"Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Canadian singer

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

. It was first performed by Cohen on his 1984 album ''

Various Positions ''Various Positions'' is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984 (and February 1985). It marked not only his turn to the modern sound and use of synthesizers (particularly on the opening track), but also, after the ha ...

''. It has been recorded by various artists and in 2009 was described as "trembling on the brink of becoming a standard."

Leonard Cohen original version

"Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Leonard Cohen and first recorded by him for his 1984 album ''

''. The song follows a typical Greek "

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��) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greeks, Greek butchers' g ...

" dance path, most probably inspired by Cohen's long-lasting affiliation to the Greek island of

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. It has since been recorded by various artists, and has been described as "trembling on the brink of becoming a standard". Although structured as a love song, "Dance Me to the End Of Love" was in fact inspired by

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. In a 1995 radio interview, Cohen said of the song: In 1996, Welcome Books published the book ''Dance Me to the End of Love'', as part of its "Art & Poetry" series, featuring the lyrics of the song alongside paintings by

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

Charts

Madeleine Peyroux version

Jazz singer

Madeleine Peyroux Madeleine Peyroux (born April 18, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...

included "Dance Me to the End of Love" on her second solo album, ''

Careless Love "Careless Love" is a traditional song, with several popular blues versions. It has been called a "nineteenth-century ballad and Dixieland standard". The death referenced in an old version was the son of a Kentucky governor. Although published acco ...

'' (2004). It was released as the second single for the album and has been a part of her concert set-list since then. Peyroux's rendition was included on the fifth and last of the ''Queer as Folk'' soundtracks, as well as on the soundtrack of the 2009 computer game ''

The Saboteur ''The Saboteur'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in December 2009. A mobile version of the game was developed an ...

''. Interviewing Peyroux in 2012, ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' described the song as a "haunting 2004 rendition ... undoubtedly one of modern music's brightest highlights. An inspired, exquisite cover that besides drawing countless comparison's to

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

's singing, brought the free spirited musician to just artistic prominence."

Other versions

*Batsheva (Capek) – an English/Yiddish version on her 2012 CD ''I, Batsheva, Singer'' *

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performed the song at the 2017 '' Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen'' concert

Painting

The Scottish painter

Jack Vettriano Jack Vettriano (born Jack Hoggan, 17 November 1951) is a Scottish painter. His 1992 painting ''The Singing Butler'' became a best-selling image in Britain. Early life Jack Vettriano was born and grew up in the industrial seaside town of Meth ...

created a painting with the same title. He has also made two other paintings named after and inspired by Leonard Cohen works: one based on Cohen's novel ''

Beautiful Losers ''Beautiful Losers'' is the second and final novel by Canadian writer and musician Leonard Cohen. It was published in 1966, before he began his career as a singer-songwriter. Set in the Canadian province of Quebec, the story of 17th-century ...

'' and the other inspired by his song "

Bird on the Wire "Bird on the Wire" is one of Leonard Cohen's signature songs. It was recorded 26 September 1968 in Nashville and included on his 1969 album ''Songs from a Room''. A May 1968 recording produced by David Crosby, titled "Like a Bird", was added to ...

". When asked on ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

'',
Desert Island Discs Vettriano mentioned Leonard Cohen's album '' I'm Your Man (Leonard Cohen album), I'm Your Man'' as one of his must-have records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dance Me To The End Of Love 1984 songs Leonard Cohen songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Leonard Cohen Songs about dancing Music videos directed by Mark Pellington Songs about the Holocaust