Crna eminencija u panteonu izuzetno uticajnih pevača-pesnika koji se pojavljuju šezdesetih i početkom sedamdesetih
Pesnik, književnik i folk, rok, pop, cabare muzičar Leon Koen (Leonard Norman Cohen) rođen 21. septembra 1934. u Montrealu, Kvebek, Kanada, umro je u 82. godini života 7. novembra 2016. mirno, u svojoj kući u Los Anđelesu. U njegovom rodnom gradu Montrealu gradske vlasti naložile da se zastava spusti na pola koplja, preneo je AFP.
Rano je ostao bez oca i odgajao ga je deda. U svojoj sedamnaestoj godini 1951. počeo je da piše pesme. Nakon što je diplomirao na montrealskom univerzitetu McGill, prvu knjigu pesama Let Us Compare Mythologies (Usporedimo mitologije) objavio u Montrealu 1956. godine.
Seli se u Njujork, a zatim na grčko ostrvo Hidra, gde 1960. sreće Marijanu Jensen koju je u to vreme njen muž, norveški pesnik Aksel Jensen ostavio samu sa šestomesečnom bebom na tom grčkom ostrvu. Koen je Marijanu odveo njenoj kući u Oslo, a kasnije je nju i njenog sina pozvao u Montreal. Koen i Marijana su živeli 1960-ih između Njujorka, Montreala i Hidre. Njoj je posvetio pesmu So long, Marianne... Marijana je umrla u Oslu u svojoj 81. godini 28. jula 2016.
Koen je živeo u Oslu, na Kubi, u Londonu... Od 1994. do 1999. živeo je u Baldi Zen centru, na planini istočno od Los Anđelesa.
Come over to the window, my little darling
I'd like to try to read your palm
I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy
Before I let you take me home
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again
Well you know that I love to live with you
But you make me forget so very much
I forget to pray for the angels
And then the angels forget to pray for us
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
We met when we were almost young
Deep in the green lilac park
You held on to me like I was a crucifix
As we went kneeling through the dark
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
Your letters they all say that you're beside me now
Then why do I feel alone?
I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web
Is fastening my ankle to a stone
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
For now I need your hidden love
I'm cold as a new razor blade
You left when I told you I was curious
I never said that I was brave
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
Oh, you are really such a pretty one
I see you've gone and changed your name again
And just when I climbed this whole mountainside
To wash my eyelids in the rain
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
(So Long, Marianne Lyrics)
Odrastao kao Jevrejin postao je sledbenik zen-budizma.
Muzički magazin Rolling Stone piše da je Koen bio crna eminencija u panteonu izuzetno uticajnih pevača-pesnika koji se pojavljuju šezdesetih i početkom sedamdesetih. Samo će Bob Dilan izvršili dublji uticaj na svoju generaciju.
Koenove pesme govore o ljubavi i mržnji, polu i duhovnosti, ratu i miru, ekstazi i depresiji.
Može se govoriti o Koenovom jakom uticaju na našu muziku. Arsen Dedić je 1985. objavo album Kantautor u koju je učvrstio Koenovu pesmu "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy", pod naslovom "To sve je davno sad".
Ibrica Jusić snimio je 1999. godine album Hazarder: A tribute to Leonard Koen, s dvanaest Koenovih pesama.
Koena je kao uzor navodio i Branimir Štulić. Koenove pesme prevodili su Vladislav Bajac, David Albahari i muzički kritičar Darko Glavan.
Koen je u vezi sa Suzanom Elrod tokom sedamdesetih dobio dvoje dece, Lorku Koena, fotografa i Adama Koena, vođu grupe Low Millions.
Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said "All men will be sailors then
Until the sea 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 travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.
Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you 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 Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.
– Songs of Leonard Cohen, 1967.
–
Songs From a Room, 1969.
–
Songs of Love and Hate, 1971.
–
Live Songs, 1973.
–
New Skin for the Old Ceremony, 1974.
–
The Best of Leonard Cohen/Greatest Hits, 1975.
–
Death of a Ladies' Man, 1977.
–
Recent Songs, 1979.
–
Night Magic, mjuzikl/soundtrack, stihovi: Leonard Cohen, kompozitor: Lewis Furey, izvode: Lewis Furey i Carole Laure, 1985.
–
Various Positions, 1985.
–
I'm Your Man, 1988.
–
The Future, 1992.
–
Cohen Live, 1994.
–
More Best of Leonard Cohen, 1997.
–
Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979, 2001.
–
Ten New Songs, 2001.
–
The Essential Leonard Cohen, dvostruki CD, 2002.; trostruki CD, 2008.
–
Dear Heather, 2004.
–
Blue Alert, album Anjani Thomas, pjesme i produkcija Leonard Cohen, 2006.
–
Book of Longing, uglazbio Philip Glass, dvostruki CD, 2007.
–
Live in London, dvostruki CD, DVD, 2009.
–
Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, CD s DVD-om, Blu-Ray, 2009.
–
Songs From the Road, CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, CD s DVD-om, 2010.
–
Old Ideas, 2012.
–
Popular Problems, 2014.
Knjige, pesme
– Let Us Compare Mythologies (Usporedimo mitologije), 1956.
–
The Spice-Box of Earth (Kutija sa začinima zemlje), 1961.
–
Flowers for Hitler (Cveće za Hitlera), 1964.
–
Parasites of Heaven (Paraziti raja), 1966.
–
Selected Poems, 1956-1968 (Izabrane pjesme, 1956-1968), 1968.
–
The Energy of Slaves (Energija robova), 1972.
–
Death of a Lady's Man (Kavaljerova smrt), 1978.
–
Book of Mercy (Knjiga milosrđa), 1984.
–
Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs (Strančeva muzika: izabrana poezija i pesme), 1993.
–
Book of Longing (Knjiga čežnje), 2006.
