All Observer extracts compiled by Marie Mazur. All extracts from Leonard Cohen In His Own Words with authorization by Jim Devlin.


Frank Black

I got sucked into my first Leonard Cohen album in a cheap seaside hotel in Spain. I was in the middle of a long tour and I was there on my own. It was one of those hot, depressed weeks; my windows were closed a lot and the shades were drawn. I had just bought the tape of I’m Your Man in a truck stop and I lay there for days on end, listening to it over and over again. I couldn’t believe the discovery I’d made.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


Alain de Botton

When I listen to Leonard Cohen, I am instantly transported back to my first year of university at Cambridge. I was hopelessly in love with a sad-looking girl down the corridor. She was called Claire, but really she was Marianne from “So Long, Marianne”. I’d hum the lyrics on my way to the library and feel that someone out there understood and had been through it, as well.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


John Cale

After I saw him perform at the Beacon I asked if I could have the lyrics to “Hallelujah”. When I got home one night there were fax paper rolls everywhere because Leonard had insisted on supplying all 15 verses. Nobody recognises my version but I always save that song until the end of the set. He and I were chasing after the same woman in London for a time. I called him one morning and she answered – and that was that. It didn’t matter that Cindy was my wife.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


Allen Ginsberg

He gets better as lyric poet as he gets older, sure sign of youthfull mind. (1994)

Jim Devlin: Leonard Cohen In His Own Words, Omnibus Press, 1998.


Don Henley

Leonard has that wonderful ability to make us smile as we are staring into the abyss. I think he is probably the best lyricist in the world today.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


Elton John

Mr. Cohen may be a genius and, equally infuriatingly, a wonderful person. However, I implore anyone who has heard The Future album to desist from telling me how exceptionally brilliant it is. After all, we mere mortals have records to sell, too.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


Kris Kristofferson

In 1970 he appeared on stage in a raincoat and pyjamas at a concert on the Isle of Wight and took 20 minutes to tune up. “They’ll kill him,” I thought. Then he did the damndest thing you ever saw: he charmed the beast. A lone sorrowful voice did what some of the best rockers in the world had tried to do for three days and failed.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


John Peel

I like Leonard Cohen when he’s all stark and grim. He proves that popular music doesn’t have to be up tempo. I’ve got fond memories of driving round Europe listening to Cohen on the eight track with Sheila, my wife, when we first got together. The glumness of “Bird on the Wire” was just right for those damp days driving through the Black Forest.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


Jim Sclavunos

He can render some of life’s seediest and most humiliating moments transcendental. He’s a dirty man and he’s perhaps best listened to in dirty surroundings. Smoking crack on a tour bus listening to New Skin For The Old Ceremony, I thought, “Well, yes, I’ve got to get me some new skin for my old ceremony, too.”

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


Arthur Smith

Leonard Cohen is one of the best comedians around. People think his music is just for slitting your wrists to, but it is actually full of dark, mordant wit. I like vintage Cohen like “Famous Blue Raincoat” where he flirts wittily with all that doom and despair.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited


Kathryn Williams

I love the song “Chelsea Hotel” and I love the fact that he pretended to be Kris Kristofferson to get off with Janis Joplin. He’s just got a fantastic sense of humour. People think he’s depressing, but I think he’s a comic genius.

The Observer (London, England), October 14, 2001

(c) 2001 by Guardian Newspapers Limited