Leonard Cohen, Suzanne - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction

[@LeeKennison]

Several people seem to be obsessed over criticizing Amy for thinking Suzanne was a homeless person. How is Amy supposed to know the story of the real Suzanne unless Vlad put it into the background information she reads? Based on the lyrics at the end that was a perfectly valid interpretation for Amy to make. There is nothing wrong with people letting Amy know about the real story of Suzanne, but the tone of a lot of these is that it should have been obvious to Amy that she wasn't homeless. Their favorite argument seems to be that a homeless person would never offer somebody tea and oranges from China, as if a homeless person is incapable of doing something generous with relatively inexpensive items. Or that only wealthy people live by the river, which ignore the reality in many big cities with people living on the streets, including by rivers. Poetic lyrics are meant to be interpreted, which is something I would think fans of Leonard Cohen would understand.

[@kevanbodsworth9868]

True and Canada has more in the way of room than Europe for example ,for less conformist people--

[@vincentdumont-mackay7142]

Being a Montrealer, I would add that, in the 60’s, the Old Port district was far from wealthy, even though it has been heavily gentrified since then :)

[@brunosm.l2267]

But also, Suzanne wasn't literally homeless or a prostitute, but didn't she lived in a furnished wagon (I don't know what the name is in English, carriage), and she was kind of a failed actress, dancer, worked in a circus or something like that? There's actually a minidocumentary about and with her on youtube. I think is from 2019, and she still lived in one of those.

[@TheFireMonkey]

I don't know about others, but I was not criticizing - I was informing, just as I would want to be informed if I were in her position. That's why I started by saying I could understand why she had that image, because if you don't know anything but the lyrics, what she assumed is perhaps the most logical thing to assume. To me, providing the information as to who Susanne was, even just the fact that she was a real person and not a made up character, is not a criticism, it is a sharing of knowledge.

[@jaxvoice718]

According to an account of the life of Suzanne Verdal, she did become homeless for a period, but well after this song. Look for "Suzanne’s Mirror - Reflections on a Homeless Muse"

[@CORNELIUSDOOLEY]

Cohen wrote the words and music for this song. Judy Collins recorded the song to help him with his career, since he was so afraid to perform in public. The live version with Judy is she helping him overcome his fear of performing.

[@Oron-n5l]

I grew up in Montreal, Leonard Cohen's hometown. As a young man, I lived and worked Downtown and often took walks in the Old Harbour region, which is within and around Old Montreal, with its cobblestone streets and charming buildings, still in great condition and in use after hundreds of years. By the 1980s, the Old Harbour was being renovated and apartments were being bought by movie stars and millionaires. In the 1960s, for a young woman to clothe herself with second-hand clothes was mod and stylish. It still is today, too. (Check out Rod Stewart's gorgeous version of "Handbags and Gladrags".) Leonard himself lived North of the Harbour, uphill on Plateau Mont Royal, an enclave of Montreal with a high concentration of creative artists. Cohen's next-door neighbours were the McGarrigle Sisters, two world-famous Folk singers. The son of one of them is famous Pop-Cabaret singer Rufus Wainwright, godson of Cohen. The denizens of the Plateau are generally not rich but they are able to live in one of Canada's coolest neighbourhoods, surrounded by some of the best foods anywhere: Montreal bagels and Montreal Smoked Meat. My point is that Suzanne was not necessarily a "low woman", nor particularly poor nor dependent upon alms or the goodwill of men who would use her. She was a free, independent Hippie girl, living at the right time and the right place to enjoy life to its fullest. You might call Suzanne and Leonard a couple of young Bohemians of the 1960s and '70s. ---- OronOfMontreal

[@gerainthall1941]

Words & Music by Leonard Cohen!

[@heimogeske6169]

Suzanne, the inspiration of that song was not a homeless person - so wiki tells: ""Suzanne" was inspired by Cohen's platonic relationship with dancer Suzanne Verdal. Its lyrics describe the rituals that they enjoyed when they met: Suzanne would invite Cohen to visit her apartment by the harbour in Montreal, where she would serve him Constant Comment tea, and they would walk around Old Montreal past the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, where sailors were blessed before heading out to sea.

[@shelleybleu4903]

Wearing rags and feathers was very avant-garde in those days, so was Suzanne.

