Monday 8 August 2016

Leonard Cohen's Goodbye to Marianne

Leonard Cohen wrote this letter to Marianne Ihlen, his muse, his lover and the subject of his song So Long Marianne and the inspiration behind Bird on the Wire, on hearing of her impending death.


"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 for 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."




She died in Norway on the 29th of July at the age of 81 of leukaemia.

Leonard Cohen was ordained a Zen Buddhist monk in 1996.

No comments:

Post a Comment