Leonard Cohen loved women, he just had trouble committing to them. Marianne Ihlen was the love of his life. He lived with her and her son for seven years in Greece, but they never married.
He wrote our Song of the Day about her. She died July 28, 2016, three months before he passed away.
Cohen met Ihlen on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960 and spent most of the next decade with her. After they split she moved to her native Norway and eventually got married.
Cohen bounced from relationship to relationship. He had two children with Suzanne Elrod (not the Suzanne in his song of the same name), but they never married.
Cohen and Ihlen stayed in touch. She would visit backstage when he would play concerts in Scandinavia. Ihlen’s close friend contacted Cohen after Ihlen found out she had leukemia in July 2016. Cohen also was struggling with his cancer. He quickly wrote her an email.
It read: "Dearest Marianne, I’m just a little behind you, close enough to take your hand. This old body has given up, just as yours has too. I’ve never forgotten your love and your beauty. But you know that. I don’t have to say any more. Safe travels old friend. See you down the road. Endless love and gratitude."
Cohen called Ihlen his muse. He wrote several poems and songs about her. He released Our Song of the Day, “So Long Marianne” in 1967. He said it took a year to write. He said he didn’t think it was a goodbye song when he started writing it, but he was wrong. The couple broke up not long afterward.
Song of the Day is a co-production of WGCU FM and Sheldon Zoldan. Audio editing by Simon Dunham.