[@petermuller6359]

The KZbin-algorithm just brought me here. AND I AM FASCINATED! Fascinated by this project and by Amy Shafer. I'm about to discover my own music (I'm a Queen-, Dire Straits-, Doors- and Pink Floyd-afficionado, and I absolutely love Freddie Mercury) through Amy's eyes, who is an absolute music insider and at the same time a rock music novice: a most fascinating journey. I experience "my" music in a new way. I'm captivated by the facial expressions, gesturing and deep musical knowledge of Amy. She is so beautifully enthusiastic and open-minded. I will spend many hours beside the fire, earphones on, listening to music and let Amy explain me what I've missed so far.

[@w.geoffreyspaulding6588]

You’re certainly in for many treats! Welcome aboard! 😁👋

[@brunosm.l2267]

Cohen showed her the song with the guitar before haveing recorded it, then Judy recorded it, but it was already composed. Then Leonard recorded it on his first album. 🙂

[@gwengoodwin3992]

"Our lady of the harbor" is a statue atop the dome of the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours chapel in Montreal.

[@Tuning_Spork]

Huh. I always heard (or assumed?) that the Lady of the Harbor was the Statue of Liberty and that the song is set in New York, where Cohen was living at the time. Either one works. 🙃

[@nickm8494]

@@Tuning_Spork No it's definitely the former; the river in the song is the The St. Lawrence River, Montreal.

[@brunosm.l2267]

​​@@Tuning_Spork Lady of the Harbor is clearly a religious image, Catholic to be more specific, mostly representing Virgin Mary. Is quite the opposite of the Statue of Liberty, which as the name shows represents more Liberal values than a religious one.

[@thistribe]

the older I get the more this man speaks to me, I remember hearing this song for the first time when I was about 13 and being rather scared by the depth of the darkness within Cohen's songs, now being 56 the darkness has a gentle warmth that I find strangely uplifting ... there's at least one consolation of getting older, Leonard Cohen.

[@Oron-n5l]

"My friends are gone and my hair is grey / And I ache in the places I used to play..." --- L. Cohen

[@sunltcloud]

And I am 86 and have never paid too much attention to Leonard Cohen until a couple of months ago; I now adore him, his poetry, and his music. ❤️

[@frankpentangeli7945]

Cohen wrote the words AND the music.

[@rayalevesque]

Leonard Cohen, was a poet who made records. Everyone hip in his era loved his songs and sang them.

[@richdiddens4059]

As far as Hallelujah goes, he once claimed to have written more than 50 or 60 verses to the song before ever recording it.

[@lyncalerdine8169]

Judy Collins was a fairly well-known folk singer by 1966. At that point she did not write her own songs and was always seeking new song writers. A mutual friend suggested that Leonard Cohen read/sing some of his works for her to see if they had potential as songs. At this point Cohen did not perform or sing in public. Collins was greatly impressed with Cohen's work, and she recorded "Suzanne" and another Cohen song on her 1966 album "In My Life," which is considered one of Collins best works. She also encouraged him to record and to overcome his shyness to perform in public. He encouraged her to begin writing her own songs, which she did on her next album, "Wildflowers" which also contains a song from another then unknown Canadian songwriter. That songwriter was the unknown Joni Michell and Collins recorded Michell's song "Both Sides Now" a year before Mitchell released her own version. Collins had her first top ten hit with Both Sides Now - and Mitchell was jealous that Collins had the hit with Mitchell's song. Collins is now in her 80's and still performs about 100 shows per year. Last year she released her 40th studio album - Cohen would be proud of her because it was her first album where she wrote all the songs.

[@fredrickroll06]

I think this is the authentic story, as described above: Collins was fascinated by Cohen's work, and it was her cover version of "Suzanne" that made Cohen famous.

[@erickvermeulen9734]

I first heard the song in a Dutch version, sung by legend Herman van Veen around 1969. The translation is beautiful, and the voice of Herman van Veen too.

[@w.geoffreyspaulding6588]

Her voice is still quite beautiful….amazingly so. Baez was pretty “( kiddingly) annoyed with her when they sang together, as Collins could still reach the high notes that Baez no longer could. 😁

[@erickvermeulen9734]

@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 Ah, I remember that one of my sisters loved Joan Baez singing Donna Donna, such a beautiful soprano voice.

[@jnagarya519]

The "In My Life" was a cover of "The Beatles'" song.

[@JoanneTelling1]

Wow. I'm so pleased you're reviewing Leonard Cohen, my all time favourite songwriter and general wonderful human being. And also one of the funniest people in music, despite his gloomy reputation. May it be the first of many.

[@davemacmurchie6982]

Hear, hear! I envy Amy for the prospect of discovering Cohen, something I did in the late '60s and continue to delight in.

[@ronbock8291]

I saw Leonard Cohen on his final concert tour. It was unbelievably intimate and beautiful, even though it was in a large hockey arena. The sound was the best I’ve ever heard in a stadium setting, the band was perfection, and Leonard was so very generous.

