[www.billboard.com]


Legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen wrote a touching letter to his former muse Marianne Ihlen, who inspired such songs as "So Long, Marianne" and "Bird on the Wire,” days before her death on July 29.

Shortly after learning that Ihlen would soon be passing from leukemia, Cohen penned an emotion goodbye note, her friend Jan Christian Mollestad told the CBC. Mollestad said she was able to read Ihlen the letter before her 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," Cohen wrote, according to Mollestad.

"And you know that I've always loved you for your beauty and 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.'"

Cohen and Ihlen enjoyed a seven-year romance after meeting on the Greek Island in Hydra during the 1960s. In addition to "So Long, Marianne" and "Bird on the Wire,” the Norwegian model also served as the inspiration for his song "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye.”

That's very touching. Thanks for sharing, STG.

Wow. Thanks for sharing. You da man, Len.

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SomeTorontoGirl
[www.billboard.com]


Legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen wrote a touching letter to his former muse Marianne Ihlen, who inspired such songs as "So Long, Marianne" and "Bird on the Wire,” days before her death on July 29.

Shortly after learning that Ihlen would soon be passing from leukemia, Cohen penned an emotion goodbye note, her friend Jan Christian Mollestad told the CBC. Mollestad said she was able to read Ihlen the letter before her 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," Cohen wrote, according to Mollestad.

"And you know that I've always loved you for your beauty and 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.'"

Cohen and Ihlen enjoyed a seven-year romance after meeting on the Greek Island in Hydra during the 1960s. In addition to "So Long, Marianne" and "Bird on the Wire,” the Norwegian model also served as the inspiration for his song "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye.”

Hi STC: I wanted to ask this somewhere. Is it possible to give us a snippet of the set list for the Hip? Thanks, Shattered

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shattered
Hi STC: I wanted to ask this somewhere. Is it possible to give us a snippet of the set list for the Hip? Thanks, Shattered

Just listening to the Hip... I heard that they are really mixing the set lists up. This gives a good picture. Scroll down for the lists.

[tragicallyhiptour.blogspot.ca]

Thanks for sharing. Leonard is a great and amazing man in many ways. Rest In Peace, Marianne.

It made some big headlines here in Norway, even though Marianne Ihlen has lived her life very low-key and don't like to talk about their relationship.

She came to Hydra with Axel Jensen, one of Norway's best poets, and left with Cohen.

BTW, Pollestad is a he, not a she

Why not use her surname in the header? People unaware of Cohen's love life may confuse her with another Marianne (with a linkage to The Rolling Stones).

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Stoneage
Why not use her surname in the header? People unaware of Cohen's love life may confuse her with another Marianne (with a linkage to The Rolling Stones).

Canadians and norwegians think everyone in the world knows this story, he he

Very touching story. Thanks for sharing.

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Keep On Rolling

Very touching and inspirational.

MARIANNE AND LEONARD
Interview with Marianne Ihlen
by Kari Hesthamar, Norway, 2005
SO LONG, MARIANNE

[www.leonardcohenfiles.com] (read it)

so painful you don't even wanna really go near it. That's what Cohen does in a LOT of his amazing and truly brilliant, challenging lyrics too.
(I listened to The Future track again recently. whoa)
His entire life journey and ongoing fascination. He is always relevant across decades of work. This is such sad heartfelt stuff wow...
...I'm glad she got the letter. I can only hope her passing was peaceful, and not lonely or frightened.
He is a very rare bird as a lyricist and a true poet.

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SomeTorontoGirl

Quote
shattered
Hi STC: I wanted to ask this somewhere. Is it possible to give us a snippet of the set list for the Hip? Thanks, Shattered

Just listening to the Hip... I heard that they are really mixing the set lists up. This gives a good picture. Scroll down for the lists.

[tragicallyhiptour.blogspot.ca]

Thank you.

Thank you. That's nice.

very touching. i saw leonard a few years ago & it was stunning. 1 of the best concerts i've ever seen.

THE AUSTRALIAN -- 9 August 2016



ROCKMAN

Thanks Rockman for that scan and the additional info in it.

