A Thousand Kisses Deep

Leonard Cohen

The ponies run, the girls are young,

The odds are there to beat.

You win a while, and then it's done –

Your little winning streak.

And summoned now to deal

With your invincible defeat,

You live your life as if it's real,

A Thousand Kisses Deep.



I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,

I'm back on Boogie Street.

You lose your grip, and then you slip

Into the Masterpiece.

And maybe I had miles to drive,

And promises to keep:

You ditch it all to stay alive,

A Thousand Kisses Deep.



And sometimes when the night is slow,

The wretched and the meek,

We gather up our hearts and go,

A Thousand Kisses Deep.



Confined to sex, we pressed against

The limits of the sea:

I saw there were no oceans left

For scavengers like me.

I made it to the forward deck.

I blessed our remnant fleet –

And then consented to be wrecked,

A Thousand Kisses Deep.



I'm turning tricks, I'm getting fixed,

I'm back on Boogie Street.

I guess they won't exchange the gifts

That you were meant to keep.

And quiet is the thought of you,

The file on you complete,

Except what we forgot to do,

A Thousand Kisses Deep.



And sometimes when the night is slow,

The wretched and the meek,

We gather up our hearts and go,

A Thousand Kisses Deep.



The ponies run, the girls are young,

The odds are there to beat . . .