Every summer, I drive 600 miles north to an island in Canada, an 11 hour trip straight through. Half of those hours are listening to Leonard Cohen and working through my own stuff. He makes that possible.
Mr. Cohen has been described in recent days as "the American singer." He was not. He was Canadian.
Mr. Cohen has been described in recent days as "the American singer." He was not. He was Canadian.
A giant has fallen.
Used to be quite depressing for me to hear his songs as they were so convincingly beautiful: it sort of lifts one gently out of this world with life and time spinning, passing in front of you... but growing older, they become soothing and zen-like... Thank you, Lenny the Master!
R.I.P.
R.I.P.
1
I heard Leonard Cohen's voice for the first time in 2004. There were songs that made me feel I hadn't lived until the moment I heard them -- where had I been?
Since then, I've listened now and then, when I can take some bitter truths and his empathy all at once. But for years, phrases from Anthem have come to rescue me from spiritual paralysis.
What a one-two punch for him to slip away from us this past Election week. But I'm also grateful to be provoked into remembering him and his brutal authenticity in more than passing.
We needed to remember him this week. To remember "Anthem" and what it means to be heard.
"I can't run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
And they're going to hear from me."
Since then, I've listened now and then, when I can take some bitter truths and his empathy all at once. But for years, phrases from Anthem have come to rescue me from spiritual paralysis.
What a one-two punch for him to slip away from us this past Election week. But I'm also grateful to be provoked into remembering him and his brutal authenticity in more than passing.
We needed to remember him this week. To remember "Anthem" and what it means to be heard.
"I can't run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
And they're going to hear from me."
The first time I heard "Suzanne" I was driving a car and had to pull over to the side of the road to listen to it. I saw him live in Madison WI in the mid 70's. People not admitted to the concert were pounding on the doors and he said "let them in" - the doors were opened and they were let in. Loved you well in my day, and today...
2
I saw him in Lucca, Italy, 3 years ago, and it was a spectacular, moving, even thrilling concert.
I know he was sick; I know he lived a full life; I know, but I mourn his death, I feel it.
I know he was sick; I know he lived a full life; I know, but I mourn his death, I feel it.
5
We are all in mourning this week, and the sad loss of Leonard has made it all the deeper. He was a blessing, a charmer, a deeply respected man. Fly on wings of Love, Peace and Joy, Leonard. Fly away home to be where no more tears can come. You are loved.
2
And today he has new life from SNL's Kate McKinnon's tribute to Hillary Clinton with her version of Cohen's "Hallelujah" on last night's show (11/12/16)
Copy/paste link into browser
https://youtu.be/BG-_ZDrypec
Copy/paste link into browser
https://youtu.be/BG-_ZDrypec
Leonard Cohen Gave Me Candy
By
Eight-year-old Cody Marley
Leonard Cohen used to give me candy. He lived over the hill from us. I’d ride my horse, Dunny, over to his house. Leonard would be sitting on the porch. It tasted like toffee. Now, when I eat toffee, I think of Leonard.
Leonard would come to the house for supper, sometimes, with a pretty lady. He didn’t eat everything my mother made. It made my mother mad and my father laugh. I remember after supper Leonard would play his guitar and sing. My father would play the harmonica. Leonard was nice and funny. He and my father would laugh. They’d drink whisky.
Once, my father went to the bank with Leonard because they wouldn’t give him any money. My father told the bank Leonard had money and everything was OK.
Leonard gave my father a book. Christmas, my father told my cousin who went to college he knew Leonard. She screamed. Leonard gave her a book too.
Leonard wanted to be a cowboy. He liked cowboy songs. My father sold Leonard a horse but Leonard didn’t ride good. He was from the city.
Leonard’s house had masks on the wall. He wanted to make a mask of my brother’s face. He said no.
Leonard moved and got on TV. I didn’t see him anymore. He sent my father a letter.
My father had a lot of funny friends. They would show up and then leave. He liked Leonard, me too. Thanks for the candy, Leonard.
*In 1970, Leonard Cohen lived just outside of Nashville near cowboy Kid Marley.
By
Eight-year-old Cody Marley
Leonard Cohen used to give me candy. He lived over the hill from us. I’d ride my horse, Dunny, over to his house. Leonard would be sitting on the porch. It tasted like toffee. Now, when I eat toffee, I think of Leonard.
Leonard would come to the house for supper, sometimes, with a pretty lady. He didn’t eat everything my mother made. It made my mother mad and my father laugh. I remember after supper Leonard would play his guitar and sing. My father would play the harmonica. Leonard was nice and funny. He and my father would laugh. They’d drink whisky.
Once, my father went to the bank with Leonard because they wouldn’t give him any money. My father told the bank Leonard had money and everything was OK.
Leonard gave my father a book. Christmas, my father told my cousin who went to college he knew Leonard. She screamed. Leonard gave her a book too.
Leonard wanted to be a cowboy. He liked cowboy songs. My father sold Leonard a horse but Leonard didn’t ride good. He was from the city.
Leonard’s house had masks on the wall. He wanted to make a mask of my brother’s face. He said no.
Leonard moved and got on TV. I didn’t see him anymore. He sent my father a letter.
My father had a lot of funny friends. They would show up and then leave. He liked Leonard, me too. Thanks for the candy, Leonard.
*In 1970, Leonard Cohen lived just outside of Nashville near cowboy Kid Marley.
3
WHen I was twelve I read Beautiful Losers and although I didn't understand it at all, I loved it. I reread it 40 years later to realize that even though I still found parts of it difficult, really difficult, it was a beautiful book. Even in his most beautiful and emotionally charged poetry and musice, Leonard Cohen maintained an amazing self awareness and often a great sense of humour. THe grocer of pain I think he would have laughed at McGIll being described as "Canada's premiere institution of higher learning". as opposed to "oldest"or "best in some areas." It seems a very American way to describe a Canadain public university.
7
His music haunts the overwhelmingly sad McCabe and Mrs Miller, one of Altman's masterpieces.
6
Just slightly younger than Mr. Cohen, until my dying day I will never be without him. His death during this already horrific week found me playing his song "Democracy". Instead of its refrain, "coming to the U.S.A", on Tuesday I felt it slipping away. I played this song and hoped.
Mr. Cohen would end his correspondence with, "All Good Things". Some friends interpret this as a negative, since the line which follows is, "must come to an end". When that occurs, I then go on to remind them of the entire saying: "All good things must come to an end, to make way for better things to happen, because the best is yet to come".
As this week ends, I still maintain hope that although we have come to an end of those good things, the depression we experience currently will eventually make way for better things, with the best yet to come. To those far younger than I, never, ever, give up on hope. To give up on hope is to give up on life.
DD
Manhattan
Mr. Cohen would end his correspondence with, "All Good Things". Some friends interpret this as a negative, since the line which follows is, "must come to an end". When that occurs, I then go on to remind them of the entire saying: "All good things must come to an end, to make way for better things to happen, because the best is yet to come".
As this week ends, I still maintain hope that although we have come to an end of those good things, the depression we experience currently will eventually make way for better things, with the best yet to come. To those far younger than I, never, ever, give up on hope. To give up on hope is to give up on life.
DD
Manhattan
12
His name was legendary for the past half century at our shared alma mater, McGill University. His poetry and music pervades every aspect of the human experience. I've had his last book of poetry, the "Book of Longing," by my bedside for many months. From "Laughter in the Pantheon":
"I enjoyed the laughter
old poets
as you welcomed me
but i won't be staying
here for long
You won't be either"
His music was in the background of the art film "Exotica" (1994). Here are a few lines from "Everybody Knows"...
"Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah 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"
Many here have stated that Leonard Cohen's death was related to Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. I suspect that while he was human, his spirit was greater than temporal things. Others complain that he lost out to Bob Dylan on winning the Nobel Prize. I suspect that Dylan waited several weeks to acknowledge the award because he was in disbelief that Cohen did not precede him. But Leonard Cohen is too big for such awards. Dylan would agree.
Leonard Cohen told us what his last words in this world would be in "You Want it Darker." It will also be his first words in the next world.
"Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my lord"
He is ready, my lord.
"I enjoyed the laughter
old poets
as you welcomed me
but i won't be staying
here for long
You won't be either"
His music was in the background of the art film "Exotica" (1994). Here are a few lines from "Everybody Knows"...
"Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah 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"
Many here have stated that Leonard Cohen's death was related to Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. I suspect that while he was human, his spirit was greater than temporal things. Others complain that he lost out to Bob Dylan on winning the Nobel Prize. I suspect that Dylan waited several weeks to acknowledge the award because he was in disbelief that Cohen did not precede him. But Leonard Cohen is too big for such awards. Dylan would agree.
Leonard Cohen told us what his last words in this world would be in "You Want it Darker." It will also be his first words in the next world.
"Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my lord"
He is ready, my lord.
7
I haven't read through all the 225 comments so far, but neither those I have read nor the obit mention the contribution that Cohen's music made to my favorite Robert Altman film, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller." In my opinion Cohen's songs, from his first album, are a large part of the film's understated brilliance and haunting, mesmerizing beauty. I wished the obit had covered Cohen's contribution to that film, a cinematic masterpiece thanks in part to the poetic and musical genius of Leonard Cohen.
7
Leonard Cohen, may you rest in peace and joy. You have given so much to us.
5
'I went down to the place where I knew she lay waiting,
Under the marble and snow.
I said 'Mother I'm frightened, the thunder and lightning,
I'll never come through this alone'.
She said', I'll be with you, my shawl wrapped around you,
my hand on your head when you go'.
And the night came on, it was very calm
I wanted the night to go on and on
But she said go back, go back to the world'".
'' Night Comes On" 1985
RIP, Leonard. My guess is, her hand was on your head when you took your last breath....are IPads tear- proof? I guess I'm about to find out........
Under the marble and snow.
I said 'Mother I'm frightened, the thunder and lightning,
I'll never come through this alone'.
She said', I'll be with you, my shawl wrapped around you,
my hand on your head when you go'.
And the night came on, it was very calm
I wanted the night to go on and on
But she said go back, go back to the world'".
'' Night Comes On" 1985
RIP, Leonard. My guess is, her hand was on your head when you took your last breath....are IPads tear- proof? I guess I'm about to find out........
7
A great poet, diffident, reclusive and altogether brilliant.Sorely missed in an era of tawdry bling bling and self-promotion.
9
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I learned to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come here to Coachella...
...nor to Seattle, Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Sutton, Montreal, Paris, Geneva, Montpellier, Cassis, nor to the Cross...
to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand out here before the Lord of Song
With nothing, nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
We'll follow soon enough to stand with you, Mr. Cohen
and sing
I couldn't feel, so I learned to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come here to Coachella...
...nor to Seattle, Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Sutton, Montreal, Paris, Geneva, Montpellier, Cassis, nor to the Cross...
to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand out here before the Lord of Song
With nothing, nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
We'll follow soon enough to stand with you, Mr. Cohen
and sing
5
I always enjoyed Leonard's whimsy. His love filled his every word.
What can one say about his timing. As we celebrate what may be his greatest album You want it Darker.
The Cubs win the World Series, Leonard dies and the World grinds to a halt.