From Leonard's FB page:


Leonard asked that this letter to him from Jan Christian Mollestad be used in this memorial:

"Dear Leonard
Marianne slept slowly out of this life yesterday evening. Totally at ease, surrounded by close friends.
Your letter came when she still could talk and laugh in full consciousness. When we read it aloud, she smiled as only Marianne can. She lifted her hand, when you said you were right behind, close enough to reach her.
It gave her deep peace of mind that you knew her condition. And your blessing for the journey gave her extra strength. Jan and her friends who saw what this message meant for her, will all thank you in deep gratitude for replying so fast and with such love and compassion.
In her last hour I held her hand and hummed Bird on a Wire, while she was breathing so lightly. And when we left the room, after her soul had flown out of the window for new adventures, we kissed her head and whispered your everlasting words So long, Marianne"

So beautiful. Thank you

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

Very touching story ...... Forever



ROCKMAN

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shattered

Quote
SomeTorontoGirl

Quote
shattered
Hi STC: I wanted to ask this somewhere. Is it possible to give us a snippet of the set list for the Hip? Thanks, Shattered

Just listening to the Hip... I heard that they are really mixing the set lists up. This gives a good picture. Scroll down for the lists.

[tragicallyhiptour.blogspot.ca]

Thank you.

You might enjoy this too.

[www.thestar.com]

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Milan
From Leonard's FB page:


Leonard asked that this letter to him from Jan Christian Mollestad be used in this memorial:

"Dear Leonard
Marianne slept slowly out of this life yesterday evening. Totally at ease, surrounded by close friends.
Your letter came when she still could talk and laugh in full consciousness. When we read it aloud, she smiled as only Marianne can. She lifted her hand, when you said you were right behind, close enough to reach her.
It gave her deep peace of mind that you knew her condition. And your blessing for the journey gave her extra strength. Jan and her friends who saw what this message meant for her, will all thank you in deep gratitude for replying so fast and with such love and compassion.
In her last hour I held her hand and hummed Bird on a Wire, while she was breathing so lightly. And when we left the room, after her soul had flown out of the window for new adventures, we kissed her head and whispered your everlasting words So long, Marianne"

This is the way all things should be. Thank you very much for sharing.

Beautiful!

How very touching. Thanks so much for sharing.

Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind...

On a slightly different but related tangent . . .

My brother once told my family (and me) about the night he went out with two girls to a party. It was a big party, apparently, lots happening and such.
He was in university at the time, 1967, trying to finish a degree in architecture at the University of Alberta.

Anyways the story goes that he went with these two girls to a party and they left him there to go home with Leonard Cohen. Sure, we all said, two women left him because of Leonard Cohen, likely story. He said, Cohen stayed the night in the women's apartment and in the morning they woke up to hear this song he'd written for and about them: The Sisters of Mercy. (he told us this after the album came out).

Of course we didn't believe my brother. He could tell some tales and this was surely one of them. He swore it was true, for years. Cohen was in town at that time (this was Edmonton, Alberta), and the time was right but the likelihood seemed so small that all of my family members completely discounted my brother's story--had to be complete b.s.

For the longest time, decades, we never believed him. Then, much later, Cohen's Greatest Hits came out. In Cohen's brief note on The Sisters of Mercy he wrote about how he'd written the song after staying the night in an apartment of two women in Edmonton, and how he'd had the song ready for them in the morning when they woke up.

My brother only said, "I told ya."

So I guess as there can be sisters of Mercy there can be brothers of truth.


On the internet nobody knows
you're Mick Jagger

Great story camper88. I know the story of the song - I am not sure whether I read it or heard Leonard saying it. I guess it is nice to have a brother who was somehow part of it, right? :-)

The story is perfectly plausible, Camper 88. I can't understand why someone would discount it. Your brother was stood up by a celebrity. That's the way it goes.
Good for Leonard though who even came up with a song the morning thereafter. When spirit was high...

New album announced!

The track preview during Peaky Blinders was promising, reckon this will be a good one...

[pitchfork.com]