But I never called it art
I got my shit together
Meeting Christ and reading Marx
It failed, my little fire
But it spread the dying spark
Go tell the young messiah
What happens to the heart
There's a mist of summer kisses
Where I tried to double-park
The rivalry was vicious
The women were in charge
It was nothing, it was business
But it left an ugly mark
I've come here to revisit
What happens to the heart
I was selling holy trinkets
I was dressing kind of sharp
Had a pussy in the kitchen
And a panther in the yard
In the prison of the gifted
I was friendly with the guards
So I never had to witness
What happens to the heart
I should have seen it coming
After all, I knew the chart
Just to look at her was trouble
It was trouble from the start
Sure, we played a stunning couple
But I never liked the part
It ain't pretty, it ain't subtle
What happens to the heart
Now the angel's got a fiddle
The devil's got a harp
Every soul is like a minnow
Every mind is like a shark
Me, I've broken every window
But the house, the house is dark
I care, but very little
What happens to the heart
Then I studied with this beggar
He was filthy, he was scarred
By the claws of many women
He had failed to disregard
No fable here, no lesson
No singing meadowlark
Just a filthy beggar guessing
What happens to the heart
I was always working steady
But I never called it art
It was just some old convention
Like the horse before the cart
I had no trouble betting
On the flood, against the ark
You see, I knew about the ending
What happens to the heart
I was handy with a rifle
My father's .303
I fought for something final
Not the right to disagree
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016)
Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist whose work explored themes of religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, and personal relationships. With a deep, resonant baritone voice and intricate, literary lyrics, he is considered one of the most influential and revered songwriters in music history.
Key Musical Highlights
Signature Songs: His most famous composition, "Hallelujah," has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Jeff Buckley, John Cale, and Rufus Wainwright. Other essential tracks include "Suzanne," "Famous Blue Raincoat," "Bird on the Wire," and "Everybody Knows."
The Poet’s Touch: Unlike many of his contemporaries, Cohen began his career as a published poet and novelist in the 1950s and 60s. He did not turn to music until his early 30s, which helped him approach songwriting with a distinct focus on literary quality and nuance.
Evolution of Sound: His career spanned decades, evolving from the sparse, acoustic folk of the late 60s to the synthesizer-heavy arrangements of the 80s (such as I'm Your Man), and finally returning to a sophisticated, gravelly maturity in his later years.
Notable Discography
| Album | Year | Notable Tracks |
| Songs of Leonard Cohen | 1967 | "Suzanne," "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" |
| Songs of Love and Hate | 1971 | "Famous Blue Raincoat," "Joan of Arc" |
| I'm Your Man | 1988 | "Everybody Knows," "Tower of Song" |
| You Want It Darker | 2016 | "You Want It Darker," "Traveling Light" |
Legacy and Recognition
Songwriters Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2008.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2008.
Literary Contribution: His body of poetry and novels—including The Spice-Box of Earth and Beautiful Losers—are highly regarded in Canadian literature.
The Final Act: Cohen’s final album, You Want It Darker, was released only weeks before his death at age 82. It is widely considered a masterpiece of late-life reflection, with the title track serving as a poignant meditation on mortality.
"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."
— From his song "Anthem"
The Literary Themes Behind His Songwriting
The literary quality of Leonard Cohen’s songwriting is rooted in his background as a published poet and novelist before he ever picked up a guitar. His lyrics function as compressed narratives or meditations, drawing from a vast, eclectic toolkit of influences.
Key Literary Themes
1. The Intersection of the Sacred and the Profane
Cohen famously blurred the lines between religious devotion and erotic obsession. He often utilized biblical imagery—references to Samson, Delilah, David, Abraham, and the Tower of Babel—to frame contemporary romantic struggles.
The Concept: In Cohen’s world, the physical act of love is often a surrogate for spiritual longing. A "hallelujah" is as likely to be a cry of sexual ecstasy as it is a prayer of religious supplication.
Example: "Hallelujah" is the quintessential example, where the narrative of King David and Bathsheba is juxtaposed with a crumbling personal relationship, suggesting that all deep human connection—whether to a lover or a god—is fundamentally broken yet holy.
