...... Some say Mitchell wrote ‘A Case of You’ for Cohen, referencing their joint Canadian nationalities in the track. In return, it’s rumoured that Cohen wrote ‘Winter Lady’ about her. There are other Mitchell tracks said to be inspired by him, including ‘The Gallery’, ‘Chelsea Morning’, ‘The Song About the Midway’ and certainly ‘Rainy Night House’, but one of them caused an argument between the lovers.
Mitchell never specified what song caused the fallout, but as music was brought into the tumult of their connection, one of her tracks caused a fight. “Leonard got mad at me actually because I put a line of his, a line that he said, in one of my songs,” she once explained. Taking something Cohen had said out loud to her and putting it into her lyrics—she didn’t see the issue, but he called it plagiarism.
“To me, that’s not plagiarism”, she claimed, but obviously, she knows there’s a line. To her, there is a definition of plagiarism and a line to not cross. As she explained, “You either steal from life, or you steal from books. Life is fair game, but books are not. That’s my personal opinion.”
So, if Cohen had simply written the line into one of his own songs or poems first, Mitchell would have kept her hands off. But as one of his sentences lives on in one of her songs, and we can only speculate which, Mitchell thought it fair game: “Don’t steal from somebody else’s art, that’s cheating. Steal from life—it’s up for grabs, right?”
Hummm..... I wonder what line it was? A dear friend and forum member calls me “Lady Lyrics”, so it’s no surprise I ask this question
. Maybe someone knows the line Leonard spoke to Joni? If so, please let us (me) know.Just to make it easier to reference them, following are the lyrics of the 5 songs mentioned. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to find the actual line! In fact, if you don’t already know, it’s virtually impossible to do so. But it’s interesting to know if the line comes from one of those 5 songs, there's a line Leonard spoke below that’s not officially listed as his.
A CASE OF YOU
Just before our love got lost you said
"I am as constant as a northern star"
And I said, "Constantly in the darkness
Where's that at?
If you want me I'll be in the bar"
On the back of a cartoon coaster
In the blue TV screen light
I drew a map of Canada
Oh, Canada
With your face sketched on it twice
Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling
And I would still be on my feet
Oh, I would still be on my feet
Oh, I am a lonely painter
I live in a box of paints
I'm frightened by the devil
And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid
I remember that time you told me
You said, "Love is touching souls"
Surely you touched mine
'Cause part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time
Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling
Still I'd be on my feet
I would still be on my feet
I met a woman
She had a mouth like yours
She knew your life
She knew your devils and your deeds
And she said, "Go to him, stay with him if you can
But be prepared to bleed"
Oh, but you are in my blood
You're my holy wine
You're so bitter
Bitter and so sweet
Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling
Still I'd be on my feet
I would still be on my feet
THE GALLERY
When I first saw your gallery
I liked the ones of ladies
Then you began to hang up me
You studied to portray me
In ice and greens
And old blue jeans
And naked in the roses
Then you got into funny scenes
That all your work discloses
"Lady, don't love me now I am dead
I am a saint, turn down your bed
I have no heart," that's what you said
You said, "I can be cruel
But let me be gentle with you"
Somewhere in a magazine
I found a page about you
I see that now it's Josephine
Who cannot be without you
I keep your house in fit repair
I dust the portraits daily
Your mail comes here from everywhere
The writing looks like ladies'
"Lady, please love me now, I am dead
I am a saint, turn down your bed
I have no heart," that's what you said
You said, "I can be cruel
But let me be gentle with you"
I gave you all my pretty years
Then we began to weather
And I was left to winter here
While you went west for pleasure
And now you're flying bock this way
Like some lost homing pigeon
They've monitored your brain, you say
And changed you with religion
"Lady, please love me now I was dead
I am no saint, turn down your bed
Lady, have you no heart," that's what you said
Well, I can be cruel
But let me be gentle with you
When I first saw your gallery
I liked the ones of ladies
But now their faces follow me
And all their eyes look shady
CHELSEA MORNING
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning
And the first thing that I heard
Was a song outside my window
And the traffic wrote the words
It came ringin' up like Christmas bells
And rappin' up like pipes and drums
Oh, won't you stay? We'll put on the day
And we'll wear it 'til the night comes
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning
And the first thing that I saw
Was the sun through yellow curtains
And a rainbow on the wall
Blue, red, green and gold to welcome you
Crimson crystal beads to beckon
Oh, won't you stay? We'll put on the day
There's a sun show every second
Now the curtain opens on a portrait of today
And the streets are paved with passersby
And pigeons fly and papers lie
Waiting to blow away
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning
And the first thing that I knew
There was milk and toast and honey
And a bowl of oranges, too
And the sun poured in like butterscotch
And stuck to all my senses
Oh, won't you stay? We'll put on the day
And we'll talk in present tenses
When the curtain closes and the rainbow runs away
I will bring you incense owls by night
By candlelight, by jewel-light, if only you will stay
Pretty baby, won't you-
Wake up, it's a Chelsea morning
THE SONG ABOUT THE MIDWAY
I met you on a midway at a fair last year
And you stood out like a ruby in a black man's ear *
You were playing on the horses, you were playing on the guitar strings
You were playing like a devil wearing wings, wearing wings
You looked so grand wearing wings
Do you tape them to your shoulders just to sing
Can you fly
I heard you can! Can you fly
Like an eagle doin' your hunting from the sky
I followed with the sideshows to another town
And I found you in a trailer on the camping grounds
You were betting on some lover, you were shaking up the dice
And I thought I saw you cheating once or twice, once or twice
I heard your bid once or twice
Were you wondering was the gamble worth the price
Pack it in
I heard you did! Pack it in
Was it hard to fold a hand you knew could win
So lately you've been hiding, it was somewhere in the news
And I'm still at these races with my ticket stubs and my blues
And a voice calls out the numbers, and it sometimes mentions mine
And I feel like I've been working overtime, overtime
I've lost my fire overtime
Always playin' one more hand for one more dime
Slowin' down
I'm gettin' tired! Slowin' down
And I envy you the valley that you've found
'Cause I'm midway down the midway
Slowin' down, down, down, down
It has been said that the above song is about her break-up with David Crosby.
RAINY NIGHT HOUSE
It was a rainy night
We took a taxi to your mother's home
She went to Florida and left you
With your father's gun alone
Upon her small white bed
I fell into a dream
You sat up all the night and watched me
To see who in the world I might be
I am from the Sunday school
I sing soprano in the upstairs choir
You are a holy man
On the F.M. radio
I sat up all the night and watched thee
To see who in the world you might be
You called me beautiful
You called your mother, she was very tanned
So you packed your tent and you went
To live out in the Arizona sand
You are a refugee
From a wealthy family
You gave up all the golden factories
To see who in the world you might be