THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

196-Leonard Cohen-Suzanne.

1967-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 1.00. By 1967 Leonard Cohen had become disillusioned with his lack of financial success as an author and a poet, so he decided to go to America to pursue a career as a Folk music singer/songwriter, and for that we all say ‘Hallelujah.’

Leonard Norman Cohen was born on September 21st, 1934, in Westmount, Quebec, Canada, he died on November 7th, 2016, at his home in Los Angeles, at the age of 82, with leukemia being a contributing cause. Leonard Cohen was one of those rare musicians, in that he came to recording later in life. Where as many singer/songwriters have given their best by the age of 30, Cohen didn’t record his first Album until the age of 33, that first Album was ‘Songs of Leonard Cohen,’ which features ‘Suzanne’ as track 1, side 1, on the Album. Many of the tracks on the Album had been written as poems many years earlier including ‘Suzanne,’ and many music critics agree the Album is among his greatest works. In total Leonard Cohen issued 15 studio Albums between 1967 through to the posthumous release ‘Thanks for the Dance’ in 2019, there are also eight official live Albums, and four compilation Albums available. Cohen also released a total of 44 singles between 1967-2019, with his only charting single being ‘Hallelujah,’ reaching Number 17 in Canada, Number 36 in the UK, and Number 1 in France.

‘Suzanne’ started out life as a poem which Cohen had written in 1966 about a platonic relationship he had had with Suzanne Verdal. Leonard Cohen has said,’I wrote this in 1966, Suzanne had a room on a waterfront sheet in the port of Montreal, everything happened just as it was put down. She was the wife of a man I knew, her hospitality was immaculate.’ Suzanne Verdal has also offered her recollections,’ Leonard was a friend of my husband, Armand. We were all hanging at the same places in Montreal. By 1965 I had separated from Armand and was living with our little girl. Leonard would come over and I would serve him jasmine tea with mandarin oranges, and light a candle. We were never lovers of the flesh but on a very deep level we were. I had the opportunity more than once, but I respected his work and what he stood for so much, I didn’t want to spoil it. Also, Leonard is an incredibly sexual man! He’s very attractive to women, and I didn’t want to be just one of the crowd.’

In ‘Suzanne’ Leonard Cohen reminisces of the times he and Suzanne Verdal spent together by the harbour in Montreal, and the walks that they would take around Old Montreal past the church of Note-Dame-Bob-Secours, where sailors were blessed before heading out to sea. The songs second verse speaks of Jesus, and how he would watch over the sailors at sea. In my opinion, here Cohen is making a comparison between his love for Suzanne, and the love Jesus has for all the people.

‘And you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind, and you know that she will trust you, for you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.’