Bird On The Wire - Cover Versions

Cover Versions

Several artists have covered the song, often as "Bird on a Wire" (indeed, this variation appears in the compilation The Essential Leonard Cohen), including:

• Joe Cocker on Joe Cocker! (1969) and the live album Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1970)
• Jackie DeShannon on the album To Be Free (1970)
• Dave Van Ronk on Van Ronk (1971)
• Tim Hardin on the album Bird on a Wire (1971)
• Pearls Before Swine on the album Beautiful Lies You Could Live In (1971)
• Rita Coolidge on the album The Lady's Not for Sale (1972)
• Fairport Convention on the album Heyday: the BBC Radio Sessions, 1968–1969 (1987)
• Jennifer Warnes on the tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat (1987)
• Tom Cochrane and Red Rider on The Symphony Sessions (1989)
• The Neville Brothers on the album Brother's Keeper (1990), also included in the movie by the same name
• The Lilac Time on the tribute album I'm Your Fan (1991)
• Soul Asylum did an acoustic version that CIMX-FM used to play
• The Bobs on the album Cover the Songs of … (1994), in a skate-punk style
• Johnny Cash on the album American Recordings (1994), and also live with orchestra (released on the 2003 compilation Unearthed)
• Willie Nelson on the tribute album Tower of Song (1995)
• Stina Nordenstam on the album People Are Strange (1998)
• k.d. lang on the album Hymns of the 49th Parallel (2004)
• autorickshaw on the album So the Journey Goes (2007)
• Perla Batalla on the album Bird on the Wire: the Songs of Leonard Cohen (2005)
• Eva Dahlgren on the tribute album Cohen – the Scandinavian Report (2009)
• Joe Bonamassa on the album Black Rock (2010)
• Kiko Veneno on the album Dice la Gente (2010), adapted to Spanish
• Katey Sagal on the television program Sons of Anarchy in Season 3 Episode 4 (2011)
• Prince Edward Island jazz guitarist Ian Toms on his album Playbook (2012)