Song · Leonard Cohen
“You Want It Darker” by Leonard Cohen
From the album You Want It Darker (2016)
“You Want It Darker” by Leonard Cohen appears on 14 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 2016 and 2025. It was first released in 2016 on the album You Want It Darker. Its best result is #5 on the WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2016. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #16 indie & aaa song of 2016, #923 indie & aaa song of all time and #227 of the '10s.
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"You Want It Darker" gave Leonard Cohen's 2016 album its title, and it sounds like a man settling his accounts. Patrick Leonard wrote the music and Cohen the words, and Adam Cohen produced, keeping everything low and close: Leonard's keyboard bass and Hammond organ, Neil Larsen's organ alongside, Rob Humphreys' drums ticking, and Cohen's voice down in the cellar. Behind him rise Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir, giving the whole thing the air of a service.
Critic Alexis Petridis heard a menacing quarrel with religion that swings between fury and weary acceptance. It won Cohen the Grammy for Best Rock Performance, and American Songwriter later ranked it third among his 10 greatest songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 51 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2016 | 104 |
| 2016 | 5 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2016 | 90 |
| 2016 | 12 | WTMD Baltimore, MD | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2016 | 89 |
| 2016 | 13 | 90.9 The Bridge Kansas City, MO | 90.9 The Bridge Top 100 Songs of 2016 | 90 |
| 2016 | 15 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2016 | 89 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 134 | WTMD | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 | 896 |
| 2020 | 567 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 917 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2023 | 858 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2024 | 746 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 92 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 208 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2025 | 133 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 623 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
Also listed as: You Want it Darker.
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