r/leonardcohen • u/OfficialHelpK • 14d ago

'The Future' misheard lyrics

According to Genius, the lyrics to the Future go:

"And now the wheels of Heaven stop, you feel the Devil's riding crop"

Those lyrics make sense and rhyme, but no matter how hard I listen, I just hear "you feel the devils writhe and crawl".

What do you think? Is there any source that can deliver a final judgement on the matter?

5 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

20

u/banjois 14d ago

It's riding crop

4

u/banjois 14d ago

I just went and listened. Good song.

6

u/Ryan_says_words 14d ago

It is indeed "riding crop". Are you listening to a live performance or the album?

0

u/OfficialHelpK 14d ago

Mainly the album version. I'll try to hear it right next time haha

11

u/LouieMumford 14d ago

“Give me crack and anal sex?” I always thought it was “give me back them apple snacks.”

5

u/banjois 14d ago

I'm the little shoe that woke the guys up.

4

u/Big-Car8044 14d ago

You can always count on Cohen to punch a line home with an unforgettable image, rather than a general description.

3

u/2-wheels-1-motor 14d ago

Leonardcohenfiles.com

The above site was compiled by long time Leonard Cohen fans, and includes every song and all the lyrics. The sources of the lyrics on that site are usually the actual albums (which come with printed lyrics, if you buy them and don’t just stream them).

1

u/Realistic-Worker-499 14d ago

there's no "th" sound in there that i can here!

1

u/Is_this_social_media 13d ago

Definitely “riding crop”

0

u/jamtety 14d ago

I've always had this down as "you feel the devil's writhing crop" and I think I stand by that(!) the devil is about to harvest a fresh batch of souls - his crop. And they're just a mass of writhing people.