[@anon-ed5wf]

You lucky man!

[@RuiBarEdits2]

Original song written and composed by Leonard Cohen.

[@richardgale5369]

I hung out with Leonard back in the early 80s since we were both hardcore students of the same Japanese Zen teacher, Joshu Sasaki Roshi. Leonard was an extremely humble being The song is solely credited to Cohen on Judy Collins album.. Leonard wrote the music. in fact, Collins' early career was only reproducing other people's songs, not her own. I dont recall her writing any songs on her 66 album. It was not uncommon in the mid-60s for musicians and bands to write a lot of songs and have others cover them before they did themselves. For example, Marianne Faithful recorded the Rolling Stones song As Tears Go By before the Stones released it on their own. Many examples of that. I remember my high school teacher in 1969 having us analyze Susanne... People back then often thought Suzanne represented Mary Magdelene.

[@lshwadchuck5643]

Thanks for the humble reminiscence! We studied his poetry in high school in the 60s and I read Beautiful Losers at Art College, but honestly I really got turned onto him by Jennifer Warnes album Famous Blue Raincoat. Then I bought his whole catalogue and he's been my favourite musician ever since,

[@41Forethought]

Jennifer Warnes "Famous Blue Raincoat" Cohen cover album is otherworldly - even better than those by Judy Collins IMHO! 💕

[@lshwadchuck5643]

@@41Forethought Hands down!

[@papercup2517]

On the subject of the song, IIRC Suzanne Verdal was actually the wife of a friend of his and had a very nice apartment near the harbour in Montreal, where she served him that elegant China tea flavoured with orange peel and spices. The 'rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters' is not meant to suggest homelessness or extreme poverty, but rather a Bohemian free spirit, part of the 40s-60s Beat / pre-hippie movement, who dressed in vintage finds not just for their cheapness but in appreciation of their aesthetics, a preference that was rather more unusual and therefore remarkable then than it is these days. And, remember, a lot of the old, discarded stuff you could find in charity shops in the 60s was from the 30s and 40s and was sometimes incredibly beautiful, including gorgeous drapey hand made silk velvet and embroidered satin dresses, scarves, old feather boas. etc. Perfect for any would-be urban gypsy or poet's muse... Similarly, her artistic eye picked out and shared with Leonard the special wonders that might be seen by a sensitive and imaginative person, amidst the humdrum life of the harbour - faces in the seaweed and garbage at the water's edge, hidden architectural carvings of cherubs, and so on... Even if she might have come across to some as a little crazy or eccentric, Leonard obviously loved being in her company for the relatively brief period they were friends. According to her reminiscences, they never actually made love physically but it may have been on both their minds at some stage. Touching each other's perfect bodies with their minds... except, IIRC, according to her, it was all pretty much Leonard's mind and her body! Last thing I heard about her, she was a dancer, living in a restored traditional gypsy caravan somewhere, maybe in California... Do check out some more Leonard Cohen; he has an incredible catalogue.

[@lshwadchuck5643]

Thanks for saying what I thought must be something like the truth. I've read his biographies but I'm rusty.

[@heliotropezzz333]

I think Suzanne just lives a Bohemian lifestyle.

[@T-bone1950]

Yes. When she is described as wearing rags and feathers the image of Janis Joplin wearing a feathered boa and leaning on the graffiti covered Porsche immediately flashed in my head.

[@rabbitfishtv]

That’s how I’ve always felt, and so I bristled at this interpretation, but I think she has a point. There is a definite shift in the narrator’s understanding of Suzanne over the course of this song. I’m thinking that seeing her as just another sweet hippie vagrant is kind of a bourgeois view of the song, and it’s actually deeper than that.

[@dlbwoodbury]

I agree. This was the heart of the bohemian neighbourhood that was in Vieux Montréal (Old Montreal) in the sixties. I believe a he was a hippie, not a homeless person.

[@heliotropezzz333]

@@dlbwoodbury She

[@geopapa80]

Leonard Cohen was such a great composer and poet. Consider the song "if it be your will" next time you'll revisit his music. One of the greatest songs of all time

[@TubetakerBHV]

One of the most beautiful songs ever written. ❤

[@letsgomets002]

Not really

[@ricardo_miguel13]

if not the best..