The gods mock our hubris and annihilate our revelry.
What is it about Montreal's poets AM Klein, Irving Layton and Leonard Cohen that inspires humour and laughter as we consider our severest frailties and endure our greatest pain..
What can one say about his timing. As we celebrate what may be his greatest album You want it Darker.
The Cubs win the World Series, Leonard dies and the World grinds to a halt.
The gods mock our hubris and annihilate our revelry.
What is it about Montreal's poets AM Klein, Irving Layton and Leonard Cohen that inspires humour and laughter as we consider our severest frailties and endure our greatest pain..
7
Heartbreaking.
Like we needed more sadness this week ...
A particular favorite is "Who by Fire." If you've never heard it, definitely go YouTube it. Haunting.
Like we needed more sadness this week ...
A particular favorite is "Who by Fire." If you've never heard it, definitely go YouTube it. Haunting.
10
I was introduced to Leonard Cohen only recently, by my long-time companion; she had known of him for decades. His songs are strongly affecting - "Dance me to the end of love", "I'm your man", and "First we take Manhattan" were the first ones I really liked. We are so fortunate that he lived and wrote and sang. He lived his names: leonine, and a teacher.
7
I remember hearing him sing "Democracy (Is Coming to the USA)" on tv where he sang the chorus:
"Sail on, sail on
O mighty ship of State
To the shores of need
Past the reefs of greed
Through the squalls of hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, ..."
Jennifer Warnes' album called Famous Blue Raincoaat remains a favorite. Her duet with him on "Joan of Arc" where Ms. Warnes as Joan sings to Mr. Cohen as the fire is both illuminating a devastating. The lyrics. The harmony. The beauty and the sorrow, a musical brilliance as if all theatre had been completely replaced by music.
So many pieces of literary and musical genius. Canada and the world have lost a poet like no other. He will be long remembered.
Heartfelt sympathy to his family.
"Sail on, sail on
O mighty ship of State
To the shores of need
Past the reefs of greed
Through the squalls of hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, ..."
Jennifer Warnes' album called Famous Blue Raincoaat remains a favorite. Her duet with him on "Joan of Arc" where Ms. Warnes as Joan sings to Mr. Cohen as the fire is both illuminating a devastating. The lyrics. The harmony. The beauty and the sorrow, a musical brilliance as if all theatre had been completely replaced by music.
So many pieces of literary and musical genius. Canada and the world have lost a poet like no other. He will be long remembered.
Heartfelt sympathy to his family.
15
It's rare that a performer can generate such intense interest with music so far outside the mainstream, performing songs from albums that sold few copies, with a voice that was made for something other than singing. That he succeeded is a testament to a man of humility, of truth and thought, of generosity, and of true grace.
14
He was a man who truly deserved the Nobel price for poetry.
One can listen to the words . one by one unlike the one who was recently chosen.
One can listen to the words . one by one unlike the one who was recently chosen.
10
I wasn't particularly a fan of Leonard Cohen I recall him as the favorite of the girls when I was in college in the early '70's but I was after a more muscular sound. As the years passed and his output became erratic and diminshed in volume, I lost sight of him, forgotten in the cacaphony of daily life.
Recently, I had cause to think about Leonard Cohen again when I read an article (I think in the NYT!) as to whether "Hallelujah" had become the most over-recorded song of all time.
Now he has passed and I almost didn't bother to read this obit. But out of curiosity I did and was stunned by the words of the missing stanza of "Suzanne" and the power of the closing lines of "Tower of Song".
So long Leonard. Although I hardly knew ye, I think I'll miss you more than I know.
Recently, I had cause to think about Leonard Cohen again when I read an article (I think in the NYT!) as to whether "Hallelujah" had become the most over-recorded song of all time.
Now he has passed and I almost didn't bother to read this obit. But out of curiosity I did and was stunned by the words of the missing stanza of "Suzanne" and the power of the closing lines of "Tower of Song".
So long Leonard. Although I hardly knew ye, I think I'll miss you more than I know.
8
What a tragedy.
I love his songs do much, and poems too
I love his songs do much, and poems too
1
The night after the election, as the terrible dust started to settle, I had a yearning to listen to so many of LC's songs, I didn't know where to start. One of my favorites of all time, "Tonight Will Be Fine," was the message I tried to tell myself. But even with the song's underlying pathos, it wasn't going to be fine. "The Future" or "Everybody Knows" seemed more apropos, but I was trying to be more positive in the face of our national trauma. I settled upon "The Traitor," where LC sings:
"The judges said you missed it by a fraction
Rise up and brace your troops for the attack
Ah, the dreamers ride against the men of action
Oh, see the men of action falling back..."
It gave me great comfort that the dreamers could successfully take on the men of action, after our fractional loss. For me, the lines encapsulated the plan for progressives as we move forward in an uncertain world.
The next evening, Leonard Cohen died. I'm so grateful I had his music several nights ago in my time of need, and that his vast life's work will live on well beyond his death. His music can and will give us comfort, or challenge us, as we face difficult situations. As he sang once, "well, never mind, we are ugly, but we have the music."
"The judges said you missed it by a fraction
Rise up and brace your troops for the attack
Ah, the dreamers ride against the men of action
Oh, see the men of action falling back..."
It gave me great comfort that the dreamers could successfully take on the men of action, after our fractional loss. For me, the lines encapsulated the plan for progressives as we move forward in an uncertain world.
The next evening, Leonard Cohen died. I'm so grateful I had his music several nights ago in my time of need, and that his vast life's work will live on well beyond his death. His music can and will give us comfort, or challenge us, as we face difficult situations. As he sang once, "well, never mind, we are ugly, but we have the music."
8
I first listened to Leonard Cohen in 1968 in New York, not knowing that some day - for the past 30 years - I would be living in the city of Westmount, where he was born; and today passing the house of his birth at least four or five times a week I recall each time that night in New York when I first listened to his first album. And that day in the 1990s when poet Irving Layton introduced me to you, I was over the moon - and back and forth a few times.
I mourn your loss mightily, and I will remember you for who you were, for what you accomplished, and for what you gave us. "So Long... (Leonard)."Your music and poetry is for the ages.
I mourn your loss mightily, and I will remember you for who you were, for what you accomplished, and for what you gave us. "So Long... (Leonard)."Your music and poetry is for the ages.
11
Leonard gave one his last interviews to The New Yorker, who published a long profile on him several weeks ago. He knew he was not long for the world. His onetime girlfriend/muse, Marianne was also in ill health. He penned her a letter: Well Marianne, it’s come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. And you know that I’ve always loved you for your beauty and your wisdom, but I don’t need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I just want to wish you a very good journey. Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road.
His last words to her were truth.
His last words to her were truth.
17
I was listening to his music much of the day and then reading some of the comments and it occurred to me that the greatest thing about his music that it left room for so many of us from different backgrounds and different ages and different ideal to find the personal in those songs even if my personal differed from yours. It was indeed a gift. An early Springsteen song had a line that said "trust some of this, it'll show you where its at or at least help you really feel it"
Thanks Lenny for helping me really feel it.
Thanks Lenny for helping me really feel it.
6
He sent a message earlier this year to Marianne on her deathbed and said he would be following her soon... I was hoping he was wrong but
she reached out her hand to him when they read those words to her
must have been hard to resist for so long
she reached out her hand to him when they read those words to her
must have been hard to resist for so long
12
Like no other songwriter I know, Leonard Cohen could turn words around and around, showing their different meanings and possibilities. In the most despairing songs, the despair itself would turn around and show its redemption, and then turn around again. His words push through crass speech and show a different world.
My favorite song of all, "Story of Isaac," does this again and again.
And if you call me brother now
Forgive me if I inquire
"Just according to whose plan?"
When it all comes down to dust
I will kill you if I must
I will help you if I can
When it all comes down to dust
I will help you if I must
I will kill you if I can
And mercy on our uniform
Man of peace or man of war
The peacock spreads his fan
The song as a whole is a magnificent rebuke of a false analogy between the story of Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifices of war; it not only expresses how unalike the two are, not only lifts up Abraham beyond what we know, but protests against simplistic likening in general. It isn't just the words that do this; it's the rumbling of the guitar, the Jewish intonation, the stark and lifting melody.
I will miss knowing that he was somewhere out there, in the world, tousling with notes and words.
My favorite song of all, "Story of Isaac," does this again and again.
And if you call me brother now
Forgive me if I inquire
"Just according to whose plan?"
When it all comes down to dust
I will kill you if I must
I will help you if I can
When it all comes down to dust
I will help you if I must
I will kill you if I can
And mercy on our uniform
Man of peace or man of war
The peacock spreads his fan
The song as a whole is a magnificent rebuke of a false analogy between the story of Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifices of war; it not only expresses how unalike the two are, not only lifts up Abraham beyond what we know, but protests against simplistic likening in general. It isn't just the words that do this; it's the rumbling of the guitar, the Jewish intonation, the stark and lifting melody.
I will miss knowing that he was somewhere out there, in the world, tousling with notes and words.
14
0ne of better, if not best covers of "Hallelujah" was by Canadian singer k d Lang, notably performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics here in Vancouver.
14
What an absolutely groovy fellow. Saw him in concert just a few years back and he was everything most of today's pop stars will never be -- wise, self-deprecating and talented beyond equal. He was pushing 80 then, but had a spring in his step and his thoughts that seemed forever young. So long Leonard. They just don't make bohemians like you any more.
13
Just read a wonderful article about Leonard Cohen's life while in Italy with friends who found out I was a poet and thought I might be interested in reading about how he came up with the words so gracefully used in many poems and songs over the years.
Will never forget this man, his life how he influenced mine, particularly my writing.
Will never forget this man, his life how he influenced mine, particularly my writing.
6
I love how his music conjures feelings in such unexpected, mysterious ways.
Part of his genius was to understand us even when we didn't understand him.
Part of his genius was to understand us even when we didn't understand him.
21
Ninety-nine percent of the population can name one song this guy wrote, and they know it from a cover by another guy. He's being celebrated as if he were Bob Dylan or Arlo Guthrie, but he's not even vaguely in that league in terms of notoriety. What I'm getting at is that this sudden trend of pretending that Leonard Cohen was a giant of North American songwriting is A) a myth, and B) coming from inside the glass bubble that missed the Orange Man's Counter-Revolution. Them dumb hicks can see right through the deification of someone they never heard of by the so-called coastal elites. They also know who the late Jeff Buckley was, and why he's the reason Leonard Cohen is being sanctified in death.
And McDonald's will always be a more popular "restaurant" than Jean-Georges.
Many people may know Mr Cohen only through the song they know as "That Shrek Song" -- or perhaps also as the one on the soundtrack when Marissa Cooper died in "The O.C." teevee show; many may not even know it's his song.
But some of us know other-wise.
Many people may know Mr Cohen only through the song they know as "That Shrek Song" -- or perhaps also as the one on the soundtrack when Marissa Cooper died in "The O.C." teevee show; many may not even know it's his song.
But some of us know other-wise.
9
Actually, most commenters here are fondly reminiscing about how Cohen's music affect them and their lives - it's all very personal.
