The moment Leonard Cohen knew he was preparing for death
Leonard Cohen was arguably the most poetic musician to ever have lived. In many ways, Cohen superseded the poetry of Bob Dylan, and after all, Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature. So surely, Cohen’s name ought to have at least been in the running for the award.
Like David Bowie, Cohen viewed his inevitable death as an opportunity to capture the very spirit of coming to the end of one’s life. His final records, You Want It Darker and Thanks for the Dance – like Bowie’s Blackstar – explored the difficulty of facing death.
A New Yorker journalist, David Remnick, was able to visit Cohen during his final days, and Cohen proved to be as philosophical as ever. He said: “In a certain sense, this particular predicament is filled with many less distractions than in other periods of my life and actually enables me to work with a little more concentration and continuity. The only thing that mitigates against full production is just the condition of my body.”
Cohen’s health had been quickly deteriorating, and he knew that time was simply running out. He continued: “There are times I just have to lie down. Sometimes it’s just like, ‘You’re losing too much weight now, man. You’re dying, but you don’t have to cooperate so enthusiastically with the process.’ You know, it’s very compassionate at this stage. I mean, more than any time in my life, I don’t have that voice that says, ‘You’re fucking up’. That’s a tremendous blessing, really, you know. Took care of business, and I’m ready to die. I hope it isn’t uncomfortable.”
Ever the artist, Cohen had been writing material even in his final days when he didn’t even have the strength to stand. Evidently, Cohen had some sort of wishes for this last work. He said: “There’s a great deal of new material that I haven’t sorted out. There are songs halfway through that are not bad.”
Cohen then proceeded to recite the lyrics for ‘Listen to the Hummingbird’, which found its place on his final album, Thanks for the Dance. “Listen to the hummingbird, whose wings you cannot see,” he commented. “Listen to the hummingbird, don’t listen to me. Listen to the mind of God, which doesn’t need to be. Listen to the mind of God, don’t listen to me.”
At the time, Cohen was unsure of the future possibilities of the track: “Well, so, it’s halfway. I don’t think I’ll be able to finish those songs. Ah, maybe I’ll get a second wind; I don’t know.”
Thankfully, we were able to listen to the full song in all its majesty with the help of Cohen’s son Adam Cohen, who wrote the music for much of the album.