[@dwhite849]

made me buy a guitar in 1966

[@victordevonshire807]

I don't think that is simple? That is beauty. Nelson Algren stood up for the people who didn't have a voice and Leonard carried that message. ❤

[@Dan-dg9pi]

One small vignette that says it all: when U2's guitar player, Edge, had the chance to play in the Sistine Chapel for a group of people gathered on the subject of regenerative medicine, the song he chose was Leonard Cohen's "If It Be Your Will", one of the most beautiful and soulful pieces of music ever composed.

[@w.geoffreyspaulding6588]

Wow…I’ll have to check that out……if I can find it….

[@jl4324]

Fun fact: Nancy Priddy sang the beautiful backup vocals on the original version. She is an accomplished actress and mother of Christina Applegate

[@DavidPChristian2]

Amy, if you'd like to hear Cohen speak singing, beautifully, about a complicated relationship you'll enjoy the oddly titled Famous Blue Raincoat.

[@millermful]

Cohen wrote the music which was adapted for the Collins release of the song. Also, consider the often used image of "water" in its various forms as Cohen, from Montreal, spent much time pondering the wonders of the St. Lawrence and then lived many years on Greek islands surrounded by the Aegean.

[@gino88]

I got into Leonard Cohen in the 90s in my 20s, based on a review written by Alternative Press about his greatest hits collection. The sentence that hooked me was “They should hand out Leonard Cohen’s greatest hits to every college graduate instead of diplomas upon graduation, it will serve them better throughout their lives.” Needless to say I had to see what this man was all about.

[@acidsupernova]

Funnily enough, the first time I listened to Leonard Cohen was when I bought the Greatest Hits on LP after graduating college in the early 2000s. I was spell-bound. I suppose that's my way of saying that I agree with that quote!

[@gino88]

@@acidsupernova I love that validating story.

[@eh1702]

It’s like Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street (have you looked at that one?) in the way the lyrics are so like speech, like hearing half of a conversarion.

[@Syntax753]

I grew up listening to Cohen in mid 1980s, as a 6-10 back year old as my mum played him on repeat. I didn't speak English at the time. What a great analysis of this song! Thank you!

[@phightowerv]

I don’t know how the “You Tube Gods” guided me to your wonderful site but I’m very grateful. These songs that you review were instrumental in my life. To have someone with your incredible talent listen to them with “fresh eyes” is a total joy. 👍❤️🙂

[@alanarakelian5021]

Two words that best define this song -- haunting and hypnotic.

[@platformzero1731]

Leonard Cohen - according to the liner notes on his Greatest Hits album - sang it to Judy Collins over the telephone. She didn't compose the song, but used his harmony and melody.

[@platformzero1731]

Oh, and I can see why you might have come to the conclusion that Suzanne was a homeless person, but - again, according to Leonard Cohen himself - she was the wife of a man he knew. I think the thing about 'rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters' is more intended to paint of picture of her bohemianism and eccentricity.

[@marie-claudelenoir8713]

Leonard Cohen is one of the greatest poets of our time. You have to listen to his whole works..

[@franchk8372]

There was nothing 'middle of the road' about Leonard Cohen, which will become obvious once you explore his music. Suzanne was one of the first songs I ever heard from Cohen. I have always loved it. 💙🕊☮

[@brianmac1]

Back in the day, we put Leonard on the Hi Fi at low volume at 3am at the end of a party, the last stragglers chatting quietly amongst the empty bottles and overflowing ashtrays.

[@JoanneTelling1]

Words and music 'sincerely L.Cohen.'

[@elenhin]

"Suzanne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s. First published as a poem in 1966, it was recorded as a song by Judy Collins in the same year, and Cohen performed it as his debut single, from his 1967 album Songs of Leonard Cohen. Many other artists have recorded versions, and it has become one of the most covered songs in Cohen's catalogue. On another note, I have always thought she was homeless too. Homeless or poor people can be the most generous warm souls you'll ever find, so I don't see why it would be strange to think so if you hear the lyrics for the first time.

[@foxandscout]

I first came to Leonard Cohen both through his book Beautiful Losers (1966) and Judy Collins’s covers of several of his songs. (Also, Buffy Sainte-Marie sang/recorded a few paragraphs from Beautiful Losers, “God Is Afoot, Magic Is Alive, 1969.) I was in my early teens. A few years later, when I was in college, I saw him perform in a small club (NYC) and again in a few more years in small club in NYC. He became one of my very favorite male poet/singers, along with Eric Andersen (watch a fairly recent bio called Song/Poet) and of course Bob Dylan, both who still perform. I saw Cohen’s farewell performance (Brooklyn) and it was mesmerizing. He played for three hours! Yes, magic was afoot.