2. The Anatomy of Melancholy and Isolation
Cohen was a cartographer of the interior life, specifically states of depression and loneliness. He rarely shied away from the "darker" aspects of the human condition, treating them as necessary components of truth.
The Concept: He viewed isolation not merely as a suffering state, but as a site of profound clarity. His work frequently suggests that the "cracks" in our character—our failures, our failures to love, and our existential doubts—are the precise locations where truth and human connection can enter.
Example: "Famous Blue Raincoat" is an epistolary song that captures the lingering, ambiguous ache of betrayal and reconciliation, framed with the literary precision of a letter.
3. Political Cynicism and "The System"
Especially in his middle-to-later periods, Cohen’s writing became increasingly cynical about power structures, capitalism, and societal decay.
The Concept: He often portrayed the world as a game rigged against the individual, yet he remained detached, observing the "dance" of corruption with a dry, ironic wit rather than standard protest-song outrage.
Example: "Everybody Knows" is perhaps his most direct exploration of this theme, acting as a bleak catalog of societal hypocrisy ("Everybody knows the dice are loaded / Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed").
4. The Exile’s Perspective
As an artist who spent significant time in Greece (the island of Hydra), California, and later living as a monk in a Zen monastery on Mount Baldy, Cohen wrote as a permanent traveler.
The Concept: The theme of the "stranger" or the "exile" permeates his work. He often wrote from the perspective of someone standing just outside the threshold of normal social life, looking in at the domestic or political rituals of others.
Example: "Bird on the Wire" functions as an admission of his own restlessness and the paradoxical nature of his desire for both freedom and structure.
Literary Influences
Cohen’s songwriting was deeply informed by his reading:
Federico García Lorca: Cohen named his daughter after the Spanish poet and famously translated Lorca’s "Pequeño vals vienés" into "Take This Waltz." He deeply admired Lorca’s use of "deep song" (cante jondo) and surreal, dark imagery.
Zen Buddhism: His long-standing commitment to Zen, particularly under the guidance of his teacher Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi, moved his writing from the romantic angst of his early years toward a more stripped-down, observational, and self-effacing style in his final decades.
The Bible: Cohen viewed the Hebrew Bible not as a set of static dogmas but as a living, breathing landscape of human archetypes that he could rearrange and repurpose to describe modern heartbreak.
Moving From the Passionate, Self-flagellating Young Man to The Clear-eyed, Observational Monk
Songs of Love and Hate (1971): The Raw Nerve
This album represents the zenith of Cohen’s "romantic" agony. The literary focus here is subjective and intense.
The Perspective: The narrator is still very much inside the storm. The songs explore the idea that love and hate are not opposites, but two sides of the same intense emotional coin.
The Literary Mechanism: Cohen uses the "epistolary" form (writing letters) and brutal confession. In "Famous Blue Raincoat," the narrator is trapped in the memory of a betrayal; in "Joan of Arc," the conflict is an agonizing internal debate between the desire for self-sacrifice and the desire for self-preservation.
The Tone: There is a sense of "drowning." The imagery is wet, heavy, and visceral—raincoats, blood, martyrs, and battlefield mud. It is an album about the struggle to maintain a sense of self while being shredded by desire.
You Want It Darker (2016): The Clear-Eyed Observer
Forty-five years later, the perspective shifts from the struggle to the surrender.
The Perspective: The narrator is now an outsider looking in—even at his own life. Having spent years in a Zen monastery, the frantic need for validation or the torture of romantic longing has evaporated.
The Literary Mechanism: Cohen strips away the ornamentation. The lyrics are sparse, aphoristic, and often whispered. He uses irony as a survival tool. In the title track, "You Want It Darker," he isn't crying out against God; he is checking in with his creator, accepting the end with a haunting, "Hineni, hineni" (Hebrew for "Here I am").
The Tone: There is a sense of "sinking" rather than drowning—a deliberate, quiet descent. The themes of power and corruption that he explored in his middle period (like in "Everybody Knows") are now handled with a terrifying, calm detachment. He no longer seems bothered by the world’s hypocrisy; he simply notes it as part of the architecture of the universe.
"I struggled with some demons, they were middle-class and tame."
