Leonard Cohen‘s muse, Marianne Ihlen died last week on July 29th, at the age of 81. Marianne Ihlen is the woman in one of his big hits of the early 1970’s. ‘So Long Marianne’ was one of the tunes that guaranteed a sing-a-long with audiences on his ever popular live appearances and tours.
Marianne was Norwegian, and married to a well-known writer in Norway. When Cohen met her, on the island of Hydra off Greece, she had just been abandoned by her husband, and the father of her infant son,
“I know that you’re Marianne, and I know what’s happened, come out in the sun and have a glass of wine.’ And that was Leonard and he took such good care of her.” Ihlen’s good friend, Norwegian filmmaker Jan Christian Mollestad said in an interview yesterday with Rosemary Barton on the CBC radio program, ‘As It Happens’.
“Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road…”
Cohen and Ihlen were an item for about a decade and remained close friends over the years. Before she died, Mollestad, fulfilled her wish in writing to Cohen, to let him now Ihlen’s condition.
Within two hours Cohen had replied, as romantic as ever, but with perhaps ominous news for Cohen fans. During the interview Mollestad paraphrased some of what he read to Marianne, from Cohen;
“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. 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…”
On hearing the letter, Ihlen stretched out her hand to Mollestad, as he was reading. Two days later she died. Mollestad said in her final hours he was humming “Bird on a Wire” to her, that was Marianne Ihlen’s favourite song. She said it had been her suggestion to Cohen.
As Mollestad relayed the story yesterday, Cohen was not well at the time, and Marianne, in an effort to cheer him up, took down his guitar, and suggested he write something about the recently installed telegraph wire on Hydra, with a bird on it.
Let’s hope Leonard Cohen does not follow too soon.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.