13
I was playing Leonard Cohen records in my college apartment in the late '70s and early '80s, long before I had ever heard of Jeff Buckley-- and so were the friends who introduced me to his music.
7
The day after the election I knew I couldn't face the yammering, the noise the knowledge of what we had become so I started listening to Leonard, which I do often anyway and he helped to start to make me feel whole again. My husband and I attended his Hamilton, Ontario concert and were amazed at how much he gave to us. Yes, you have joined the Tower of Song Leonard and the very top of that tower. Rest now and thank you, for all of it for all of our lives.
12
Ever since Wednesday morning "Everybody Knows " has been rolling through my bones especially the lines, Everybody feels like their father or their dog just died. " Shortly after my father died Cohen's son "Your Father's Gone a Hunting " was some spiritual balm for my loss. Standing at my father's grave I would play a tape of the song, listening as the low tones of Leonard's voice wrapped my soul in comfort. Farewell Leonard, I will listen for you in that tower of song.
11
I first heard Leonard Cohen’s 'Suzanne' at a friend’s house in 1969. I was 17. We listened to the song and I remember looking at the album cover. The cover photo of Mr. Cohen was taken by one of those machines that would click out four sepia photos for a quarter. That would be my introduction to a new troubadour for a new age. I read and listened to his brilliant work from that day forward.
14
tears
there is a crack, a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
that's how the light gets in
there is a crack, a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
that's how the light gets in
12
Where have I been for the last 50 years?
I have never heard of Leonard Best nor any
of his songs.
I have never heard of Leonard Best nor any
of his songs.
1
Ever turned on a radio? Gone to a concert?
And it's Cohen, not Best.
And it's Cohen, not Best.
3
Great talent...I blame Trump for this!!!
It is hard to know what the Nobel Committee was thinking when they passed up the opportunity to honor Leonard Cohen. But, when looked at from the perspective that there are 2,000 recordings of his songs, by various artists, there was a significant "committee" that appreciated his poetry and his spirit.
11
Neither Dylan nor Cohen ever participated in this "who is better than who" stuff, and I don't think it is beneficial for their audiences (usually the same people) either
3
Dylan and Leonard were close friends. Dylan famously told him he was Number 1 but that he -- Dylan -- was number zero.
11
My sadness cannot transcend my admiration and gratitude to have lived in his time. His music, his poetry spoke volumes to me. He understood things on so many levels and was able to communicate them in ways that informed lives.
After this election I thought I could not feel sadder but losing a voice and countenance like Leonard Cohen's reminds me of how much he left behind so I take comfort in that and in loving his words starting with 'Suzanne' and 'Sisters of Mercy' and all the way to here.
There is no doubt he will live on through what he left behind. My condolences to his family and to Canada who produced him.
RIP Leonard Cohen. Thank you for making me appreciate how putting words together can say so much unspoken and spoken. Thank you for helping shape my young mind.
After this election I thought I could not feel sadder but losing a voice and countenance like Leonard Cohen's reminds me of how much he left behind so I take comfort in that and in loving his words starting with 'Suzanne' and 'Sisters of Mercy' and all the way to here.
There is no doubt he will live on through what he left behind. My condolences to his family and to Canada who produced him.
RIP Leonard Cohen. Thank you for making me appreciate how putting words together can say so much unspoken and spoken. Thank you for helping shape my young mind.
45
It's interesting to see someone write of the loss to Canada. It is very strange listening to the radio and reading the news today. It is like part of our country has died. November 11 is always a somber day for our country and today feels just that much heavier.
10
I will always cherish a brief conversation I had with this talented gentleman when he called to order his favorite Japanese incense from me. I told him how much I loved I loved Jennifer Warnes' recording of "Famous Blue Raincoat", he chuckled and thanked me for being one of the few who bought it. Thank You, Mr. Cohen, for the joy you gave us.
28
I bought it too and have listened to it for 30 years.
I saw her wince, I saw her cry,
I saw the glory in her eye.
Myself I long for love and light,
but must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?
The man with the golden voice. Maybe now Hank Williams will answer him.
I saw the glory in her eye.
Myself I long for love and light,
but must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?
The man with the golden voice. Maybe now Hank Williams will answer him.
21
Leonard Cohen, Z"L
2
I always felt that he wrote beautiful poetry and I am amazed how he made them in to melodious songs. I saw him on stage in Boston a couple of years ago and could not get over how well he performed for a man of his. Ever time I hear one of his song, I think of ' Life" and all of its limitations. I have been listening to him since 1970's. His lyrics are as relevant and eternal as his songs. He got that "Secret cord that pleased the Lord".We are so fortunate that he shared with us.
11
I saw Leonard Cohen at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm in 2013. Three songs in, I knew it would be one of the best shows of my life. At 78, he was nimble, energetic, funny and humble (and played for 3 hours with his great backing band). During the break in the beautiful, moody "Tower of Song", where he played a few simple notes on a dinky electric piano, he got some applause. He said "Do you think that's all I can do?", then went up and down the keys with his elbows. The crowd roared with laughter. And he blew the roof off with "First We Take Manhattan". An artist who was so often described as "depressing" had us in heaven all night.
22
His Miami concert in March, 2013, part of his final, triumphant tour, was the greatest I had ever experienced. LC gave three encores and the concert lasted three and a half hours. He prowled around the stage like a cat, not wasting a move. The musicians and singers were extraordinary. The mutual respect of the entire venue was palpable. And oh, his words and music, conveyed in that dark, deep baritone, so familiar to so many of us, young and old. He was sardonic and spiritual, profane and wise. So grateful to have been there, and that I can listen to his music at this difficult time.
17
Feeling so grateful to Mr. Cohen for standing up against hypocrisy and injustice, while so accepting of human frailty. He was the prophet of our suffering, and the truest advocate of the saving grace of love (and sexuality) we had. His most recent album (at age 82) was a blistering critique of the empty materialism poisoning our souls and the planet. We will not see his like again.
21
"Dress Rehearsal Rag": Has anybody ever written or performed a better song about . . . suicide?
4
Thank you, thank you, thank you Leonard Cohen. I will wrap myself in the famous blue raincoat of your poems, your songs and your amazing voice and always be grateful to have heard them. Never got to shake your hand and thank you, but I say here- You made my life better. I am truly grateful for that.
8
Susana is stopped short by Big Beautiful Concrete
There's no border to go by
And there is only night before her
And you know the world's half crazy
Do you really want to be here?
As it feeds tea party drivel
Evil all the way to China
And it is so mean to tell her
That it has no love to give her
And there is no common wavelength
Only thunderstorms that answer
How the greed has gotten global
As our minds further unravel
We lose a path to travel
Money hides in secret places
And he grabs her by some places cuz he can
And Judas was a trader
Trading imaginary losses
And his silver spoon for gold
Welfare King of Mar-a-Lago
From his lonely yuge Trump Tower
He grew to know for certain
Up is Down and Boss is Clown now
Gets opponents BureauGated. Hate
until the pain shall free them
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to educate him
But he wants to bully blind
And you think how can I trust him
As he grabs defenseless women cuz he can
As I think of Anne Frank
Social barrierfree Ann Dunham
They were wearing rags and feathers
Of the scorn of fellow humans
Will their tender and determined
Sacrifice bring us salvation
As they show us where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While these Annes hold the mirror
There's no border to go by
And there is only night before her
And you know the world's half crazy
Do you really want to be here?
As it feeds tea party drivel
Evil all the way to China
And it is so mean to tell her
That it has no love to give her
And there is no common wavelength
Only thunderstorms that answer
How the greed has gotten global
As our minds further unravel
We lose a path to travel
Money hides in secret places
And he grabs her by some places cuz he can
And Judas was a trader
Trading imaginary losses
And his silver spoon for gold
Welfare King of Mar-a-Lago
From his lonely yuge Trump Tower
He grew to know for certain
Up is Down and Boss is Clown now
Gets opponents BureauGated. Hate
until the pain shall free them
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to educate him
But he wants to bully blind
And you think how can I trust him
As he grabs defenseless women cuz he can
As I think of Anne Frank
Social barrierfree Ann Dunham
They were wearing rags and feathers
Of the scorn of fellow humans
Will their tender and determined
Sacrifice bring us salvation
As they show us where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While these Annes hold the mirror
5
RIP Leonard Cohen, lyrical poet and craftsman. Your heartfelt lyrics and beautiful melodies are unforgettable. You've truly been one of a kind. Thank you.
6
I have always loved Leonard Cohen's songs and have understood the meaning behind most of them, I believe. I especially like his songs that are based on Jewish and Christian themes. Not being Jewish, I have probably missed many of the allusions both in the words and in the music to Hebrew scripture, tradition and music. He was a very smart man. Some of his allusions to Christianity are missed even by the holier-than-thou bible toting Christians of today's unaffiliated big box "churches." I was raised a New England Unitarian, the spiritual descendant of the puritans' church.
As a man, I have a different reaction. This statement that he found himself in severe financial straits because he could not find the bank is laughable. Cohen was no Willy Nelson, who truly didn't know his way to the bank. I watched a biography of Cohen on TV. It was aired on PBS or another respectable outlet. The biography alleges that Leonard knowingly engaged in at least one extremely dubious financial schemewith Kelley to illegally avoid payment of millions of dollars in taxes to the IRS. The scheme was later disqualified by the IRS. In this case, Leonard's fingerprints were all over the place. He is not a stupid man. I was incredibly depressed to read this as it turned my opinion of him around 100% ethically. I still love his songs, but believe the full picture of all aspects of his life be disclosed.
As a man, I have a different reaction. This statement that he found himself in severe financial straits because he could not find the bank is laughable. Cohen was no Willy Nelson, who truly didn't know his way to the bank. I watched a biography of Cohen on TV. It was aired on PBS or another respectable outlet. The biography alleges that Leonard knowingly engaged in at least one extremely dubious financial schemewith Kelley to illegally avoid payment of millions of dollars in taxes to the IRS. The scheme was later disqualified by the IRS. In this case, Leonard's fingerprints were all over the place. He is not a stupid man. I was incredibly depressed to read this as it turned my opinion of him around 100% ethically. I still love his songs, but believe the full picture of all aspects of his life be disclosed.
6
Wow, just like Donald....who would have guessed? Difference is, Leonard didn't have a small army of tax lawyers to bully the IRS....
It was some time around 1988, and we took my daughter Zoe, 16 years old, to hear Leonard live for the first time at the small, shabby Theater of the Living Arts on South St. in Philadelphia. My wife, ex-wife and I had already been in love with him for almost 20 years. His performance in that quite intimate space was ecstatic. At intermission, young Zoe slipped out to the back alley in amongst the garbage cans to sneak a cigarette. There was Leonard, alone, and he asked her for a drag. He told her she was beautiful and that he would gladly take her back to Hydra with him, but she was too old for him. Zoe still treasures the butt of that shared cigarette. The man has framed our family life for nigh on 50 years with his music of condolence and desire amidst desolation.
30
I discovered Leonard Cohen through print first and only then his music.
I had read the ‘Favorite Game’ and then ‘Beautiful Losers’ in about 1968. Beautiful Losers took me a year to read through.