[@Ki11erAce]

I was always a bit ambivalent about Leonard Cohen. I thought he was a brilliant poet, but not so great a singer.... and then I saw a video of one of his performances and I was blown away. All he did was stand at the microphone and sing, but there was so much raw power and emotion, and I was held enraptured for the entire show.

[@waywrdsun]

Love Leonard Cohen. One of the best songwriters ever. Up there with John Prine, Bob Dylan, and Tom Waits--all very different in their styles, and all amazing lyricists.

[@mikelistman5263]

Cohen was a poet; his lyrics are poetry and "musical" in their own right.

[@wilhelmbeermann2424]

Dylan called Cohen's songs as prayers. They were close friends...if there's friendship in music business at all. Both my favourite male lyricists in music ❤🎉

[@stevenmeyer9674]

@@wilhelmbeermann2424 They were fans of each other, not sure how good of friends they were, given that both were really reclusive.

[@Samuel-sg2iv]

Leonard Cohen is king.

[@LaturneDictum]

Hearing a master of music that is a novice of Leonard respond to this song is truly wonderful.

[@thekaratekidpartii2169]

You must listen to "Songs from a Room" by Cohen. It's just a beautiful album that plays like an old fashioned book of poems. It's brilliant. While you're at it, maybe give Tom Waits a go... and Nick Cave.

[@fredrickroll06]

I discovered Cohen when his first record came out in 1967, and was immediately hooked. Cohen's poetry is ALWAYS hypnotizing - no matter whether one understands any "cognitve" meaning "behind" it!

[@ulfingvar1]

There are soooo many wonderful Cohen songs to enjoy and react to.. and with time his voice REALLY deepened.. 😁

[@JCPJCPJCP]

He was a lifelong smoker.

[@frankpentangeli7945]

Poetry flowed out of Cohen like that river he sings about. If you can find the recording of a conversation he had with Irving Layton (another extraordinary Jewish Canadian poet from Montreal), you may get overwhelmed as I did by the intoxicating poetic and lyrical content the two of them were surrounded and imbued by in their daily lives. And they were not reciting poems they wrote ... they were just talking. But they carry you away to a higher plane of beauty and consciousness simply by using words. It's astounding.

[@joed1950]

Cohen's song, The Future is his prescient masterpiece. The Stranger too. Oh, Sisters Of Mercy is one too. Your interpretations are wonderful, thank you.

[@ChristianRThomas]

I don't think it matters what you label this song, or what genre it's going to come under, you're just going to like it because it's damned good, has great lyrics and takes you to that place of connection with your lover. A fantastic and surprisingly unadorned song that hits the spot as well today as it did 45 years ago.

[@johna6767]

This is such a hauntingly beautiful song it's practically impossible for me to listen to it without shedding tears.

[@ncmathsadist]

"the garbage and the flowers". a powerful passage. In the end, the nobility of Suzanne shines.

[@PK--ITA]

His songs and his work are a masterpiece... "So long, Marianne", "Famous Blue Raincoat", "Like a Bird".... 😥😥😥

[@forthedisenfranchised4366]

We all want to meet Suzanne, and we all want to take that walk beside the harbour.

[@rogereveratt2018]

As others have pointed out, there was a real Suzanne, but in this song she is part of a composite figure which might be best described as a Muse. Where she leads, the poet follows....

[@mickfoster7140]

Simple, elegant and timeless but overall such an utterly beautiful song.

[@nickdomenicos5987]

His song "Suzanne" became a hit for Judy Collins (who subsequently recorded a number of Cohen's other songs), and was for many years his most recorded song. Collins recalls that when she first met him, he said he could not sing or play the guitar, nor did he think "Suzanne" was even a song: And then he played me "Suzanne" ... I said, "Leonard, you must come with me to this big fundraiser I'm doing" ... Jimi Hendrix was on it. He'd never sung [in front of a large audience] before then. He got out on stage and started singing. Everybody was going crazy-they loved it. And he stopped about halfway through and walked off the stage. Everybody went nuts. ... They demanded that he come back. And I demanded; I said, "I'll go out with you." So we went out, and we sang it. And of course, that was the beginning. -Judy Collins She first introduced him to television audiences during one of her shows in 1966,[31] where they performed duets of his songs

[@scott3744]

Looking forward to more Leonard Cohen, you're doing great 👍🙂

[@69Mucci]

What I love about you Amy is that you truly show us the beauty in a song. "Suzanne" is a song I already loved, but you have a way of describing it... and this is obviously based off of your first hearing of it (and of LC himself)... that makes me appreciate it even more. All I can say is that if you liked this song, you will no doubt like many other songs of Leonard's. He was one of the greats.

