So long, Marianne

Leonard Cohen's muse was Marianne Ilhen, a woman who he met in 1960 and was in a relationship for a few years in 1960s, often describing her as the most beautiful woman he ever met, writing many songs about her on his albums and dedicating many poems and poem books to her.
When he found out she was dying of leukemia in July 2016, he wrote her a one final letter:

>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.

A beautiful ending letter. What an amazing feeling of love lasting for more than 50 years. He said that love for some people never disappears.

Listen to "So Long, Marianne" from Cohen's 1967 debut:
youtube.com/watch?v=cZI6EdnvH-8
It's always been my favorite from the album.

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>said in 1992

This made me cry.

Christgau said the only guy he knew who ever tried to hit on his wife was a LC fan, so he was a little schizy about his music for a while.

cohen is such a beautiful person

he's the only person i can think of who strikes me as a proper role model

photo of them together