In 1971, Cohen was trying to use language to solve the problem of his own existence. By 2016, he had realized there was no solution—only the graceful act of witnessing the end. He replaced the "crack in everything" with the quiet acknowledgment that the light had already done its work.
A million candles burning
For the love that never came
You want it darker
We kill the flame
If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game
If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame
If thine is the glory, then mine must be the shame
You want it darker
We kill the flame
Magnified, sanctified
Be the holy name
Vilified, crucified
In the human frame
A million candles burning
For the help that never came
You want it darker
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my Lord
There's a lover in the story
But the story's still the same
There's a lullaby for suffering
And a paradox to blame
But it's written in the scriptures
And it's not some idol claim
You want it darker
We kill the flame
They're lining up to prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
I struggle with some demons
They were middle class and tame
I didn't know I had permission
To murder and to maim
You want it darker
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my Lord
Magnified, sanctified
Be the holy name
Vilified, crucified
In the human frame
A million candles burning
For the love that never came
You want it darker
We kill the flame
If you are the dealer, let me out of the game
If you are the healer, I'm broken and lame
If thine is the glory, mine must be the shame
You want it darker
Hineni, hineni
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my Lord
Marianne Ihlen
The relationship between Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen is one of the most storied and enduring romances in modern music history. It began in 1960 on the Greek island of Hydra and served as a profound emotional and creative anchor for Cohen throughout the most formative decade of his career.
The Hydra Years: Bohemian Beginnings
The Meeting: Cohen and Ihlen met in a grocery store in Hydra. Cohen, then a struggling writer, invited Ihlen to join him and his friends sitting outside in the sun. Ihlen later described the experience as a physical revelation, noting that he was unlike any man she had met—polite, old-fashioned, and deeply attentive.
A "Free" Life: They lived within a vibrant, transient community of international expatriate artists and writers. Their life together was defined by the bohemian ideals of the 1960s, characterized by "free love" and an informal lifestyle. Cohen became a father figure to Ihlen’s young son from her previous marriage to author Axel Jensen.
Stability and Strain: While their life on Hydra provided a nourishing, stable environment for Cohen’s writing, the relationship faced the inevitable strains of Cohen’s rising ambition and the pressures of long-distance travel. As Cohen’s music career gained momentum, the domestic peace of the island often conflicted with his professional life in North America.
Artistic Muse and Legacy
Ihlen was the central muse for many of Cohen's most iconic works. Their relationship is directly memorialized in:
"So Long, Marianne": Perhaps his most famous tribute to her, it captures both the affection and the inevitable dissolution of their partnership.
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye": A song that reflects the tender, bittersweet nature of their departures and the complex, shifting dynamics of their love.
A Love That Transcended Time
Even after their romantic partnership formally ended in the late 1960s, the bond between them remained intact. They maintained a correspondence for decades, characterized by a deep, platonic tenderness.
The most poignant chapter of their story occurred in July 2016. When Cohen learned that Ihlen was dying in a hospital in Oslo, he wrote her a final letter that became public after her passing. He wrote:
"Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road."
Marianne Ihlen passed away on July 28, 2016, and Leonard Cohen followed just over three months later, on November 7, 2016.
Further Context
The documentary Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love (2019) directed by Nick Broomfield provides an intimate look at their lives. Broomfield, who had an intimate friendship with Ihlen in the 1960s, captures the beauty, the bohemian reality of the Hydra years, and the enduring nature of their connection
Relationship with Montreal
The "Crucible" of His Identity
Montreal wasn't just a city to Cohen; it was a complex social and cultural ecosystem that forged his perspective:
Social Duality: Growing up in the affluent, English-speaking enclave of Westmount provided a sheltered beginning, but Cohen was fascinated by the "other side of town"—the working-class, bilingual streets of the Plateau and Saint-Laurent Boulevard (often called "The Main"). This contrast between his privileged background and the gritty, vibrant reality of the city's underbelly influenced his lifelong interest in the intersection of the sacred and the profane.
A "Montreal Jew": Cohen was born into a prominent family with deep roots in the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Westmount. His grandfather and great-grandfather were presidents of the synagogue, and he maintained a connection to this community for his entire life. This religious training provided the biblical cadence, imagery, and archetypes that became the foundation of his songwriting.
