I went to one of Leonard Cohen’s rare New York concerts at Paramount 1993 and was amazed at his gritty realistic voice, relaxed in the abdomen, & the elegant ease of irony with which he thanked overzealous screamers & demanders in the audience— The language bitter, disillusioning like a practiced (Buddhist) Yankee-Canadian, always surprising. He gets better as lyric poet as he gets older, sure sign of youthful mind-the lyrics always evidenced amazing twists & turns of spontaneous inspiration at time of original composition-And the organization it takes to assemble a touring show like that! What a huge work! Wish I could do it but I haven’t the skill. I was a little jealous, tho I know it’s all a bony burden on Cohen-yet some kind of Bodhisattva Sambhogakaya vow behind his strength in public across the ocean & here.

March 14, 1994 Midnite

Text is taken from the book, “Take This Walz, A Celebration of Leonard Cohen.” Edited by Michael Fournier and Ken Norris, published by The Muses Company, Ste. Anne de Belleview, Quebec, 1994