I’m Your Man (1988) – Leonard Cohen

Cohen, who was infamously known as a “ladies’ man,” was never short on romantic and lustful songs. He could paint desirous and appetising scenes with rich imagery – you only have to revisit one of his most beloved songs, Suzanne, to see just how dazzling he was at that. I have always considered Leonard a poet first and foremost. Yet as easily as he could swoon listeners with exquisite prose about love’s allure and magic, he could just as easily frighten you away from it, as if love itself were an ejection seat. Again, you don’t have to look far to find tragic romance running through his catalogue – Ain’t No Cure For Love is a good place to start.

Today’s featured song, I’m Your Man, finds Leonard at his most seductive –
“And if you want a doctor / I’ll examine every inch of you” –
but also at his most desperate –
“And I’d howl at your beauty / Like a dog in heat.”

To put it plainly, there is almost nothing Leonard won’t do to lure and secure his partner. It can be exhausting to take in the lengths he is willing to go to prove his devotion and see the relationship through. At times it feels manic and pushed to brutal extremes, yet there is comical wit in the darkness of his infatuation and fantasy, often prompting a wry smile.

Cohen said of the track:
“I sweated over that one. I really sweated over it. I can show you the notebook for that. It started off as a song called ‘I Cried Enough for You’. It was related to a version of ‘Waiting for a Miracle’ that I recorded. The rhyme scheme was developed by toeing the line with that musical version that I put down. But it didn’t work.”

I’m Your Man is the title track from Cohen’s 1988 album (image inset). It was released as the second single from the album but failed to chart at the time. Curiously, after Cohen’s passing in 2016, the song was re-released and reached No. 57 on the French charts. What once made little commercial impact later became a concert staple. At the time this article was written – his 2013 live performance from Dublin attracted around 32 million views, far surpassing the roughly 2.4 million views of the original studio recording.

Wikipedia on the album ‘I’m Your Man‘:
The album marked Cohen’s further move to a more modern sound, with many songs having a synthesizer-oriented production. It soon became the most successful studio album which Cohen had released in the US, and it reached number one in several European countries, transforming Cohen into a best-selling artist.

I’m Your Man was also the title of a 2005 tribute concert film (image inset), which served as my first proper introduction to Leonard Cohen’s music and history. More broadly, that film – watched more times than I care to admit – had a major influence on my growing appreciation of the artist and sent me down countless rabbit holes across his many musical periods. Although I came to Leonard’s work relatively late, I now count him among my favourite singer-songwriters, alongside Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. He remains, for me, a singular contemporary spiritual artist, responsible for anthemic masterpieces such as Hallelujah and Come Healing.

[Verse 1]
If you want a lover
I’ll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I’ll wear a mask for you
If you want a partner
Take my hand
Or if you want to strike me down in anger
Here I stand
I’m your man

[Verse 2]
If you want a boxer
I will step into the ring for you
And if you want a doctor
I’ll examine every inch of you
If you want a driver
Climb inside
Or if you want to take me for a ride
You know you can
I’m your man

[Bridge]
Ah, the moon’s too bright
The chain’s too tight
The beast won’t go to sleep
I’ve been running through these promises to you
That I made and I could not keep
Ah, but a man never got a woman back
Not by begging on his knees
Or I’d crawl to you baby
And I’d fall at your feet
And I’d howl at your beauty
Like a dog in heat
And I’d claw at your heart
And I’d tear at your sheet
I’d say please (Please)
I’m your man

[Verse 3]
And if you’ve got to sleep
A moment on the road
I will steer for you
And if you want to work the street alone
I’ll disappear for you
If you want a father for your child
Or only want to walk with me a while
Across the sand
I’m your man

[Outro]
If you want a lover
I’ll do anything that you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I’ll wear a mask for you

References:
1. I’m Your Man (Leonard Cohen song) – Wikipedia
2. I’m Your Man (Leonard Cohen album) – Wikipedia