Happens To The Heart

Album: Thanks for the Dance (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the opening track of Leonard Cohen's posthumous album Thanks For The Dance. Cohen's son Adam produced the record, fulfilling his father's wish to finish some songs they'd written together.

    Adam Cohen started with the abandoned tunes "The Night of Santiago," "Moving On" and "Happens to the Heart," which Adam called his father's piece de resistance. "I've rarely seen more devotion to or almost obsession with a song," he told Mojo magazine. "There are more verses than I know off and we attempted it on many occasions. Had he been satisfied with it, it would have been on You Want It Darker."
  • The song is a defiant statement of intent.

    I was always working steady
    But I never called it art


    Adam Cohen told Apple Music: "I think it's one in a long line of songs that have his essential thesis in life, which is the broken hallelujah: Everything cracks, and this is what happens to the heart."
  • Directed by Sia collaborator Daniel Askill, the video draws inspiration from Leonard Cohen's experience as a Buddhist monk.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

Justin Timberlake

Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction

Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?

The Evolution of "Ophelia"

The Evolution of "Ophelia"Song Writing

How five songs portray Shakespeare's character Ophelia.

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Wolfgang Van Halen

Wolfgang Van HalenSongwriter Interviews

Wolfgang Van Halen breaks down the songs on his debut album, Mammoth WVH, and names the definitive Van Halen songs from the Sammy and Dave eras.

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.