I was so affected by the book that I wrote the author never expecting an answer and asked him about its dedication to Steve Smith 1943 - 1964.
However, reply he did. He said, Steve Smith was a dear friend of his who died too early of cancer. It’s been so many years I can’t remember if anything else much was said – but he closed with the words
All Good Things,
Leonard
That beautiful rephrasing of a popular sign off has been how I have signed many of my letters ever since. I assume so to did he.
Thank you Leonard for oh so much; we’ll surely miss you
All good things
ben
I had read the ‘Favorite Game’ and then ‘Beautiful Losers’ in about 1968. Beautiful Losers took me a year to read through.
I was so affected by the book that I wrote the author never expecting an answer and asked him about its dedication to Steve Smith 1943 - 1964.
However, reply he did. He said, Steve Smith was a dear friend of his who died too early of cancer. It’s been so many years I can’t remember if anything else much was said – but he closed with the words
All Good Things,
Leonard
That beautiful rephrasing of a popular sign off has been how I have signed many of my letters ever since. I assume so to did he.
Thank you Leonard for oh so much; we’ll surely miss you
All good things
ben
68
A mensch...
The deep and soulful, one and only
Leonard Cohen.
The deep and soulful, one and only
Leonard Cohen.
4
1971, a bright sunlit Albuquerque afternoon. A black disc rotating on a record player near the window of a white room.
A very young woman, it was the first time I heard this incomparable voice that epitomized gravitas, passionate aliveness, and sensual power.
Like many other commentators here, I too feel that the Nobel went to the wrong guy. Dylan is more commonly acknowledged, but Leonard wrote of the world within the world, the ultimate, universal, aching journey of return.
A very young woman, it was the first time I heard this incomparable voice that epitomized gravitas, passionate aliveness, and sensual power.
Like many other commentators here, I too feel that the Nobel went to the wrong guy. Dylan is more commonly acknowledged, but Leonard wrote of the world within the world, the ultimate, universal, aching journey of return.
19
That is exactly what I have been thinking this morning. I'm proud to be a Canadian and have such a treasure whose songs I have loved and listened to all my life. It's really heartwarming to see how loved he was by so many.
7
"Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that 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 rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that 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..."
23
I have been listening Leonard Cohen since my 17-18 's he came to Barcelona some years ago and performed a wonderful concert . I feel very lucky and privileged to have decided to go to this concert . RIP.
3
Leonard Cohen all along was and is with his beloved God. We may have not known it, and Cohen may have not known it. Now we know it. We are not alone.
Thank you Leonard Cohen for helping me to finally realize this. May His Light shine on you forevermore. And may your music and songs continue to shine on all of us down here in this perilous world. We need it.
Thank you Leonard Cohen for helping me to finally realize this. May His Light shine on you forevermore. And may your music and songs continue to shine on all of us down here in this perilous world. We need it.
10
Oh yes,indeed ....but I do think Cohen was quite aware of what his journey consisted ....enough so that by listening to lyrics again and again, all through the 70's, 80's 90's and those of recent penning, many of us DID also sense it, feel it, hear it. And so for years and years his words kept diving into that "veil of unknowing" that another Jew once said was now to "look as through a glass darkly, but then face to face, to KNOW even as I AM Known".
For those who acknowledge "That Cloud of Witnesses", be assured Leonard is among them...
For those who acknowledge "That Cloud of Witnesses", be assured Leonard is among them...
4
Yes!
1
I found Leonard Cohen’s music in the early 1970’s. After listening to many of his songs scores of times over the years, I still find new layers. His words speak to us across the changes and evolving stages of our lives. One sleepless, and very lucky, night in 2012, I came across a web site listing his Old Ideas tour dates. I hadn’t known he was touring. My wife and I booked flights for a weekend trip to Oakland to see one of his concerts at the grand Paramount Theatre there in March 2013. Three hours of a grand and spry performance by a man who was approaching 80. It was a moving and deep experience for me, for which I will always be grateful. Farewell, Leonard, you have touched many of us and will continue to, from the Tower of Song.
For any who have not already read it, I recommend the excellent biography by Sylvie Simmons.
For any who have not already read it, I recommend the excellent biography by Sylvie Simmons.
9
"Queen Victoria, I'm not much nourished by modern love
Will you come into my life, with your sorrow and your black carriages
And your perfect memories?"
Will you come into my life, with your sorrow and your black carriages
And your perfect memories?"
7
My husband and I had our first date at a Leonard Cohen concert.
After moving to the UK in 1969, the first book I bought was a collection of Leonard Cohen's poems.
Mr. Cohen's death, though not unexpected, is particularly shattering coming after the events of this week. I'm at a loss for words. Thank God that the
entirety of his stunning songs remain to fill the empty void.
The New York Times and Guardian comment sections are filling with powerful tributes that Mr. Cohen would enjoy and feel like medicine for our hearts and souls.
After moving to the UK in 1969, the first book I bought was a collection of Leonard Cohen's poems.
Mr. Cohen's death, though not unexpected, is particularly shattering coming after the events of this week. I'm at a loss for words. Thank God that the
entirety of his stunning songs remain to fill the empty void.
The New York Times and Guardian comment sections are filling with powerful tributes that Mr. Cohen would enjoy and feel like medicine for our hearts and souls.
22
I cried twice this week. Once after the election and now at the news of Leonard Cohen's passing.
I fell in love with Lenny after reading "The Beautiful Losers." Then, when his first album came out, my love for him only intensified. He touched a nerve at that time that no other artists, not even Lennon or Dylan touched. I can't really describe it but his songs were at once magical, mysterious, mystical, sexy, sad,wise and very very funny.
I saw him many years later in Berkeley, where he'd dropped the casual folk singer's attire and was dressed in an impeccable suit, with a flashy but classy set and gorgeous back up singers. The crowd loved him and he generously gave encore after encore. It was a real love feast.
Then I loved him again in the film, "I'm Your Man."
In some interview with him he admitted that he hated every one in the Zen monastery, thus shattering that mystique that had followed him. What a guy!
Rest in Pace, Sweet Soul! You lived a beautiful life, that touched many people deeply.
I fell in love with Lenny after reading "The Beautiful Losers." Then, when his first album came out, my love for him only intensified. He touched a nerve at that time that no other artists, not even Lennon or Dylan touched. I can't really describe it but his songs were at once magical, mysterious, mystical, sexy, sad,wise and very very funny.
I saw him many years later in Berkeley, where he'd dropped the casual folk singer's attire and was dressed in an impeccable suit, with a flashy but classy set and gorgeous back up singers. The crowd loved him and he generously gave encore after encore. It was a real love feast.
Then I loved him again in the film, "I'm Your Man."
In some interview with him he admitted that he hated every one in the Zen monastery, thus shattering that mystique that had followed him. What a guy!
Rest in Pace, Sweet Soul! You lived a beautiful life, that touched many people deeply.
19
I am grateful to have lived on the planet at the same time as an artist so great as Leonard Cohen. His voice and words have underscored my entire adult life, and I will forever cherish the legacy of songs he has left for us.
37
So long Leonard Cohen... it's time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry
And laugh about it all again....
RIP to a great man
To laugh and cry and cry
And laugh about it all again....
RIP to a great man
27
No cause of death reported, but I think it was Dylan's Nobel that did it.
5
In my opinion Cohen is far the better artist. But he was too much of an outsider to win the Nobel. That was part of his appeal.
3
More likely, Trump's victory...
1
Clever, but shows you didn't know Leonard Cohen - The New Yorker published an excellent article on Cohen in October, and it includes an interview with Dylan where he praises Cohen to the skies - and Dylan almost never grants interviews, but for Cohen he was more than willing
9
Leonard Cohen and Donald Trump: the sacred and the profane...
37
Fittingly, it's his own words that best express my emotions on Leonard Cohen's passing:
If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
13
What a perfect prayer
What a perfect hymn
He has been spoken for.
What a perfect hymn
He has been spoken for.
2
Sitting here listening to Leonard Cohen on Amazon Echo. So poignant to hear his young voice on Suzanne up to the gravelly deep sensual voice on his last album. Leonard, thanks for the music and the blessings. Condolences to his family.
3
Today's grief erases yesterday's, at least for a while. He was a poet for our time whose songs are timeless. He was brilliant and sexy to the end. Leonard Cohen, You're My Man and always will be.
15
I have strong memories of while I was a student at a university in Montreal in the late 1960s reading Leonard Cohen’s poetry and listening to his early songs. At the time he rarely gave interviews, but many were reading his poetry and listening to his love songs at the time.
I remember a story I read when after the destruction of the twin towers in lower Manhattan when workers were removing the rubble and recovering the dead from the scene of chaos and destruction, a group of about 30 women who had gathered at the scene spontaneously sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” There were tears in everyone’s eyes.
This morning, the balcony and steps of Leonard Cohen’s home in Montreal are full of candles and flowers.
The poetry of Leonard Cohen’s love songs live on.
I remember a story I read when after the destruction of the twin towers in lower Manhattan when workers were removing the rubble and recovering the dead from the scene of chaos and destruction, a group of about 30 women who had gathered at the scene spontaneously sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” There were tears in everyone’s eyes.
This morning, the balcony and steps of Leonard Cohen’s home in Montreal are full of candles and flowers.
The poetry of Leonard Cohen’s love songs live on.
10
The sun pours down like honey on our poet of the harbour. We will miss Leonard but we treasure our time together.
10
I'm so glad I got to see him perform live a couple years back. He did seem to have remarkable stamina for one his age. Some think his songs depressing, but I'll keep listening and will continue to be moved and inspired.
RIP L. Cohen
RIP L. Cohen
5
A glorious sunrise here in Western Canada this morning. Walking my dogs and listening to Leonard Cohen. I have listened to him for nearly 50 years sometimes in person. Though he is gone now, his music will continue to be with me until its my turn.
26
Heaven will no longer be dead on a Saturday night with Mr. Cohen there.
13
These Cohen lyrics seem to resonate at the end of this terrible week:
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 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
62
So true, but there were no good guys in this election...
2
Lots of good guys still, they're the average Joe Americans. No, I'm Canadian.
1
I think its time to light the candles, burn some incense, pour myself a deep steaming bath and listen to the songs of my youth, my prime, and now my dotage.
...
A gorgeous old room in Berlin. A beautiful and tragic junkie gets high and plays Leonard Cohen records over and over again while the sunbeam drifts across dusty Persian carpets. Me, farm girl from Canada, hitchhiking around Europe, in search of this, finding this, knowing in my soul this will be my truth forevermore.
When I see how cracked the world is, I remember its how the light gets in.
I heard him sing just the other day that Democracy is coming to the USA, that cradle of the best and the worst.
I shall go now and draw that bath and leave this cyber place to its wailing and gnashing.
I am old now, and my hair is grey and I too ache in the places I used to play, but oh what a lovely ache it is.
Good bye my love.
...
A gorgeous old room in Berlin. A beautiful and tragic junkie gets high and plays Leonard Cohen records over and over again while the sunbeam drifts across dusty Persian carpets. Me, farm girl from Canada, hitchhiking around Europe, in search of this, finding this, knowing in my soul this will be my truth forevermore.
When I see how cracked the world is, I remember its how the light gets in.
