Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Cohen

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DrHGuy
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Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Cohen

Post by DrHGuy »

I've posted a narrative by Sean Dixon describing a previously unpublished episode from Leonard Cohen's life: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Cohen

While the incident is no more than an anecdote about an brief interaction between LC and his mother, Masha, near the end of her life, it will be, I believe, of interest to those who visit this forum.

The post can be found at http://1heckofaguy.com/2011/06/08/masha ... d-cohen-3/

Update
: There's a technical glitch that will prevent some folks from viewing this temporarily. See my post later in this same thread for details. This should be cleared in a few hours. My apologies.

Update #2: While some problems persist on my site, the post, Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Cohen, is now available at http://1heckofaguy.com/2011/06/08/masha ... d-cohen-3/
Last edited by DrHGuy on Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Puddingdale
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by Puddingdale »

Alas, it is gone.
Was it too personal a revelation after all?
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Paula
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by Paula »

Allan I have a 404 error where did it go
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DrHGuy
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by DrHGuy »

Puddingdale wrote:Alas, it is gone.
Was it too personal a revelation after all?
Nope - it's a technical glitch. My site is changing to a new location after a couple of crashes last week. Somehow the latest post didn't get moved with the rest of the database. And, not all servers pick up the change at the same time. Of course, the Masha post still shows up on my computer. Until I start picking up the new site (the one without the Masha post), I can't repost it. Once I can access the new site, I'll re-post and then make an entry here with the correct URL.

Sorry for the hassle

Update: While some problems with my site persist, the post, Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Cohen, is now available at http://1heckofaguy.com/2011/06/08/masha ... d-cohen-3/
Last edited by DrHGuy on Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Puddingdale
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by Puddingdale »

The slings and arrows of modern media... :roll: Thanks for all the trouble as usual, good Doctor.
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DrHGuy
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by DrHGuy »

While some problems with my site persist, the post, Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Cohen, is now available at http://1heckofaguy.com/2011/06/08/masha ... d-cohen-3/
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lizzytysh
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by lizzytysh »

That's a bit odd... I was able to get to and read it [with the ending on the next page], by following the 2nd link provided in your first posting here.

When I hit the Back button on my browser, however, I got the 404 message with the article disappeared.

Poignant, funny, touching. I'm glad that Leonard shared that anecdote with Sean and that Sean sought and was given Leonard's permission to share it with you... and all of us. Very endearing with them, Masha and Leonard both.

Masha was deeply beautiful and Leonard seems to have gotten his smile from her. That's a wonderful photo of her... and I love Leonard's description of his mother, such a proud and loving son he was. She gave him good guidance with regard to NYC, and the Cuba anecdote is hilarious... looking tough and all, his reaction to the message was... what? lol

Thanks for bringing us this, Allan.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
imaginary friend
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by imaginary friend »

Thank you Allan.

(Masha is a lovely name...)
holydove
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by holydove »

Allan, thank you so much for posting that lovely gem of a story!! It is so touching & so hilarious!! I love hearing stories about Leonard & his mother; they seem to have had a really special bond - so very sweet!! It would be interesting to know how (or if!) Leonard responded to that very important message - maybe you can ask him about that, Allan - (just joking. . . sort of. . .)

And thank you to Sean Dixon for sharing the memory; and thank you to Leonard for giving his blessings for Allan to share it with us!!
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dick
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by dick »

Want to add my thanks to Heck, Sean, and Leonard for wonderful story. Great stuff.
MaryB
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by MaryB »

Thank you Allan.

I remember reading somewhere on the forum a while back, either in a post or a posted article that LC had written some songs with his mother's musical preferences in mind. Can anyone elaborate further on this as to which songs they were?

Best regards,
Mary
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holydove
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by holydove »

Hi Mary,

Good question!

I remember a concert video - I think it was a concert from '85 (I don't remember exactly which one) - where Leonard, in his intro to Dance Me To The End Of Love, says that a reviewer called that song "decadent" (LOL!!)!! And then he says, "My mother used to sing songs like that around the house all the time; is the reviewer calling my mother decadent??!!" So I think we can be pretty sure that Dance Me would be on that list.

I also remember reading that shortly before Leonard's mother died, she told him that he should write songs like the ones they used to sing around the house & she added the words: ". . .with the violin"; so I'm guessing that songs which have a violin part with an Eastern European quality, would be possibilities. Also, Recent Songs was released the year after his mother's death, so perhaps The Window, The Guests, The Gypsy's Wife, & The Traitor would also be candidates.
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martali
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by martali »

holydove wrote:
I remember a concert video - I think it was a concert from '85 (I don't remember exactly which one) - where Leonard, in his intro to Dance Me To The End Of Love, says that a reviewer called that song "decadent" (LOL!!)!! And then he says, "My mother used to sing songs like that around the house all the time; is the reviewer calling my mother decadent??!!"
This unforgettable concert took place on 22nd March 1985 in Sala Kongresowa, Warsaw, Poland :)
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by holydove »

Thank you, Martali - I thought that was the one!
MaryB
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Re: Masha Cohen’s Last Written Words To Her Son, Leonard Coh

Post by MaryB »

Hi Rachel!

I totally agree with your choices. Growing up, with an Eastern European background, I was always hearing and singing the old folk songs. So many with waltz beats, i.e. DMTTEOL, Take this Waltz, Ballad of the Absent Mare, The Window, etc. and also themes of soldiers/warriors going off to war, leaving loved ones behind, songs of betrayal.

Beyond speculation, there has to be someone here who could offer us something more concrete. Wish I could find that post or article that was posted. I did a search and came up with nothing. It seems that since his mother has such a great influence on his music that there would be something written somewhere or an interview where he discusses which songs specifically he wrote with his mother in mind.

I'm still holding out hope that someone in this community can come up with an answer.

Thanks for your input!

Martali, how appropriate that he would make that comment at a concert in Poland. Thank you for that info.

Warmest regards,
Mary
1993 Detroit 2008 Kitchener June 2-Hamilton June 3 & 4-Vienna Sept 24 & 25-London RAH Nov 17 2009 NYC Feb 19-Grand Prairie Apr 3-Phoenix Apr 5-Columbia May 11-Red Rocks Jun 4-Barcelona Sept 21-Columbus Oct 27-Las Vegas Nov 12-San Jose Nov 13 2010 Sligo Jul 31 & Aug 1-LV Dec 10 & 11 2012 Paris Sept 30-London Dec 11-Boston Dec 16 2013 Louisville Mar 30-Amsterdam Sept 20
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