Avalanche (Leonard Cohen song) explained

Avalanche
Artist:	Leonard Cohen
Album:	Songs of Love and Hate
Released:	1971
Genre:	Folk
Length:	5:07
Label:	Columbia
Producer:	Bob Johnston

"Avalanche" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It appears on his third album, Songs of Love and Hate, released in 1971.

The lyrics are based on a poem he had previously written. He acknowledged in a 1992 interview with Paul Zollo that his "chop", his unique pattern of playing classical guitar, is behind many of his early songs, and this one features Cohen's trademark fast, syncopated classical guitar pattern as the accompaniment on the recording of the song.^[1]

Cover versions

• Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds recorded a version of the song for their 1984 album, From Her to Eternity. In 2015, as a solo artist, Nick Cave covered "Avalanche" again for season 2 of Black Sails.^[2] The Black Sails version was used again in season 2 of Invincible.^[3]
• Aimee Mann recorded the song as opening theme for the TV series I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020).^[4]
• Swedish metal band Ghost released a cover of the song as a bonus track for their 2018 album Prequelle.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: Zollo , Paul . Songwriters on Songwriting. Da Capo Press. 1997. Interview with Leonard Cohen, Los Angeles, 1992. 978-0-306-80777-0. expanded.
2. Miles. Rayner. Hear Nick Cave's new cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Avalanche' for 'Black Sails' -- exclusive. January 9, 2015. July 30, 2020. Entertainment Weekly. EN.
3. Web site: Staff . WiC . 2023-11-24 . All the songs in Invincible Episode 204, “It’s Been a While” . 2023-11-26 . Winter is Coming . en-US.
4. Web site: Tom. Breihan. July 1, 2020. Aimee Mann Covers Leonard Cohen's "Avalanche" For HBO's 'I'll Be Gone In The Dark': Listen. July 2, 2020. Stereogum.
5. Web site: Greg. Kennelty. August 15, 2019. GHOST Announces Prequelle Box Set With Rare Tracks & Photo Book. January 21, 2024. Metal Injection.