I heard him sing just the other day that Democracy is coming to the USA, that cradle of the best and the worst.
I shall go now and draw that bath and leave this cyber place to its wailing and gnashing.
I am old now, and my hair is grey and I too ache in the places I used to play, but oh what a lovely ache it is.
Good bye my love.
36
Good idea...I'll light a candle for him tonight. You said it right...he captured that "longing in the soul."
7
I met him briefly when I was 20, he, 32. He was an original object, thinker, and talent. His mark will endure.
11
Ed's sweetheart here. I courted Ed by sending him 'The Future'. He got the message, and we had 23 years of love and travel, with Leonard Cohen CDs making long road trips beautiful, and offering comfort during scary hours in the ICU. I had been meaning to send Leonard a thank-you note... His songs remain in my head night and day. I wake in the middle of the night and usually something of his surfaces, most recently 'In My Secret Life' and 'The Gypsy's Wife'. RIP, both of you.
18
Thank you for sharing this beautiful love story.
Sending you love, condolence and comfort.
RIP, Ed & Leonard.
Sending you love, condolence and comfort.
RIP, Ed & Leonard.
5
Loved the enigmatic mystery of his lyrics, the pulse of his music ...often totally unsure what his songs meant but felt new truth being born within and impassioned to express my version of it.... This week "Democracy [is coming to the USA]" and "First We Take Manhattan" played on his turntable in my head...Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen, you were and are my man!
16
Helped me get through those hard coming of age times. Hopefully he can help me get through the challenges of being an aging, liberal hippie in a world that has turned dreadfully right wing. Miss you already Leonard Cohen.
27
My daily query to myself, "What am I thankful for," today was answered with "Leonard Cohen." For his words, his music, his soul. He is the only man that I would rather be than myself!
It's too bad that his "Democracy is coming to the USA," proved so wrong almost concurrent with his death.
As a Quaker, I saw that he understood us better than many of us:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Leonard.
It's too bad that his "Democracy is coming to the USA," proved so wrong almost concurrent with his death.
As a Quaker, I saw that he understood us better than many of us:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Leonard.
34
Jon Pareles should know better than to say that Leonard "abandoned a promising literary career." Leonard wrote five books of straight poetry (not song lyrics) after his first album was released 49 years ago. His most recent, BOOK OF LONGING, came out 10 years ago. No doubt there will be another book or two of posthumous literary work to be published. Furthermore, when Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature, didn't that expand for our times the notion of what a "literary career" is? For an artist of Leonard Cohen's magnitude, it is not a matter of a "literary career" but a "creative life."
37
A lot of people will be quoting "Hallelujah", but my personal favourite is "Closing Time". Those magnificent lines: "The place is dead as heaven on a Saturday night" (just for that he deserved the Nobel prize!) "It looks like freedom but it feels like death, it's something in between I guess" "I lift my glass to the awful truth that you can't reveal to the ears of youth, except to say it isn't worth a dime". It captures so much of what I loved about him. He was a 3000 year old soul; he was present at the Sermon on the Mount, witnessed the fall of Rome, and marched in Joan of Arc's armies. He can't really be gone, can he? The world is darker.
97
I can never decide between "Closing Time" and Dress Rehearsal Rag". They are both masterpieces. "That's not the electric light, that's your vision going dim" "But you've used up all your coupons except the one that seems to be tattooed onto your arm along with several thousand dreams". Many of us have felt like we've been there, but he was one of the rare few who could put it into words.
7
And the women rip their dresses off and the men they dance with the polka dots ...
5
In October of 1970, the October Crisis occurred in Quebec, when political extremists kidnapped two men and murdered one. A state of emergency was declared, tanks rolled and people were very much on edge, wondering how this would all end. I was a student at Carleton University in Ottawa, and word went around the campus that Leonard Cohen would play a free concert that night in the gym. I was only vaguely aware of him and his music, but went with friends. Mr. Cohen brought his full band, at his own expense, and played to a hushed, adoring crowd. I think he was trying to help us get through that difficult time in the only way he could, and I have loved him for it ever since. He was, above all else, a humble, generous soul. I will miss him deeply.
42
I know he was ready to go, but this is the capstone to such a horrifying week. I saw Mr. Cohen for the first time when I was 16. My brother Billy and I slogged through a blizzard to Boston's Symphony Hall, where so few people showed up, they asked everyone in the audience to move to the seats down front. He played seven encores that night. When I was 37, I went to see him again at Center Stage in Atlanta. For some reason, I felt compelled to sneak backstage and knock on his dressing room door. When he opened it, I said, Mr. Cohen, I saw you in Boston when I was 16 and it was the greatest night of my life, and I want to thank you. He responded: "The night that it snowed." I am 58 now, and his has been the music of my life. So again, I say, Thank you, Mr. Cohen. I will miss your presence on our planet, but be grateful to you every day for sharing your genius with us.
195
Thanks for the remembrance, so Cohenesque. Reminds me of Famous Blue Raincoat.
4
I went to the concert at Symphony Hall and I recall a pretty full auditorium. It was a long time ago, though. I do remember they kept bringing up the lights after each of the 7 encores, but Leonard kept coming back. At the beginning of the concert he thanked us for coming out in the snow. I also recall a concert scheduled for the Opera House in Boston that was changed, almost literally, at the last minute to a club next to Fenway Park. We sat on mostly folding chairs and were allowed to order drinks (in plastic cups so rattling of ice cubes). Cohen gave a great concert and even made a joke about finally playing att he historic Opera House.
3
Thanks for these comments, dear friend.
I'm positive this man is where he needs to be right now. He deserved it.
I'm positive this man is where he needs to be right now. He deserved it.
May Cohen's words, "Ring the bells that still can ring" inspire us in the next four years.
31
"Enigmatic songwriter..."
Absolutely not---for anyone who mindfully listened to Leonard he was ethereally transparent. And that's what his body of work stood for.
Absolutely not---for anyone who mindfully listened to Leonard he was ethereally transparent. And that's what his body of work stood for.
19
I've just read the whole thread (105 long as I write this), except for those that slipped in as I was reading it.
There was but one in the whole stack that was in the slightest bit negative; none of the usual snark.
Thus even in his death, Leonard Cohen ennobles us -- a culmination and apotheosis of a life so well lived, and so generous to the rest of us.
His passing leaves us much the poorer -- but we were so gifted, so blessed, to have had him with us for as long as we did...
And that voice, and those words, and that heart-stopping music will be with us forever.
He'd already transcended even the ordinary extraordinary of his fields so many times, in so many ways, not least of which by not just breaking, but totally demolishing, the tradition of 1960s and '70s icons just recycling forever the hits of their youth.
Mr Cohen's latest songs were, if anything, even more masterful and penetrating than the "Suzanne"s and "Sisters of Mercy"s of his artistic adolescence.
Godspeed, Mr Cohen, and thank you for letting the light in.
There was but one in the whole stack that was in the slightest bit negative; none of the usual snark.
Thus even in his death, Leonard Cohen ennobles us -- a culmination and apotheosis of a life so well lived, and so generous to the rest of us.
His passing leaves us much the poorer -- but we were so gifted, so blessed, to have had him with us for as long as we did...
And that voice, and those words, and that heart-stopping music will be with us forever.
He'd already transcended even the ordinary extraordinary of his fields so many times, in so many ways, not least of which by not just breaking, but totally demolishing, the tradition of 1960s and '70s icons just recycling forever the hits of their youth.
Mr Cohen's latest songs were, if anything, even more masterful and penetrating than the "Suzanne"s and "Sisters of Mercy"s of his artistic adolescence.
Godspeed, Mr Cohen, and thank you for letting the light in.
104
A wonderful singer /songwriter and poet.
Beautiful, thoughtful ,complex lyrics with often simple melodies.
Whether his own version or a cover his songs touch the soul
Put on a Cohen album today- get lost in music and verse and keep your politics( whatever they are) to yourself for a while
Beautiful, thoughtful ,complex lyrics with often simple melodies.
Whether his own version or a cover his songs touch the soul
Put on a Cohen album today- get lost in music and verse and keep your politics( whatever they are) to yourself for a while
9
I have the DVD from his 2008-09 tour playing right new.. His music cuts through the heart.
2
Today, Nov 11, is Remembrance Day in Canada. It's a National holiday of ceremony devoted to those who sacrificed their lives so that today we may live in Freedom. Canadians wear a poppy over their hearts as a symbol, inspired by Canadian Lt. John MacRae's WW I poem "On Flanders Fields", about a new, poppy rich graveyard of war dead, many Canadian. It's a day to commemorate those heroes. It is a time of reflection, of what might have been.
One thing about walking a curious little dog every morning is that it gives one ample opportunity to reflect, to plan, to ponder events and take in the surrounding atmosphere. It's a somber day, Trump's in and Leonard, the man who authored seemingly the soundtrack of my life, is out.
Still, I resolved to not be sad, to take pleasure in the small things of the day. My little dog reveling in the dead leaves lying swirled and scattered in clumps on the grass. The two young fathers pushing their bundled infants in strollers on their way to coffee, the smiling, pretty policewoman directing
traffic on the corner, the dirge of the bells, the now-aged warriors proudly sporting their medals of victories and tragedies past as they painfully, solemnly march to honour those who will never grow old.
But Leonard would say to ring those bells, there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.
Farewell Mr. Cohen, you may have passed to the Tower of Song, but to me and millions your voice will live on. Hallelujah, Shalom
One thing about walking a curious little dog every morning is that it gives one ample opportunity to reflect, to plan, to ponder events and take in the surrounding atmosphere. It's a somber day, Trump's in and Leonard, the man who authored seemingly the soundtrack of my life, is out.
Still, I resolved to not be sad, to take pleasure in the small things of the day. My little dog reveling in the dead leaves lying swirled and scattered in clumps on the grass. The two young fathers pushing their bundled infants in strollers on their way to coffee, the smiling, pretty policewoman directing
traffic on the corner, the dirge of the bells, the now-aged warriors proudly sporting their medals of victories and tragedies past as they painfully, solemnly march to honour those who will never grow old.
But Leonard would say to ring those bells, there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.
Farewell Mr. Cohen, you may have passed to the Tower of Song, but to me and millions your voice will live on. Hallelujah, Shalom
141
Very well written and those of us who never went to a concert,hope his songs and poetry are played and read forever.
3
Google Leonard Cohen reads In Flanders Fields.
3
Thank you for sharing the source of Lt. John MacRae's "On Flanders Fields".
I'll guess most people do not know the reason for the symbol of the poppy.
I'll guess most people do not know the reason for the symbol of the poppy.
2
I am sure the election put him over the edge.
4
For me that first album evokes the best of spiritual,psychological yearning and seeking that many idealistic youth of the day were embarked upon.Perhaps,it's because I was seventeen when his first album appeared,open to its yearning,lusting,seeking and traveling themes.At the time we joked,that when Leonard played for the Israeli army ,they surrendered because they all committed suicide.A misreading and overemphasis on his depressive side.Clearly a lot more dimensions to this rich poetic erotic spirit.
5
Leonard Cohen was a true poet, lyricist and "modern bard". Too bad he cannot receive the Nobel-price any longer. If any song-writer was eligible it was he.