[@rabbitfishtv]

Judy Collins and Leonard Cohen were performing in the same folk music circuit in the mid 60s, along with Joni Mitchell and others. They were learning songs from each other. Collins also recorded and released a version of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” before Mitchell herself did.

[@roybarbara4756]

Also instrumental in Cohens career perhaps more so than Collins was Jennifer Warnes whose stunning tribute album "Famous Blue Raincoat" of all Cohen songs is remarkable and features a song that they wrote together. One of my favorite albums of all time.

[@J0hnC0ltrane]

Leonard Cohen began music in 1966 the same year Judy Collins recorded Suzanne! I remember this song on AM radio, along with The Doors, Frank Sinatra and the Strawberry Alarm Clock..... Radio was ecumenical. I memorized the lyrics because they felt of sacred or eternal. A true artist among those that aspired to that level. That you for choosing Leonard.

[@KyleS.1987]

Can't wait to watch when I get home from work tomorrow. Leonard Cohen was a master of his craft, an incredible songwriter.

[@Accam570]

Leonard Cohen: Dance Me to the End of Love. Official video - 179 million views.

[@DanielRamirez-ce8ic]

I was about 20 years old when I first heard this song. I loved it. To me Suzanne was simple a young, spirited, independent, woman. She wasn’t trying to lure into a settled life of marriage and children. She was for a mutual honoring of the love they feel for each other. In the sixties this was a radical and frightening shift from middle class ideal relationship. I think a lot of us boys wanted this new sexual freedom but didn’t quite understand the deeper connection that an authentic love demands of you. I took the song as a challenge to pursue the highs and lows of a love that holds the mirror

[@scott3744]

There's nobody like Leonard... 👍😎

[@hermanbusschots]

Thanks for that! According to ChatGPT Leonard Cohen wrote both lyrics and the melody for Suzanne. It's easy to get carried away with this song even without fully understanding it.

[@ddbtdd]

More than a poem or a song. Such a beautiful creation.

[@vincentdumont-mackay7142]

Suzanne was inspired by Suzanne Verdal, wife of Montreal sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. Cohen apparently had a platonic relationship with her. She lived in Montreal’s Old Port district. Our Lady of the Harbor is a statue of the Virgin Mary that stands atop a church in that neighborhood, facing the Saint-Lawrence River. :)

[@dominiquebilodeau2225]

Oui! I had the pleasure to meet M. Vaillancourt once, he was quite charming and so lovely to talk to. 😊

[@ptrlxc]

I love Jennifer Warnes' album Famous Blue Raincoat, which covers Leonard Cohen's songs. The 2 songs I love the most is First We Take Manhattan that has Stevie Ray Vaughan playing on that song, and Joan of Arc, which has Leonard Cohen singing with Jennifer Warnes.

[@lshwadchuck5643]

That album turned me and my then boyfriend onto Cohen's music, so we bought the whole catalogue. As Canadian boomers we knew his poetry and novels from school.

[@w.geoffreyspaulding6588]

I believe this is your introduction to Judy Collins. Just know that’s although you not see it here because she is matching Cohen’s voice, that her voice is capable of GREAT power and range. A wonderful folk singer.

[@GigiPerla]

Suzanne was the first song I've learned to play on guitar. And then I've learned all the rest. :) So long Marianne, Hey that's no way to say goodbye, Master song,, Sisters of mercy etc. The chords and his fingerpicking-style are beautiful!

[@wilhelmbeermann2424]

I've done the same...❤🎉

[@davidjohns4745]

My ex wife Marianne and her sister Suzanne. Their mother was a fan.

[@Dan-tk5zs]

I love the fact that Cohen's music touches us all in different ways. This is the sign of a real artist. Are we supposed to know everything about Monet before appreciating his paintings? Or the beauty of his work stands by itself? I don't know, and I really don't care as long as the work itself touches me in a meaningful way... regardless of all the "real truth". Thank you!!

[@ErnestoAlfaroMoreno]

Leonard was an amazing poet, and his life was very interesting. To me, the Best poet in music.

[@COHEN760]

Thank you for sharing this song. I am a Leonard Cohen fan, and of course this is one of the best. Listening to you with your interpretation has moved me, it's like talking to a friend.

[@RayWint-od9uj]

I was fortunate to see Leonard Cohen on three occasions when he started performing live again. His concerts were an amazing experiance. Never had I attended concerts where the audience sat and listenened in almost total silence as they did at his concerts. The concert he did at the O2 arena in London is something that stays with me to this day it was truely a magical experiance.

