Gee, I wrote up a long discussion of 'The Captain' from Various_Positions,
but I apparently saved the draft in /tmp :-). Dumb move ...


Oh well, let me ask this -- has Cohen ever been married and does he
have any children?

> > >   Oh well, let me ask this -- has Cohen ever been married and does he
> > >   have any children?
>
> Off the top of my head I truly can't remember. But I'll check it out.
>
> >
> > Olof (another list subscriber) had a conversation a while back about
> > Cohen's long-term relationships. Olof seemed to know a little more
> > than I about Cohen's biographical background, and I think he said he
> > had an article or book chapter that might provide more info. What I
> > remember is that Cohen lived with a woman (Marianne?) for many years
> > on the Greek isle of Hydra, around the late '60s and into the '70s.
> > I believe they had at least two children.
>
> Yes he did live on Hydra with Marianne but if memory serves me right
> the kids that they had there were hers from her marriage that she
> is reported to have walked out on when she met Cohen. I also vaguely
> remember there were two Mariannes.
>
>
> > I've also heard an interview (I can't remember the date but it is was
> > well after the appearance of the song "Suzanne") in which Cohen talks
> > about living with Suzanne in Montreal and her love for gardening.
>
> Yes, did you get that message from me the other day about her? Suzanne
> Vaillancourt - married at one time to sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. When
> I used to baby sit for her daughter (with Armand not Leonard) it was
> 1963-64 and she was "far out" then. Dressed in long skirts and flowing
> things, funny hats, very spacey -- then all that became normal and today
> she'd hardly be noticed in a crowd. But then, she was "cool" "far out".
>
> At one point in the late sixties, he was running around NYC, Mtl, London
> and Greece (I think) with a young (like try 15-16 max.) North American
> Indian girl with long dark hair and no shoes on her feet.
>
> I know that there were many periods where he was alone. 1966 when he was
> at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC and he was writing alot. He'd have women
> traipsing through his life, but he wasn't involved at one point. He and
> "the" Marianne would be on again, off again.
> >
> > Then there is a 1979 concert in which Cohen says that there is no one
> > waiting at home for him.
> >
> > On _Various Positions_, in the song "Night Comes On," there is the
> > line about "My son and my daughter climbed out of the water saying
> > 'Papa you promised to play,'" which I think is autobiographical.
> > The question is, are these Cohen's first kids (who would have been
> > 15 or so by the time the album came out) or does he have additional,
> > younger kids?
>
> Like I said, got to do some homework it's really been a while since I've
> had to backtrack like that. I'll get back to you.
>
> I wasn't here yesterday so I didn't get a chance to ask you if you had
> heard about the request from the Dalai Lama to meditate with him for
> peace. It was last night unfortunately. Had you heard? Where are you
> located - in a business, university, ?? Just nosy!

> >   Oh well, let me ask this -- has Cohen ever been married and does he
> >   have any children?
Off the top of my head I truly can't remember. But I'll check it out.


> Olof (another list subscriber) had a conversation a while back about
> Cohen's long-term relationships. Olof seemed to know a little more
> than I about Cohen's biographical background, and I think he said he
> had an article or book chapter that might provide more info. What I
> remember is that Cohen lived with a woman (Marianne?) for many years
> on the Greek isle of Hydra, around the late '60s and into the '70s.
> I believe they had at least two children.


Yes he did live on Hydra with Marianne but if memory serves me right
the kids that they had there were hers from her marriage that she
is reported to have walked out on when she met Cohen. I also vaguely
remember there were two Mariannes.


> I've also heard an interview (I can't remember the date but it is was
> well after the appearance of the song "Suzanne") in which Cohen talks
> about living with Suzanne in Montreal and her love for gardening.
Yes, did you get that message from me the other day about her? Suzanne
Vaillancourt - married at one time to sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. When
I used to baby sit for her daughter (with Armand not Leonard) it was
1963-64 and she was "far out" then. Dressed in long skirts and flowing
things, funny hats, very spacey -- then all that became normal and today
she'd hardly be noticed in a crowd. But then, she was "cool" "far out".


At one point in the late sixties, he was running around NYC, Mtl, London
and Greece (I think) with a young (like try 15-16 max.) North American
Indian girl with long dark hair and no shoes on her feet.


I know that there were many periods where he was alone. 1966 when he was
at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC and he was writing alot. He'd have women
traipsing through his life, but he wasn't involved at one point. He and
"the" Marianne would be on again, off again.


> Then there is a 1979 concert in which Cohen says that there is no one
> waiting at home for him.
>
> On _Various Positions_, in the song "Night Comes On," there is the
> line about "My son and my daughter climbed out of the water saying
> 'Papa you promised to play,'" which I think is autobiographical.
> The question is, are these Cohen's first kids (who would have been
> 15 or so by the time the album came out) or does he have additional,
> younger kids?
Like I said, got to do some homework it's really been a while since I've
had to backtrack like that. I'll get back to you.


I wasn't here yesterday so I didn't get a chance to ask you if you had
heard about the request from the Dalai Lama to meditate with him for
peace. It was last night unfortunately. Had you heard? Where are you
located - in a business, university, ?? Just nosy!

>   Oh well, let me ask this -- has Cohen ever been married and does he
>   have any children?
Olof (another list subscriber) had a conversation a while back about
Cohen's long-term relationships. Olof seemed to know a little more
than I about Cohen's biographical background, and I think he said he
had an article or book chapter that might provide more info. What I
remember is that Cohen lived with a woman (Marianne?) for many years
on the Greek isle of Hydra, around the late '60s and into the '70s.
I believe they had at least two children.


I've also heard an interview (I can't remember the date but it is was
well after the appearance of the song "Suzanne") in which Cohen talks
about living with Suzanne in Montreal and her love for gardening.


Then there is a 1979 concert in which Cohen says that there is no one
waiting at home for him.


On _Various Positions_, in the song "Night Comes On," there is the
line about "My son and my daughter climbed out of the water saying
'Papa you promised to play,'" which I think is autobiographical.
The question is, are these Cohen's first kids (who would have been
15 or so by the time the album came out) or does he have additional,
younger kids?