He was so great, that he didn't need the Nobel-price. His songs and lyrics will endure.
He was so great, that he didn't need the Nobel-price. His songs and lyrics will endure.
19
Leonard Cohen wrote songs inspired by many women in his life, but the song that has always touched me the most is "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" in which he writes about Janis Joplin-
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have music."
Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin. What could be more beautiful than that?
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have music."
Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin. What could be more beautiful than that?
26
Leonard Cohen's songs were beautiful and mysterious. He knew things the rest of us did not. I wonder if he died of a broken heart. " If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game."
8
Wow ....I too wondered "if he died of a broken heart"......perhaps it was just finally too , too much...I experienced a stab of pain in my actual heart late last night as I was about to fall asleep...was it for our nation? The startling, quite unexpected videos of high school young adults parading through their school hallways holding Trump signs aloft, chanting "White power. white power!" The cafeteria of another Midwestern high school where students stood up and yelled loudly, "Build that wall! Build that wall!" Those were the images in my brain when I went to bed...I should have known better than to watch last night's national news...it was literally sickening...where were the school officials, and why were they allowing such hatred?
Now I know the sharp pain was one with for the broken heart of Leonard Cohen that finally just gave in......"...And who, who shall we say is calling?"
Now I know the sharp pain was one with for the broken heart of Leonard Cohen that finally just gave in......"...And who, who shall we say is calling?"
3
"I forgot to pray for the Angels and then the Angels forgot to pray for us".
Thanks Cohen for all those beautiful songs; they touched me, my family, and everyone surrounding me. We will miss you greatly. RIP!
Thanks Cohen for all those beautiful songs; they touched me, my family, and everyone surrounding me. We will miss you greatly. RIP!
19
I’m 65, and Leonard Cohen has been company for nearly four decades. I first heard an album of his while a college freshman in 1969, trying to sort my way through girls and politics. A tumultuous time. Yet his songs and voice — simple and quiet when loud prevailed — and particularly the words, so melodic and thematically rich, allowed me to pause and reflect as I sat alone in a darkened dorm room late at night, stereo playing.
I listen to a lot of music from that period. But I grew with Leonard Cohen. You get older, your questions change. Age creeps up from somewhere. The body goes grey, the mind seeks the same but more. He sang about this, not morbidly, not celebratory, but as an acknowledgement of the curiosity of being. That’s the way it strikes me, at least, listening late at night.
In 2013 I was at the computer and thought, who would I most like to see in concert? Well, no question, and it turned out he was on tour. So I flew from Hawaii. April 6, Radio City, seat HH 202. Shared a subway pole later with Elvis Costello, who also caught it.
I listen to “Old Ideas,” but haven’t heard his latest yet. I’m glad of that. Read that it’s good. Someday there will be the right moment, and I’ll stream it, and he will be company again, late at night, like always.
Thanks for it all.
I listen to a lot of music from that period. But I grew with Leonard Cohen. You get older, your questions change. Age creeps up from somewhere. The body goes grey, the mind seeks the same but more. He sang about this, not morbidly, not celebratory, but as an acknowledgement of the curiosity of being. That’s the way it strikes me, at least, listening late at night.
In 2013 I was at the computer and thought, who would I most like to see in concert? Well, no question, and it turned out he was on tour. So I flew from Hawaii. April 6, Radio City, seat HH 202. Shared a subway pole later with Elvis Costello, who also caught it.
I listen to “Old Ideas,” but haven’t heard his latest yet. I’m glad of that. Read that it’s good. Someday there will be the right moment, and I’ll stream it, and he will be company again, late at night, like always.
Thanks for it all.
49
Couldn't have put it better myself. I didn't get to ride the subway with Elvis Costello, though. My concert experience was at our Performing Art center, where Leonard Cohen made that hall feel like someone's living room with the lights down low.
8
Respect demands accuracy, and I should have written “nearly five decades.” Seems like a lot of stuff is coming up a half-century nowadays. Sorry about that. Got to make a doctor’s appointment. Flu and a bum knee. Yeah.
10
"And who
will write love songs for you
When I am lowered at last...."
"Priestts" Leonard Cohen
Rest in peace and thank you.
will write love songs for you
When I am lowered at last...."
"Priestts" Leonard Cohen
Rest in peace and thank you.
16
Like a deity clumsy with the out-of-practice thunderbolt, one wonders if the Nobel committee aimed at Leonard but missed and hit Dylan.
22
Yes, it should have been Leonard Cohen.
4
Bowie, Prince, Cohen. Anyone else think they knew something we didn't?
11
I was going to add some of my particular favorite parts of his songs but I couldn't even figure out where to begin. This hurts. He is great songwriter and I have found him to be an inspiration for so many years. Goodnight Lenny. I would say I will miss you but that is unnecessary. I won't have to miss you. I can call you up anytime on my computer and my car and the songs that are always rattling around in my head, from that tower down the tracks.
43
@ Michael F, Yonkers "I was going to add some... particular favorite parts... but... couldn't even figure out where to begin"
Indeed.
I tried to assemble a "Top 10 List" for a young friend who has yet to delve the depths of Mr Cohen's work.
(How I envy their incipient joy of discovery!)
I gave it up when I realized I couldn't possibly pare it down any lower than 30, and even that was a heartbreaking effort, too much brilliance left by the wayside.
Listen to it all.
It's a comfort.
Indeed.
I tried to assemble a "Top 10 List" for a young friend who has yet to delve the depths of Mr Cohen's work.
(How I envy their incipient joy of discovery!)
I gave it up when I realized I couldn't possibly pare it down any lower than 30, and even that was a heartbreaking effort, too much brilliance left by the wayside.
Listen to it all.
It's a comfort.
5
To me his poems were Montreal. Great streets, he captured the feeling of the city. Huge influence on my life and understanding of feelings, sorrow, joy, love, longing, despair. He was my adult guide. His singing grew on me. Now I love Hallelujah. Thank you Leonard. With me always.
16
A great soul has passed, but he has left us his music and his poetry. I will miss him greatly.
17
Leonard's life, and those last tours and the last albums show us: From adversity comes opportunity.
9
This is sad news for his fans, but I think he was ready and knew the end was near. If you listen to the lyrics of the songs on his new CD, "You Want it Darker." you can hear him preparing to leave this world. The CD is a gift to us and a tribute to him. And how wonderful is it to go out on your own terms and write your own eulogy? He will live on forever through his music and lyrics.
13
Odd: after the "New Yorker" article about him a couple of weeks ago, I had the feeling he was on his way. Imagine: he lived just long enough to see a pretty definitive fulfillment of his song "Everybody Knows."
44
I finally cried. The passing of a great artist freed my tears to mourn his death and the death of this country.
54
Get over yourself please.
Praise the life of a great artist and get to work fixing the country
In the words of another poet those "who aint busy living are busy dying"
Praise the life of a great artist and get to work fixing the country
In the words of another poet those "who aint busy living are busy dying"
Sorry for your lack of empathy.
7
The Nobel would have been a good fit for this modern, ageless poet. He nailed it so often, despite being enigmatic: as he said, the crack in everything is how the light gets in.
14
I agree--wish he had won it. Now it's too late!
1
Now our Great Troubadour in the sky. When I look up today, I will think of him. He always gives me spiritual goosebumps. But for now, tears of farewell to one of the great forces of good in this hurting old world.
65
There will be a super moon in that troubadour sky this weekend. Heaven, too, is now larger than before.
1
Here's something to watch today of all days. What a beautiful voice he had.
http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/this-remembrence-day-let-leonard-cohen...
http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/this-remembrence-day-let-leonard-cohen...
1
'And death is old
But its always new'
he was always
There For You
But its always new'
he was always
There For You
1
So long, Leonard, au revoir. We laugh and cry, together today.
Thank you for your words, your song, your spiritual peace.
Thank you for your words, your song, your spiritual peace.
4
I remember when my older sister brought home his first album. It took a while to warm up to him, at least for me. My parents, on the other hand, did not see the appeal
1
Ballad of the Absent Mare, Leonard Cohen
...Oh the world is sweet
The world is wide
And she's there where
The light and the darkness divide
And the steam's coming off her
She's huge and she's shy
And she steps on the moon
When she paws at the sky
And she comes to his hand
But she's not really tame
She longs to be lost
He longs for the same
And she'll bolt and she'll plunge
Through the first open pass
To roll and to feed
In the sweet mountain grass
Or she'll make a break
For the high plateau
Where there's nothing above
And there's nothing below
And it's time for the burden
It's time for the whip
Will she walk through the flame
Can he shoot from the hip
So he binds himself
To the galloping mare
And she binds herself
To the rider there
And there is no space
But there's left and right
And there is no time
But there's day and night
And he leans on her neck
And he whispers low
"Whither thou goest
I will go"
And they turn as one
And they head for the plain
No need for the whip
Ah, no need for the rein
Now the clasp of this union
Who fastens it tight?
Who snaps it asunder
The very next night
Some say the rider
Some say the mare
Or that love's like the smoke
Beyond all repair
But my darling says
"Leonard, just let it go by
That old silhouette
On the great western sky"
So I pick out a tune
And they move right along
And they're gone like the smoke
And they're gone like this song
...Oh the world is sweet
The world is wide
And she's there where
The light and the darkness divide
And the steam's coming off her
She's huge and she's shy
And she steps on the moon
When she paws at the sky
And she comes to his hand
But she's not really tame
She longs to be lost
He longs for the same
And she'll bolt and she'll plunge
Through the first open pass
To roll and to feed
In the sweet mountain grass
Or she'll make a break
For the high plateau
Where there's nothing above
And there's nothing below
And it's time for the burden
It's time for the whip
Will she walk through the flame
Can he shoot from the hip
So he binds himself
To the galloping mare
And she binds herself
To the rider there
And there is no space
But there's left and right
And there is no time
But there's day and night
And he leans on her neck
And he whispers low
"Whither thou goest
I will go"
And they turn as one
And they head for the plain
No need for the whip
Ah, no need for the rein
Now the clasp of this union
Who fastens it tight?
Who snaps it asunder
The very next night
Some say the rider
Some say the mare
Or that love's like the smoke
Beyond all repair
But my darling says
"Leonard, just let it go by
That old silhouette
On the great western sky"
So I pick out a tune
And they move right along
And they're gone like the smoke
And they're gone like this song
8
Millennials, where are your poets?
Beautiful and inspiring lyrics. We miss you, Leonard Cohen...you touched my heart and soul.
4
My Tribute To Leonard Cohen who inspired me to write a love song. Abbreviated.
Only True Love
This is a story about a woman who looked for love. She searched the Earth and Heavens above, but could not find him. She looked up, she looked down, she walked with a smile she walked with a frown. Each time the days changed but her longing for love remained the same. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would always sing.
Would the world reveal her King. Tired of one night stands, she wouldn’t accept just any man. Her parents said get man and take his hand. She refused to do as people said; she swore she would only use her head. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would demand.
Then one day after searching forever and ever it seemed. Honesty and truth pour from her lips and through her finger tips as she penned the best ad ever. She went to the publisher and the publisher said, if you print this it won’t get read, but she ignored his advice, and paid the price although she could afford half. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would have.
