—features wordless vocal and overdubs atypical of the rest of these album’s vocals.

It is performed in a much more raucous, country-tinged setting live, featuring members of what would later become the Charlie Daniels Band. This version (appearing on both “Live at Isle of Wight” and “Live Songs”) features these two additional verses at the end:

I’ve looked into the mirrors in numberless places;
They all smile back at me with their troublesome faces.
In the cards that they dealt me there weren’t any aces,
And the horses never listened to me at the races

There are still one or two of us walking the streets,
No arrows of direction painted under our feet,
No angels to warn us away from the heat,
And no honey to keep us where it is.

Tonight Will Be Fine Lyrics by Leonard Cohen

[Verse 1]
Sometimes I find I get to thinking of the past
We swore to each other then our love would surely last
You kept right on loving, I went on a fast
Now I am too thin and your love is too vast

[Chorus]
And I know from your eyes
And I know from your smile
That tonight will be fine, will be fine
Will be fine, will be fine
For a while
[Verse 2]
I choose the rooms that I live in with care
The windows are small and the walls almost bare
There’s only one bed and there’s only one prayer
I listen all night for your step on the stair

[Chorus]
But I know from your eyes
And I know from your smile
That tonight will be fine, will be fine
Will be fine, will be fine
For a while

[Verse 3]
Oh sometimes I see her undressing for me
She’s the soft naked lady love meant her to be
And she’s moving her body so brave and so free
If I’ve got to remember, that’s a fine memory

[Chorus]
And I know from her eyes
And I know from her smile
That tonight will be fine, will be fine
Will be fine, will be fine
For a while