Geography of His Life
His life in Montreal is etched into the city's map, and he often wove these locations directly into his work:
The Plateau & The Main: Cohen lived for decades in a modest duplex on Rue de Vallières in the Plateau, a neighborhood that allowed him to live as a "man of the street." He was a regular at spots like Bagel Etc. and the Main Deli, blending into the neighborhood despite his international fame.
"Our Lady of the Harbour": In his classic song "Suzanne," the line "And she shows you where to look / Among the garbage and the flowers" refers to the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in Old Montreal. The statue of the Virgin Mary atop this church—historically known as the "Sailor's Church"—watches over the harbor, a sight Cohen encountered during his walks with Suzanne Verdal.
McGill University: His time at McGill in the early 1950s was his literary "nursery." It was there that he began to cultivate his voice, mentored by poets like Irving Layton and Louis Dudek, and began moving from a student poet to a professional writer.
Final Resting Place: He is buried in the Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery on the slopes of Mount Royal, near the city that shaped his spirit
What Happens to the Heart ?
"Happens to the Heart" (from his posthumous 2019 album, Thanks for the Dance) is perhaps the most refined articulation of the "monk" persona Cohen adopted in his final years. It is an autobiographical autopsy—a song where he reviews his own life, his vanities, and his failures with the detached precision of someone who is already standing on the other side of the veil.
Thematic Analysis
1. The Death of the "Ego-Artist"
The song begins with a rejection of his former self. He lists the roles he once played: "I was always working steady," "I was selling what I found," "I was just a little crazy." He is essentially cataloging the "Leonard Cohen" mythos—the romantic, the poet, the seeker—and systematically dismantling it. He admits he was "always acting from the heart" but immediately qualifies it, suggesting that the "heart" was perhaps an unreliable narrator or a source of misguided passion.
2. The Shift from Seeking to Accepting
In his earlier work, the "heart" was a battlefield where one fought for love, truth, and transcendence. In "Happens to the Heart," the heart is a victim of time and a teacher of humility.
The Lesson: The "happening" referred to in the title is the process of being humbled by life. It is the realization that the world does not revolve around the artist's internal dramas.
The Zen Influence: There is a profound sense of non-attachment here. He looks back at his "failures" and his "glory" with equal indifference. He is no longer trying to fix the crack in the wall; he is watching the wall crumble.
3. Biblical and Archetypal Framing
As is typical of his later work, he uses religious imagery not as a dogma, but as a framework for the human condition.
The "Ladder": When he sings, "I didn't know I had permission to murder and to maim / You want it there for others, you don't want it for your name," he is touching on the hypocrisy of the moral ego. He acknowledges the violence of his own desires and the convenience of his own morality.
"The Teacher": He references the "teacher" (likely his Zen master, Roshi, or God himself), signaling that he has finally stopped being the one who teaches and has become the one who is taught.
"Happens to the Heart" is the final word on his career-long project of self-analysis. He essentially says that he spent his life trying to understand the "heart," only to realize at the end that the heart’s ultimate purpose was to learn how to stop wanting, stop performing, and finally, stop.
Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen: the love affair of a lifetime
In November 2016, the singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, renowned for his plaintive ballads, died a few months after the woman who inspired many of them, his Norwegian lover and muse, Marianne Ihlen. Theirs had been a large and chaotic romance that was in many respects a product of the particular times (the 1960s) and the specific place (the Greek island of Hydra) in which they met. The relationship’s legacy was a catalogue of classic songs – So Long Marianne, Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye, Bird on the Wire – a great deal of heartache, but also a lasting sense of the creative power of love.
All of this the documentary maker Nick Broomfield explores in his tender, funny and hauntingly moving new film Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love. Broomfield is not a disinterested observer. He knew Ihlen well. They too were lovers for a while during one of the long breaks in Ihlen’s relationship with Cohen. And her effect on the film-maker was almost as influential as her part in the Canadian poet-musician’s career.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jun/30/leonard-cohen-marianne-ihlen-love-affair-of-a-lifetime-nick-broomfield-documentary-words-of-love
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