It told exactly what she was looking for, no less and no more. She was true to herself and would be true to one man, if he existed in this land. She had an overwhelming response. Now she lives happily in a love, with a man who holds her hand. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would demand.
By: Michael Von Irvin
@michaelvonirvin
Hallelujah.
Only True Love
This is a story about a woman who looked for love. She searched the Earth and Heavens above, but could not find him. She looked up, she looked down, she walked with a smile she walked with a frown. Each time the days changed but her longing for love remained the same. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would always sing.
Would the world reveal her King. Tired of one night stands, she wouldn’t accept just any man. Her parents said get man and take his hand. She refused to do as people said; she swore she would only use her head. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would demand.
Then one day after searching forever and ever it seemed. Honesty and truth pour from her lips and through her finger tips as she penned the best ad ever. She went to the publisher and the publisher said, if you print this it won’t get read, but she ignored his advice, and paid the price although she could afford half. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would have.
It told exactly what she was looking for, no less and no more. She was true to herself and would be true to one man, if he existed in this land. She had an overwhelming response. Now she lives happily in a love, with a man who holds her hand. Only True Love, Only True Love, Only True Love she would demand.
By: Michael Von Irvin
@michaelvonirvin
Hallelujah.
4
For me Leonard Cohen came long before Bruce Springsteen. I have got all his records, read his novels and his poetry. I've seen him twice, the second time being the first concert I attended together with my girlfriend, now, 38 years later, my wife. It is only yesterday that his last (!) album arrived at my house. Listening to it now. So sad. Rest in peace, old man. You will always be my hero.
9
All his songs were marked by insight and an incomparable articulation of the inevitable. Relistening to "Live in London" this morning, it struck me that the lyrics to "The Future" took on particular meaning in the light of the U.S. election.
6
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
RIP Leonard...
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
RIP Leonard...
15
I now live near where Leonard Cohen grew up but came to know him as a child growing up in Chicago as he was my parents favorite singer/poet. Inspiring songs of love, despair, spirituality, witty social commentary and hope - so relevant for today that will live on :
Sail on, Sail on O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need, Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate, Sail on, Sail on, Sail on, Sail on.
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
Getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
That Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
This little wild bouquet
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Bless you, Mr. Cohen for all the wonderful inspiring songs.
Sail on, Sail on O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need, Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate, Sail on, Sail on, Sail on, Sail on.
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
Getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
That Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
This little wild bouquet
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Bless you, Mr. Cohen for all the wonderful inspiring songs.
26
Decades ago he wrote in Democracy is coming to the USA that America is the cradle of the best and the worst. Is the timing of his death pure coincidence? RIP
8
Like Allen Ginsberg or Wordsworth, there is something about Leonard Cohen through which all young romantics pass. Something about the dichotomies between purity and lust, isolation and joining, and power and human frailty. He said so much with so little so easily. The word genius gets thrown around so freely these days but Leonard Cohen had the muses.
106
Well i dont know if all young romantics pass through Ginsberg, but they should pass through Wordsworth and Cohen.
My first memory of listening to Leonard Cohen was in the 1960's 'lying on s friend's water bed, totally amazed and delighted by this singer/song/writer. I become a fan and have followed his music since..
Deepest sympathy to family,, friends and other fans
Deepest sympathy to family,, friends and other fans
1
I liked him very much. Very sad, as he did so much for the music world. As a younger man, I was a lead guitar player in my teens and twenties. Although my ultimate influence was Jimi Hendrix who was on Reprise Records, then his own label at Electric Lady Studios (on 8th Street in Manhattan, very near where I lived and worked for many years), Jeff Beck and several other guitar players in that rarified stratospheric air of the very best also influenced me very much who then and later called Sony Music home. In fact, I hired a former vice president of Sony Music who had worked directly with Jeff Beck (he was formerly on Epic Records; later bought by Sony Music) and a few others I saw in person and love. RIP.
1
"Hey, that's no way to say goodbye" is such a sweet and sad "breakup" song. I heard it on his album in the 70's but thought he was singing Judy Collins' song. I should have read the liner notes - I had it backwards. Sad.
2
With Trump being elected President, and Leonard Cohen passing away all at once, I feel upside down, inside-out and spinning round and round. What a week.
I believe it was Leonard Cohen who poetically stated - "I love America, but I can't stand the scene." RIP
I believe it was Leonard Cohen who poetically stated - "I love America, but I can't stand the scene." RIP
6
Between my sophomore and junior year in college, I worked as a road crew worker in Westmount, Quebec, a municipality within Montreal. One day's assignment was scraping and painting parking sign posts. A physically slight but emotionally robust, elderly woman saw me working and asked if I'd be interested in painting her back porch. I returned that night, looked at the porch and named a price. "And, by the way, ma'am, I said, may I ask your name?" She looked straight at me and said, "Mrs. Cohen. Do you know my son Leonard?" She didn't hire me, but the moment was priceless. A proud mother to the very last.
16
Mr. Cohen created treasures and will be remembered. Thank you for highlighting the Collins-Rifkin album, "In My Life," and the verse from "Suzanne."
Oh, no. One of my few comforting thoughts in the turmoil of November 9 was: "All the poets and artists and writers will need to rise up." Leonard Cohen was the first one I thought of. And now he won't be around to do that.
But he gave us so much:
It's coming to America first
The cradle of the best and of the worst
It's here they got the range
And the machinery for change
And it's here they got the spiritual thirst
It's here the family's broken
And it's here the lonely say
That the heart has got to open
In a fundamental way
Democracy is coming to the USA ...
But he gave us so much:
It's coming to America first
The cradle of the best and of the worst
It's here they got the range
And the machinery for change
And it's here they got the spiritual thirst
It's here the family's broken
And it's here the lonely say
That the heart has got to open
In a fundamental way
Democracy is coming to the USA ...
2
“Whoever doesn't live in poetry cannot survive here on earth.” Halidor Laxness
You must have known this, Leonard, since you gave so much poetry to us and it flowed and flowed through us and sung from our heart's depth and soared within our soul. I'm so deeply grateful for the joy you have made me feel, and at times, the thrill! I said Kaddish this morning when I knew you grew wings. I lit a flame, too. Its still burning. A million candles for the love that never came....I would say a million candles for the love which will always remain! Because you were here with us! Your love and poetry made a real difference in life to millions of people all over the world. A beautiful work that will always sing and we will always cherish.
I tip my Fedora to the heavens, I bow to you sir with the utmost respect and humble feelings for the gift of your life. How lucky we all were! The greatest thing about true love is that you may be in heaven now but you can never leave my heart!
RIP. And thank you!
You must have known this, Leonard, since you gave so much poetry to us and it flowed and flowed through us and sung from our heart's depth and soared within our soul. I'm so deeply grateful for the joy you have made me feel, and at times, the thrill! I said Kaddish this morning when I knew you grew wings. I lit a flame, too. Its still burning. A million candles for the love that never came....I would say a million candles for the love which will always remain! Because you were here with us! Your love and poetry made a real difference in life to millions of people all over the world. A beautiful work that will always sing and we will always cherish.
I tip my Fedora to the heavens, I bow to you sir with the utmost respect and humble feelings for the gift of your life. How lucky we all were! The greatest thing about true love is that you may be in heaven now but you can never leave my heart!
RIP. And thank you!
14
I almost have to smile at his timing. A few weeks after David Remnick’s magnificent profile in The New Yorker. A few days after an election that has been dissected by pundits but not yet by poets.
Those who loved him — and there are so many that I want to say we form a kind of cult, but that’s looking way back to 1968, when some of us found him; now he has an army of fans, and we make up a kind of culture — will hear the news of his death and flash to the most relevant songs.
Those songs have a single subject. We’re made in love, he said. We disappear into love. We fail, often and gloriously. But the aspiration alone, however doomed, is triumphant. He leaves us, standing “before the Lord of Song/With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.”
For videos and stories, please click.
http://www.headbutler.com/reviews/leonard-cohen/
Those who loved him — and there are so many that I want to say we form a kind of cult, but that’s looking way back to 1968, when some of us found him; now he has an army of fans, and we make up a kind of culture — will hear the news of his death and flash to the most relevant songs.
Those songs have a single subject. We’re made in love, he said. We disappear into love. We fail, often and gloriously. But the aspiration alone, however doomed, is triumphant. He leaves us, standing “before the Lord of Song/With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.”
For videos and stories, please click.
http://www.headbutler.com/reviews/leonard-cohen/
11
Thank you, Leonard Cohen for Suzanne. As a teenager, this mesmerizing song led my imagination wandering through my first flirts with beauty and lust. Your song The Partisan thought me to cherish freedom and to fight whenever forces threatened to shackle my liberty to think by myself. Everyone needs a pilot in his life, you have been one for me throughout my own voyage. Thank you.
6
The word "artist" is self-awarded by many, deserved by few. Leonard Cohen was an artist.
7
The words with that voice will remain. See you next time!
1
Suffice it to say, Leonard Cohen has bested us with his reaction to the Trump presidency.
10
You are sick. A great artist has died and all you got is politics?
3
From "Democracy" by Leonard Cohen
It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
7
A great artist has died, but the election of Donald Trump is not just "politics".
2
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
That's how I feel this week, Lenny.
God bless you and thank you for everything.
Your timing is always spot on.
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
That's how I feel this week, Lenny.
God bless you and thank you for everything.
Your timing is always spot on.
42
Exactly !!!
1
I was introduced to him by Bob Altman through "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" which remains one of my favorite films. "I'm Your Man" was a song I sent to a woman once. I am not an uncritical admirer of Leonard Cohen but would always have to acknowledge that he had something special.
For that matter, in case folks are being polite about his monotone baritone delivery, he moved the boundary of what a voice could be before I would listen to someone sing. I love his cover of "Always," really, I do.
For that matter, in case folks are being polite about his monotone baritone delivery, he moved the boundary of what a voice could be before I would listen to someone sing. I love his cover of "Always," really, I do.
5
I am awash with tears -- he touched my heart so profoundly. I'm glad that this great sensitive man didn't have to see the desecration of our country. His voice lives in my heart forever. So sorely missed.
6
Cohen could beautify the cryptic in a song. Playing his songs could be something really different from playing the songs of the sixties era. You felt as if you were somewhere else, a better place where you gained a bit more understanding of the human condition.
I had wondered how something so abstract could have followers, and Cohen unified the thinkers. I still remember the first time I went through "Suzanne" on the guitar and how ethereal that experience was.
Leonard Cohen has given us much. May he grace eternity.
I had wondered how something so abstract could have followers, and Cohen unified the thinkers. I still remember the first time I went through "Suzanne" on the guitar and how ethereal that experience was.
Leonard Cohen has given us much. May he grace eternity.
22
Mr Cohen was from my hometown who mourns today. But in fact everybody mourns because he spoke of our humananity, sad and hopeful. Nobody could sing his songs better than he did, although Billy Joel could be almost as good with Light as the breeze.
1
I am sad to read this. Dance Me to the End of Life is one of my favorite songs. When I read that it was about the holocast, about how they played violins while people were being killed, it brought new meaning to this beautiful song.
