The Partisan (track)
by Leonard Cohen
Year: 1969
From the album Songs From A Room (track #4)
Listen on Spotify
The Partisan appears on the following album(s) by Leonard Cohen:
- Songs From A Room (track #4) (this album) (1969)
- The Best Of Leonard Cohen (track #6) (compilation) (1975)
- The Complete Studio Albums Collection (track #14) (compilation) (2011)
- The Essential Leonard Cohen (track #7) (compilation) (2002)
- Songs From The Road (track #9) (2010)
- Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 (track #17) (2009)
- Live In Dublin (track #16) (2014)
Upcoming concerts
Listen to The Partisan on YouTube
The Partisan ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 12/15/2025 22:43 | Exist-en-ciel | 77,258 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2025 12:08 | plasmicmist | 7,586 | 91/100 |
| ! | 09/30/2025 13:24 | mostlymor | 86,642 | 80/100 |
| ! | 08/18/2025 10:41 |  doombringer | 13,355 | 74/100 |
| ! | 08/12/2025 01:58 | albumceleste | 2,144 | 70/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 86.2/100, a mean average of 86.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.1/100. The standard deviation for this track is 9.4.
The Partisan favourites
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The Partisan comments
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Sparse and skeletal as the partisan himself, this is Cohen’s take on a traditional anthem of the French resistance. A tale of fortitude and sacrifice, his flatly stoical delivery is made for this role, as resigned to his fate he counts his loss and honours the bravery and sacrifice of those around him.
This is a genuine slice of history and is almost filmic in its vivid portrayal of a small man’s tireless, thankless task against a mighty ubiquitous foe.
It is one of the greatest songs ever recorded. A treasure.
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