Succession: What song does Connor Roy sing?

In Succession Season 4 Episode 2, Connor Roy spends his wedding eve crooning out a rather depressing “Guantanamo-level” song – but what did he sing?

In our review, we wrote: “The second episode of Succession’s final season feels like a response to the thrilling punchiness of its premiere; there are laughs aplenty, but this is altogether sadder and angrier.”

After pinching PGM from Logan, the “rats” prepare for Gojo’s acquisition for Waystar and mull over a last-minute “squeeze on the Swede” for more money. Meanwhile, Logan has made peace with losing Pierce and has already started to look ahead, preparing to take up residency in the ATN thunderdome.

Despite the moat of resentment and anger between Logan and his kids, they all converge at a karaoke bar in New York City, where Connor takes hold of the mic and sings us a song.

What song does Connor Roy sing in Succession?

Connor Roy sings ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ by Leonard Cohen in Succession Season 4 Episode 2.

The choice can’t be coincidental. While Cohen has discussed how he was never truly satisfied with the song, its meaning – or as interpreted by the Financial Times – echoes his anxieties regarding Willa and the rest of their lives together.

“The song takes the form of a letter… addressed to an unnamed man who, we learn, once unsuccessfully tried to prise away Jane, the wife of the writer (a fictionalized version of the singer himself). But this is no ordinary torrid love-triangle narrative, filled with wounded egos, bitterness, blame and recriminations,” the publication wrote.

“The letter is in fact curiously fraternal, even conciliatory towards the narrator’s rival. The tragedy here was never the infidelity, but the way in which the narrator was resigned to the decay of his marriage.”

For example, take this line: “Thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes, I thought it was there for good, so I never tried.”

Earlier that evening, we know Willa broke down during her speech, spent 45 minutes in the toilet, and escaped at the first sight of his siblings. Lest we forget, this isn’t a traditional head-over-heels love story: she was his escort, and they’re too far gone now.

Succession Season 4 Episodes 1-2 are streaming on HBO and Sky now. Episode 3 will be available to watch on April 9 in the US and April 10 in the UK. Check out the rest of our coverage here and the trailer for the weeks ahead here.