His death is a sad loss to a musical era that is ever aging.
His death is a sad loss to a musical era that is ever aging.
55
"And I loved you when our love was blessed.
And I love you now there’s nothing left but sorrow and a sense of overtime.
And I missed you since the place got wrecked.
And I just don’t care what happens next, looks like freedom but it feels like death.
It’s something in between.
I guess it’s closing time."
And I love you now there’s nothing left but sorrow and a sense of overtime.
And I missed you since the place got wrecked.
And I just don’t care what happens next, looks like freedom but it feels like death.
It’s something in between.
I guess it’s closing time."
47
I saw Leonard Cohen perform in Hamilton, Ontario, in the mid-`90s in a truly memorable concert. The audience listened reverentially to his every word and gesture. At one point he put his hand to his ear as if deep in contemplation between songs and then smiled and said that Montreal was up by a goal. He was being fed the latest update of a Stanley Cup playoff game and his hometown team Les Canadiens was winning. The hall erupted in laughter and the show went on to a magnificent conclusion. ``Good night sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to they rest.``
50
I was there too -best show of my life! I was moved to tears when he spoke the chorus to Anthem before breaking into the song. Never have I been as moved by poetry. Salût, mon poète.
5
A salient and most prescient wordsmith and thinker, Cohen
tapped-into the eternal muse and brought it into our lives.
"Jikan" obviously knew not only the signposts of his own journey
but also both the lighter and darker trajectories of the human condition.
At least for America, let us hope the light indeed can squeeze itself through
the cracks.
tapped-into the eternal muse and brought it into our lives.
"Jikan" obviously knew not only the signposts of his own journey
but also both the lighter and darker trajectories of the human condition.
At least for America, let us hope the light indeed can squeeze itself through
the cracks.
33
Of course NYT commenters can't pay respect to the man without injecting politics into the mix, which lessens the tribute and makes it really all about themselves.
Great artist, major loss. RIP Mr. Cohen.
Great artist, major loss. RIP Mr. Cohen.
13
Although I quickly replied to someone who was thinking and writing politically, I now thank you, as you are 100% correct.
Cohen often wrote about the state of the world, and I can't help but think he'd give us a wry smile regarding the timing of his departure if he were here.
3
Of course it disturbs you. But that was part of who he was. Would you like him to be rembered without any mention of his religiosity, or without mention of his complicated relationships with women? Of course not!
6
I knew this day would come. We are better for his work, and diminished by his passing.
26
I saw Mr. Cohen's stunning return to performing at the Beacon in 2008 and in the lobby met his older sister Esther. Of "Lenny" she said, "he's like everybody else, but then he'll say something and you're reminded that he's a prophet." The smile, the baritone, the self-deprecating wit, our supplicant will be sorely missed.
50
Cohen, in Hebrew, means a priest, serving God and mankind. Leonard sang of the linkage of the mortal and the immortal within us. Isn't that what all priests do, no matter in what religion or nation, that "very broken hallelujah"? That layered and complicated song of Cohen's is an anthem and a hymn to "the crack that lets the light in."
We need that hope, that mysterious sense that, beyond it all, even beyond Trump and the Electoral College and SCOTUS, love and light leak in. All we have too do is listen hard enough and we might see it, even this awful week. Thanks, LC.
We need that hope, that mysterious sense that, beyond it all, even beyond Trump and the Electoral College and SCOTUS, love and light leak in. All we have too do is listen hard enough and we might see it, even this awful week. Thanks, LC.
59
Hallelujah is a masterpiece. He was a remarkably creative artist who suffered through some horrible depression and a terrible financial tragedy late in life. I imagine not being able to collect on a multi-million dollar verdict was devastating. He must have been so thankful for his successful touring late in life. God rest his soul.
15
If I read symbolism into everything, I'd say that he died as an act of mourning for what's happening to this country. RIP, great man, great poet, great prophet.
45
Oh how I will miss you, Leonard---so long, goodbye.
34
I locked eyes with Leonard a few years back at Coachella during his singing of 'Everbody Knows'. Haunting and I'll never forget it. BTW..truer words never spoken. Peace
13
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
- Leonard Cohen
- Leonard Cohen
27
For months I had planned to play one of Mr. Cohen songs at the end of a lecture for a group of psychotherapist. I chose "Come Healing" because its beautiful poetry speaks to the yearning for healing the split within the human psyche today. Now it also speak to the need for healing in our post election divide.
I am honored to remember Mr Cohen's gifts to us tonight.
I am honored to remember Mr Cohen's gifts to us tonight.
21
What a magnificent life, already sorely missed.
8
I was a relative latecomer to Leonard's music having only fallen in love with it after I met my wife. We were honored to have been able to see him in concert four times between 2009-2012. His music speaks to all people in all walks of life in all stages of feeling and in all kinds of ways. Rest easy Leonard.
11
There's a crack in my heart today. Now I'm looking for the light. Rest in peace, Mr. Cohen.
27
An iconic voice of my generation. He touched and moved us. That would not have happened without love in his heart and spirit in his music and words. Glad you were with us Leonard.
17
A sad time. Put on Alexandra Leaving and turn the bass up.
16
“I know I said I’d meet you,
I’d meet you at the store,
But I can’t buy it, baby.
I can’t buy it anymore.
And I don’t really know who sent me,
To raise my voice and say:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.”
These lyrics from Cohen’s “Land of Plenty” (2001) have long comforted me in my personal war with an America that can’t manage to think straight long enough to live up to its potential. After the presidential election debacle they ring more true than ever.
I’d meet you at the store,
But I can’t buy it, baby.
I can’t buy it anymore.
And I don’t really know who sent me,
To raise my voice and say:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.”
These lyrics from Cohen’s “Land of Plenty” (2001) have long comforted me in my personal war with an America that can’t manage to think straight long enough to live up to its potential. After the presidential election debacle they ring more true than ever.
112
Man, I couldn't agree more. That song fits where we are now more than ever. Peace.
4
A King among artists has passed.
30
Rest well, Mr. Cohen. You have led an inspiring life and we loved you for your music and for the person that you were.
15
A tremendous loss, since his last album showed his creativity undiminished in the face of age and disease. There could have been much more. I had the luck to see him perform in Philadelphia in 2009, when he took the stage skipping, and proceeded to sing one gem after another for about three hours, with three encores, and the tears flowing freely in the audience. He made so many believe in the power of song. I cannot express how much his passing affects me today, in this new American era.
50
The awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature took pretty much everyone by surprise, I think. But as long as they were awarding it to a songwriter, I would have preferred it to go Leonard Cohen.
153
And he would have been sincerely grateful.
3
...A BAFFELED KING COMPOSING HALLELUJAH.
Rest in peace
Rest in peace
14
We sing this each week at our synagogue.
3
No! I am stunned. I was a constant poster in alt.music.leonard-cohen back when Usenet was king. As someone once wrote, when you listen to Leonard Cohen, it's always 3 o'clock in the morning.
29
As good as Dylan is, I'm pretty certain that I wasn't the only person who felt that the Nobel Committee awarded the wrong songwriter.
133
As someone who was awed by Leonard Cohen's poetry when I was a university student in the sixties, I also felt he would have been an excellent choice for the Nobel Prize in literature. It is sad to wake up to a world without him.
6
Wednedsday am when confronted with how to accept the election, I recalled Leonard's" Anthem "there's crack in everything, that's how the light gets in". Later in the day, hearing of his death it somehow. seemed fitting. His liturgical, sacred and profane poetry speaks to many. He will be missed.
Your words were never in vain
Whether they addressed joy or pain
I will always love you, Mr Cohen!
Whether they addressed joy or pain
I will always love you, Mr Cohen!
10
Leonard Cohen saved my life. "Songs of Love and Hate" in particular found me at one of the lowest points of my life and helped show me that even sadness could be beautiful, and that seeing beauty where you can find it gives you the will and the energy to go on. I am glad to have known his music, and also to have seen him live three times over the years. His words remind me, "There is a crack, a crack in everything. / That's how the light gets in."
Rest in peace, old soul.
Rest in peace, old soul.
126
We waw him a couple of years ago in Milwaukee and of all the many concerts I’ve attended starting with the Beatles in 1964, his was the one that will stay with me always. He was a performer who clearly felt an obligation to the audience, one that he carried out with talent, grace, and humility. He was a gentleman. I am stricken to have this be the thing that takes my mind off the other debacle.
15
Janet:
It so much feels like both my past and my future have been wrenched away from me.
- Tom
It so much feels like both my past and my future have been wrenched away from me.
- Tom
1
Thank you totyson--that expresses it beautifully.
1
Rest in Peace, Mr. Cohen. Such a gifted poet and songwriter - a life well lived, and a legacy that will last for generations to come.
18
In the short span of a few days we lost Leonard Cohen and got Donald Trump. The universe has an interesting sense of humor. Or it's a sign of the end of days.
89
Cool, earthy and soothing. Thank you, and rest in peace.
6
Trump is elected President and Leonard Cohen passes away within the same week. It's almost too much to bear.
155
And Rosamund Bernier. And a well-respected reading specialist and wife of Mayor David Martin of Stamford. And my mother broke her ankle. And the week isn't over yet!
3
How apropos, "first they take Manhattan, then they take Berlin!"....
2
Makes you think he couldn't bear to watch the world any more, doesn't it?
Rest in Peace, Leonard. You will be sorely missed.
19
And just when I was sure that his teachings were pure
He drowned himself in the pool
His body is gone but back here on the lawn
His spirit continues to drool...
He drowned himself in the pool
His body is gone but back here on the lawn
His spirit continues to drool...
11
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
That's one of Mr. Cohen's most optimistic, beautiful, and honest lyrics. But waking up today in this political climate, I can't help but think his song "The Future" is more prescient.
That's one of Mr. Cohen's most optimistic, beautiful, and honest lyrics. But waking up today in this political climate, I can't help but think his song "The Future" is more prescient.
76
Dan from Manhattan comments that, "His song 'The Future' is more prescient (than Anthem)." The Future says, "I've seen the future, brother: it is murder."
1
I met Leonard Cohen in the 1980s in NYC when I worked at the Royalton Hotel and he was a regular guest there. We talked a great deal about poetry and he even graciously accepted a copy of my first book of poems, The Future Past. He had just finished a book of what he called "prayers." He was a great artist and a wonderful man. We will miss the gift of his golden voice.
24
Twenty years later my friends Ofer and Orna, beautiful singers introduced me to So Long Marianne, it was their favorite,and I came to under stand how integral Cohen's subtle melodies were to the words.
Twenty-three more years passed and during a beautiful love affair with Emily F, we listened to Cohen over and over. She was young and had never heard of him. The beautiful thing about sharing music or literature or painting with someone who has never heard or seen that art before, is you get to listen to it again as new.
Was it the longing in Leonard Cohen’s songs that struck her so deeply. Of all things, she wanted Suzanne to be "our song." Now the affair is one year gone, and I have avoided LC until now, but his death the day after the ascension of a fascistic man to the US Presidency, I have had to listen. Did Did Donald’s election kill Leonard Cohen. Now there are only tears.