I was never any good at loving you
I was never any good at coming
through for you
You’re going to feel much better
When you cut me loose forever
I was never any good
Never any good
I was never any good at loving you
I was dying when we met
I bet my life on you
But you called me and I folded
like you knew I’d do
You called my ace, my king, my bluff
Okay, you win, enough’s enough
I was never any good
Never any good
I was never any good at loving you
I was pretty good at taking out
the garbage
Pretty good at holding up the wall
Dealing with the fire and the earthquake
But that don’t count
That don’t count
That don’t count for nothing much at all
I was never any good at loving you
I was just a tourist in your bed looking
at the view
But I can’t forget where my lips
have been
Those holy hills, that deep ravine
I was never any good
Never any good
I was never any good at loving you
I was pretty good at taking out the garbage
Pretty good at holding up the wall
I’m sorry for my crimes against
the moonlight
I didn’t think
I didn’t think
I didn’t think the moon would mind at all
I was never any good at loving you
At doing what a woman really wants
a man to do
You’re going to feel much better
When you cut me loose forever
I was never any good
Never any good
I was never any good at loving you
Unreleased until included on More Best Of Leonard Cohen (1997), this song is an entertaining excursion to a familiar corner of the Cohen theme park. With all the confidence of a man who, having leant from his mistakes, can repeat them with precision, Cohen applies his considerable skill to seducing his beloved into leaving him. The card-playing imagery in the second stanza is a good example of Cohen’s literary skill – not only is the metaphor an effective one in itself but the ambiguity of “called” (matched a bet or telephoned/visited) and “folded” (declined a bet or crumpled) adds poetic value to the lyric.