Vocal Sound Effect on Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye

[Alishibaz]

I was thinking of starting a new thread asking people to post their favorite LC song or part of a song. But as a new member, I think that would be presumptuous. Several reasons. First, someone has likely already started such a thread. I looked through the index and although I couldn't see any existing thread on that topic, I thought I best wait and see if anyone might point me to some existing thread.

Meanwhile, I would like to tell you mine. I admit that it's silly because it's not one entire song. It's just a tiny vocal sound effect on, "Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye". The song is about 3 minutes long and around the 1:55 minute mark, a female vocalist sings a vocal sound effect several times that sounds like "Ping" or "Bing" or "Bung". But for some reason, I just love that sound. I find myself listening to the song now at least once a day. I found a link to LC's Discography that lists a lady by the name of Nancy Priddy who sang vocals on that song. I want to ask if anyone can confirm that she is indeed the one who sings that amazing sound effect? While I was looking for the lady who sings that vocal effect, it turns out that Nancy Priddy is Christina Applegate's mother. I thought that anyone who enjoys the song might find that interesting and so here is a link to the notes on that album, "Songs of Leonard Cohen".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Leonard_Cohen

The above link names Nancy Priddy as the only female vocalist on that song and I'd just like to know whether she is the one who sings the sound effect or if it could be some other vocalist.


P.S. On a somewhat related matter, I found a really nice review/article about Sharon Robinson who is LC's current vocalist and/or musical partner. She got a writing credit on every single song on the album Ten New Songs. I found this article/review to be quite lovely and I'd like to recommend it to any of you who think you might enjoy it. It was very touching and dealt with several of LC's live concerts awa his approach to transforming his poetry into songs.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/cfa993f0-ffb9 ... ab7de.html

[LisaLCFan]

Hello again, Alishibaz!

Since you said such nice things about me in that other thread, I thought I ought to help you out here with your request, and I did a search for you. Check out the following four topics on peoples' favourite Cohen songs:

http://leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic. ... orite+song

http://leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic. ... orite+song

http://leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic. ... orite+song

http://leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic. ... orite+song

Incidentally, although I would be hard pressed to pick just one song as a favourite, "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye" would share First Place, for sure! That and the rest of the Songs of Leonard Cohen album, pretty much!

Cheers!

[Alishibaz]

Hello Lisa,

Thank you so much for finding those threads for me. It was wonderful to see so many people share their opinons about LC's favorite song(s).

I'm afraid that when I join a new message board, the search function is almost always the one thing that gives me the most trouble. Seems like every board has a different approach to their search function and it is the one thing that always takes the most time to learn how to use.

The one thing that pleased me the most was when you said that "Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye" would be tied for first place on your list of favorite songs.

I think most people seem to think I may have been joking when I said that tiny sound effect that sounds like, "Bing" or "Ping" or "Bung" was my favorite piece of an LC song. It's very difficult to explain. I don't understand it myself. But that one tiny sound just grabs me. It sounds so perfect. I absolutely love it.

I will review the lists that I found on the links you sent me and I want to thank you for the time and effort you took to do that for me. I'm happy that song is at the top of your list too. I don't know why, but listening to LC always brings to my memory all my failed love affairs and almost always makes me feel like crying. As a matter of fact, sad to say, almost all my love affairs have been failed love affairs. I don't know why. But I suppose it may be because, "There just ain't no cure for love."

I hope you won't mind if I ask you for one more opinion?

On his song, "Everybody Knows" from his album "I'm Your Man", LC wrote the line, "Everybody talking to their pockets". That line just stumps me. Would you have any idea what he may have meant? I'm stumped.

Thanks again, Lisa.

[LisaLCFan]

...I think most people seem to think I may have been joking when I said that tiny sound effect that sounds like, "Bing" or "Ping" or "Bung" was my favorite piece of an LC song. It's very difficult to explain. I don't understand it myself. But that one tiny sound just grabs me. It sounds so perfect. I absolutely love it...

I do understand the phenomenon! Sometimes there is that perfect moment in a song (or in any piece of music) that touches one so deeply, that causes one, when listening to it, to stop what they are doing, close their eyes, and just listen, focussing everything onto that moment in the song that takes their breath away! (I do not recommend doing this if you happen to be driving while listening to music!)

...On his song, "Everybody Knows" from his album "I'm Your Man", LC wrote the line, "Everybody talking to their pockets". That line just stumps me. Would you have any idea what he may have meant? I'm stumped...

I must admit that trying to ascertain the meanings of Leonard's rather cryptic lyrics are waters into which I am generally hesitant to tread. However, just for today I shall be bold and make a couple of suggestions:

- Since the theme of that song is one of perceived paranoia (at least, in my interpretation, so there's my first suggestion!), the narrator may be insinuating (either as a believer in the paranoia, or mocking those who are paranoid, or a bit of both!) that secret-service type people are spying on him and/or others/everyone.

- Furthermore, as you may have seen in movies, such agents sometimes speak into microphones concealed in their clothing when communicating with other spies, thus they are "talking to their pockets".

What do you think, does that sound plausible?

[Alishibaz]

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I asked Lisa if she had an opinion as to the meaning of the LC lyric, "talking to their pockets".

I must admit that trying to ascertain the meanings of Leonard's rather cryptic lyrics are waters into which I am generally hesitant to tread. However, just for today I shall be bold and make a couple of suggestions:

- Furthermore, as you may have seen in movies, such agents sometimes speak into microphones concealed in their clothing when communicating with other spies, thus they are "talking to their pockets".

What do you think, does that sound plausible?

Yes, Lisa. That sounds very plausible. Secret Service Agents are often depicted as speaking into some unusual article of clothing. I would pick that as the most plausible explanation. Well done, Lisa! Thank you.

P.S. I added my list of favorite songs to the following thread.

http://leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic. ... g&start=60

[Hartmut]

On his song, "Everybody Knows" from his album "I'm Your Man", LC wrote the line, "Everybody talking to their pockets". That line just stumps me. Would you have any idea what he may have meant?.

I always assumed this was a reference to money. As in "lining their pockets".

[Goldin]

I always assumed this was a reference to money.

Agree.

Also, discussed here: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ ... s.2364723/

[Alishibaz]

Hartmut & Goldin,

Thanks very much for your opinions and for the reference to that site. What a great site. I think I will be consulting that site fairly often now. These sort of questions seem to come up a lot for me.

I wouldn't think it's about cell phones. Someone said this song was written long before cell phones but I saw my first cell phone in 1983 (which is when they first went public) and this song was on an album that was produced in 1988. But I tend to think the money concept is much more likely.

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/ce ... imeline/28

I was born in Canada and lived most of my life in English speaking society except for 12 years during which I lived in Montreal and the school system in Montreal forces English students to study French between the ages of 8 thru 17. By the way, I'm very happy today that I learned a great deal of French during those 9 years. However, I think it was very strange they taught French as it is spoken in France and not Quebecoise (French as it is spoken in Quebec which is quite different than French spoken in France). I used to insert some Quebecoise into my high school French class just to see my teacher (a very stodgy English lady) blow a gasket. That was great fun.

There are many expressions in English that associate "money" with "pockets".

"deep pockets" - means someone who is wealthy

"burning a whole in his/her pockets" - means someone who has a sum of money and seems eager to just spend it quickly without much care for saving it for the future.

The following link shows several more of these expressions:

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/pocket

All in all, I think that is probably the correct interpretation.

Thanks again.