Leronard Cohen takes an important place in my life, ı knew him with the ‘Suzanne’ which is include ‘Songs of Leonard Cohen’ album. Afterwards ı met with a ‘Waiting For The Miracle’ , ‘ Thousand Deep Kiss’  and ‘Hallelujah’ it followed. There are alot of meaning , within each album and each song which produced by singers, sometimes songs just touch us but most time we dont even know about how was it created. There is always background related  the song. It didnt passed to much from Leonard Cohen death therefore ı wanted to start my articles with the debut album from Leonard Cohen.

So Long, Marianne’,  the song was inspired by Marianne Jensen, born Marianne Ihlen, whom Cohen met on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960. She had recently been left by her husband, the Norwegian writer Axel Jensen, leaving her and their six-month-old son alone on the island. One day Marianne was in the village shop with her basket wait
ing fort he pick up bottled water and mil a dark man is standing in the doorway with sun behind him.He is saying: “Would you like to join us, we’re sitting outside?”

İt is Leonard Cohen. He calls her the most beautiful woman he has ever met. Cohen drives her home from Greece to Oslo. Later she receives a telegram from Montreal: “ Have house. All ı need is my woman and her son . Love Leonard.” Shortly afterwards she goes to Canada with her little boy. Cohen, Marrianne and “Little Axel” live together during the 60s, and commute between Montrea, Newyork and Hydra.

“Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” there are couple of interview which include this song  and give us a little hint regarding of background of this song. Namely;

‘This is an old song that I wrote in another time when I was someone else, and it comes from a brown Hotel room, on 34th street, called the “Penn Terminal Hotel”. I don’t want any of you to go there, I don’t want any of you to be seen there.It’s not a bad Hotel, but it’s very very brown. Don’t go there. If I see you there I will chase you right out off the lobby.’ (Wiesbaden 02.02.1985) ‘This song arises from an over-used bed in the Penn Terminal Hotel in 1966. The room is too hot. I can’t open the windows. I am in the midst of a bitter quarrel with a blonde woman. The song is half-written in pencil but it protects us as we manoeuvre, each of us, for unconditional victory.
I am in the wrong room. I am with the wrong woman.’ (1976 Backcover of “Greatest Hit” some notes on the songs) That’s not all which ı want to share but we will see step by step.

By Uğur Doğuş