The poet of music is gone. Legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen died on Thursday night at the age of eighty-two, a few weeks after the release of his latest album "You want it darker".
Cohen, born in 1934 in Montreal into a Jewish family, was a poet and writer even before being a musician. He experienced success in the late 60s with his first album, simply "Songs of Leonard Cohen", which contained, among others, songs such as "Hey, that's no way to say goodby", "Sister of Mercy", " So Long, Marianne” and “Suzanne”.
His later major hits include the mournful 'Famous blue Raincoat', 'Bird on a wire' and 'Chelsea Hotel no. 2 ”, the song, according to her a little “ rude ”, dedicated to her fleeting love with Janis Joplin, consumed right in a room of the legendary New York hotel. And then "Halleluja", immortalized by hundreds of covers, including those of Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright.
Wandering and reclusive, Cohen lived between Canada, Europe and the United States during his lifetime. Revered by legions of fans, and direct inspiration of Italy's greatest songwriter (Fabrizio De Andrè, who translated four of his songs), he sang of unhappy loves, of women who lead you to their place by the river, where you can hear the boats go by , of tears and laughter, and more tears and laughter, of abysses and ascents. And of the nature of men, who like birds on a thread or worms on a hook, try to be free in some way. May the earth be light on him.