[@jnagarya519]

"Suzanne" was a real person, and not homeless. She was a bit older than Cohen -- he looked up to her. She was a "free spirit" -- not what you imagine. There wasn't a sexual relationship. But the other songs on his first LP -- "Song of Leonard Cohen" -- are all about sex. And during one of his performance during his last major tour, in the middle of a song he said, "The beast has been tamed" -- and the audience knew what he meant. "Hallelujah," when uncensored, has some explicit sexual lines in it.

[@WoodyGamesUK]

What I like specifically about the music of Leonard Cohen (while the lyrics are the main focus for many people) is that the compositions are simple but they don't use cliches found in most popular music. In other words the songs can be repetitive (like a lot of folk music) but never boring. He always manages to find interesting and surprising combinations of chords and melodies (thanks to his incredible creativity).

[@RandomPersonOnTheWeb]

I am so happy to hear you're doing an entire weekend of Leonard Cohen! I will be interested to hear your thoughts on both his lyrics and the music, I find poets-turned-songwriters to have a very interesting perspective in their songs. "Suzanne" is one of his songs that I did not care for much as a child, but that really touches me as an adult. I really enjoyed your description of the lyrics as "semi-religious". I think that's the part that I (as a child of atheist parents) did not care for, but that I as an adult can really appreciate; It's like Cohen (a jewish man who later studied buddhism) takes this christian imagery and connects it with a universal/trans-religious sense of humanity and empathy.

[@Devoid_Freud]

This is Leonard Cohen's song, words and music. One of my favourite things about Cohen's poetry is the way he blends the religious/sacred and the profane/worldly. What a treat to hear Leonard sing it with Judy Collins. I love her voice too.

[@altair8598]

Love this song, so happy that Vlad is choosing some more melodic ones now. Hope Amy finds it interesting. Cohen is one of Canada's finest, along with Joni and Neil.

[@JCPJCPJCP]

And Gordon. And Ian and Sylvia.

[@JoanneTelling1]

And not forgetting Captain Kirk.

[@DrStrangelove3891]

Cohen always writes about love, religion, sex, death and politics. A lot of his songs, like this one and Hallelujah, mix 2 or more of these themes together.

[@viceroyzh]

Very well done to have started this journey with Suzanne, his first song. Now you can go on from there and react to all the others, one by one. 🙂

[@jackbackband7733]

Love this reaction.

[@carlhannah1884]

Probably my favorite songwriter, with all apologies to Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. No one explores sex and spirituality in quite the same way. There are complete shows from his 1985 and 1988 tours that were recorded from the FM broadcast (back when countries made you do that when you sold out their large venues) and they are 3 hours of perfection with everyone in the audience spellbound.

[@ArgyleGT]

Leonard Cohen is exceptional. I suspect he will soon become a favourite of yours. He is a word and thought wizard. There are so many brilliant songs to discover. Two that come to mind are “You want it darker” and “Tower of Song” x

[@vanyadolly]

Great to see you react to Cohen! I wasn't expecting it since his lyrics are usually the focus of his music. I think your interpretation is spot on. Even though the real Suzanne wasn't exactly homeless, that's the sentiment a bohemian lifestyle portrays. To look at the fringes of society with an eye for beauty.

[@LeeKennison]

Great to see you react to Leonard Cohen, with a good example of his early work. I had a feeling that you might already be aware of his Hallelujah. He was a gifted poetic songwriter and artist who was admired by Bob Dylan. You had some interesting and insightful commentary on the lyrics and music, along with on the poetic songwriting techniques and flow. I liked your observation on the humanity within Suzanne, and that we don't want to make the mistake of stereotyping or always following the assumptions of society. I'm glad you got to see the live performance at the end, although I wish you would have paid more attention to Judy Collins, who made this song popular, instead of talking over her. But still a great reaction overall.

[@splitimage137.]

Hey Lee! Leonard Cohen is a name I've always heard, but never knew who he was. Amy is my favorite way to be introduced to a new artist.

[@LeeKennison]

@@splitimage137. Hey Split! Yeah, pretty much the same here, until more recently (through KZbin) when I have become more familiar with his work (including this song). I wish I would have been more aware of him earlier in my life since I really do like his music and lyricism, and because I have always been a Dylan fan I think I would have connected with Cohen's music back in the day. But I still have barely scratched the surface of his catalog. I agree, Amy has introduced me to a few along the way that were new to me, several of which I have liked.

[@Upe-f9c]

Lovely song and a great reaction as always. Since there are references to Jesus in the song the words "whoever is without sin, cast the first stone" come to mind, that also deals with a woman who is looked down upon.

