Iconic Muso / Wordsmith Leonard Cohen Has Died At The Age Of 82

Leonard Cohen, one of the greatest artists of this and the last century, has passed away at the age of 82.

A post on his public Facebook page announced the news earlier today.

“It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away,” it read. “We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries.

“A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief.”

Cohen, whose collection of works spanned 14 studio albums, eight live albums, two novels and a collection of poems, alluded to his own death in a letter this year, to longtime muse Marianne Ihlen, who inspired ‘So Long, Marianne‘ and ‘Bird on the Wire‘, and who died on July 29 this year.

According to Ihlen’s friend Jan Christian Mollestad, the legendary singer-songwriter-poet wrote the beautiful letter to Ihlen two hours after learning of her looming death from leukemia.

“It said, ‘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,” he told the CBC.

“‘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.’”

Vale Leonard Cohen.

Photo: Getty / Michael Putland.

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