The five best Leonard Cohen covers by women
Leonard Cohen once told Deborah Sprague: “I’ve never gotten over the pleasure of somebody covering one of my songs. My career has really been quite modest in the world, and not many people have done so”. Since then, Cohen’s poetic lyricism and universal themes have seen many artists interpret his songs in their own way.
From Jeff Buckley’s famous cover of ‘Hallelujah’ to Ian McCulloch’s take on ‘Lover Lover Lover’, Cohen’s poetic lyrics and universal themes have made him a prime candidate for covers over the years. Many tribute albums full of covers have been made over the years, from I’m Your Man in 2006, featuring Nick Cave and Jarvis Cocker, to Here It Is, which came out just last year featuring Iggy Pop and Gregory Porter.
Cohen seemed to have no objections to artists borrowing from his catalogue; instead, he was flattered, stating: “Somehow my critical faculties go into a state of suspended animation when I hear someone’s covered one of my tunes. I’m not there to judge it, just to say thank you.”
But what are the best covers of Leonard Cohen songs by women specifically? Below, we’ve picked out five of our favourite interpretations of Cohen classics, from Nina Simone to Lianne La Havas.
The best Leonard Cohen covers by women:
Joan Baez – ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’
Joan Baez often populated her discography with interpretations of tracks of other artists. From Paul Simon to Bob Dylan, Baez has nailed the art of the cover. Her take on Cohen’s ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ from his 1971 album Songs of Love and Hate is perhaps one of her best.
Written as a letter, the song was originally a dark, melancholic track pairing minimal guitar plucking with Cohen’s low tones and eerie backing vocals, Baez retains the track’s uncanniness. Baez’s powerful, deep vocals overlay strings and piano, and instead of signing the track “Sincerely, L. Cohen”, she amends the final line to “Sincerely, a friend”.
Roberta Flack – ‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’
Roberta Flack recorded a cover of Leonard Cohen’s 1967 track ‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’ just two years after its release on his eponymous debut LP, Songs of Leonard Cohen. The track had actually been released by Judy Collins first, on her 1967 album Wildflowers.
Flack’s version is less melancholic than Cohen’s original and cooler and fuller than Collins’ rendition, pairing soft strums and warm piano with sophisticated vocals, soaring strings and occasional bouts of twangy guitar. She released the orchestral cover on her debut album First Take in 1969, on which it preceded one of her most famous tracks ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’.
Lianne La Havas – ‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’
Following Flack’s lead and as part of the deluxe version of her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough? in 2021, Lianne La Havas included an acoustic cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye’. The subdued, minimal version of the track is made up only of Chilly Gonzales’ twinkly piano and Lianne La Havas’ sweet vocals.
It retains the soft nature of much of Lianne La Havas’ discography and vocals but is a real change of pace from her more upbeat, fuller folk and soul-inspired indie rock tracks. While her production is always clean and purposeful, this track contains a further element of control. Its merit comes from her modernisation of the track and its smooth simplicity.
Nina Simone – ‘Suzanne’
‘Suzanne’ was also featured on Cohen’s debut and went on to become one of his most famous and most covered tracks. Divine imagery is paired with Cohen’s signature minimal guitar and soft backing vocals. The track has been covered many times by artists such as Nick Cave and Neil Diamond, but there’s something about Nina Simone’s version that pushes it above the rest.
Released in 1969 on To Love Somebody, the cover is much more playful than the original. Twinkling piano, rhythmic percussion, and Simone’s vocal riffs come together for a version of the song that is light-hearted and animated.
Françoise Hardy – ‘Suzanne’
Just a year before Nina Simone’s cover, French national treasure Françoise Hardy released a cover of the track on her 1968 album Comment te dire adieu? In instrumentation and tone, the cover is fairly faithful to Cohen’s track.
With soft guitar and rising strings, the track is minimal. But it retains slightly more hope than Cohen’s melancholic original. The biggest change is in language, and Hardy covers the song in her native romance language, making it all the more pleasing to the ear. Hardy later rerecorded the track in English, which was featured on her album One-Nine-Seven-Zero just a year later.
