Everybody Knows

By LEONARD COHEN and SHARON ROBINSON

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded.
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed.
Everybody knows the war is over.
Everybody knows the good guys lost.
Everybody knows the fight was fixed:
the poor stay poor, the rich get rich.
That’s how it goes. Everybody knows.

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking.
Everybody knows the captain lied.
Everybody got this broken feeling like their father or their dog just died.

Everybody talking to their pockets.
Everybody wants a box of chocolates and a long stem rose.
Everybody knows.

Everybody knows that you love me, baby.
Everybody knows that you really do.
Everybody knows that you’ve been faithful, give or take a night or two.
Everybody knows you’ve been discreet, but there were so many people you just had to meet without your clothes.
And everybody knows.

And everybody knows that it’s now or never.
Everybody knows that it’s me or you.
And everybody knows that you live forever when you’ve done a line or two.
Everybody knows the deal is rotten:
Old Black Joe’s still pickin’ cotton for your ribbons and bows.
And everybody knows.

Everybody knows that the Plague is coming.
Everybody knows that it’s moving fast.
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman -- just a shining artifact of the past.
Everybody knows the scene is dead, but there’s gonna be a meter on your bed that will disclose what everybody knows.

And everybody knows that you’re in trouble.
Everybody knows what you’ve been through,
from the bloody cross on top of Calvary to the beach at Malibu.
Everybody knows it’s coming apart:
take one last look at this Sacred Heart before it blows.
And everybody knows.