[@karenframer8342]

I heard Suzannee 50 years ago on Judy Collins album along with Hey that's no way to say goodbye. Loved them all my life.

[@joelmoreno4223]

Thank you Virgin Rock for your insightful, thought provoking reaction. I was never a big Leonard Cohen fan, but I always found his music very interesting, but now in my 'golden years' even more so, one of my big regrets, not seeing him in concert in Los Angeles (maybe a year or two) before he passed away. I'm looking forward to your other Leonard Cohen reactions, see you then!

[@garysosa5592]

One of your best, right up there with Cortez the Killer! The archetypal themes play out through his repertoire, his last album is evocative and provocative, with lyrics like "you want it darker, we kill the flames." I am in awe of this man. Edited for the end: I was listening while typing, your harp accompaniment is much appreciated.

[@merzan]

Congratulations! You have stumbled onto the greatest lyricist of pop/folk rock ever. Can you find the most poignant lyric excerpt from Leonard's composition, "The Window?"

[@thundernels]

Thank you so much for reviewing Leonard Cohen! He has some of the most remarkable lyrics in popular song. I love the “voice of God” live versions as he aged over many of the studio recordings in the 80s and early 90s. Bob Dylan may have won the Nobel Prize for Literature as a singer/songwriter, but I would contend that Leonard Cohen would be another worthy recipient of the award, if the award continued to be handed to songwriters. With the possible exception of “Death of a Ladies Man,” I don’t think he ever put a bad record. He makes the very most of a limited vocal range to sound insightful and often haunting.

[@thundernels]

Leonard Cohen was a well-regarded poet and novelist before he tried his hand at songwriting. As you noted, Cohen was older than many of his folk contemporaries and often drew from musical traditions outside of folk. Judy Collins was more established at the time in music, but she had impeccable taste in what to cover. She did wonders in bringing people such as Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell to the fore. She tells of a time she met with Cohen and how much she was overwhelmed by his songs he presented one right after the other. Cohen said he turned to music because he wanted to find a wider audience for his poetry.

[@MOLLOYALLOY]

Death of a Ladies Man has some good songs but the production lets it down

[@thundernels]

@@MOLLOYALLOY I agree. Phil Spector was not a good match, and I hear the recording sessions were erratic and tumultuous. Luckily, he rebounded quickly with Recent Songs. The arrangements on that album and the “Field Commander Cohen: Tour or 1979” are breathtaking. Most of us have accepted the albums for what they are, but it is interesting how marred several albums of Cohen’s albums are by production, yet many of his live albums are so refined and restrained, and usually better versions.

[@lshwadchuck5643]

I have them all, had Death of a Lady's Man, got rid of it. Yes, blame Phil Spector.

[@GilfordMeeks]

When I was young (back in the early 1970s) I called my local radio station every morning to request this song. FWIW I never imagined Suzanne as a bag lady. I thought she was just a hippy chick, possibly a rich babe who had made a lifestyle choice. As always, a wonderful analysis, Mrs. Shafer!

[@eh1702]

Possibly more Taxi Driver waif than bag lady.

[@yinoveryang4246]

Thats more accurate yes, kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4qbYYVohcdqgqc

[@p4r4n0id_4ndr0id]

He wrote lyrics and song for Suzanne. It's in a doc called Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song

[@margaretposner1401]

That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that song. It’s gorgeous. I need to explore Leonard Cohen more

[@michaellaporte4951]

I was hoping this would be a weekend's exploration; Cohen is, for my money, one of the finest poets to ever grace the music scene.

[@jordancrosno9711]

Loved your harp additions at the end!

[@frankylaseure2641]

all these lists put Leonard Cohen "somewhere in the middle". Have I ever been disappointed by lists ... I was lucky enough to have seen him on a concert a few years before he passed away. Still cherish that memory.

[@MrWhimsician]

I am enjoying your videos and appreciate your analysis of one of my father's (and my!) favorite songs. I was enjoyed your analysis and reading of the lyrics; I would offer a different view of the figure of Suzanne though. Remember that this text is from the mid sixties, and Leonard was a troubadour for the young 'beatnik' kids and budding hippies. The style of that era was heavily thrift store/DIY and so Suzanne is nothing more or less than a young hippie woman, who is a little nuts probably, but certainly a free spirit. These were a young, brash, artistic type of woman that I was surrounded with as a youngster as my mother was certainly one of them. My Dad is now 80, a poet and now a budding songwriter, and my mother passed away recently. This song will always bring me back to my childhood living room, and the Zenith turntable, and my mothers perfume. And I always cry a little when I hear it.