The son of music legend Leonard Cohen, who died last week at age 82, wrote a heartfelt tribute to his father after burying him on Sunday, writing, “There’s so much I wish I could thank him for, one last time.”
Noting on Facebook that “Hallelujah” singer Cohen was buried in Montreal next to his mother and father in accordance with his wishes, Adam Cohen continued, “As I write this I’m thinking of my father’s unique blend of self-deprecation and dignity, his approachable elegance, his charisma without audacity, his old-world gentlemanliness and the hand-forged tower of his work. There’s so much I wish I could thank him for, just one last time.”
The younger Cohen — the son of Leonard Cohen and artist Suzanne Elrod — continued, “I’d thank him for the comfort he always provided, for the wisdom he dispensed, for the marathon conversations, for his dazzling wit and humor. I’d thank him for giving me, and teaching me to love Montreal and Greece. And I’d thank him for music; first for his music which seduced me as a boy, then for his encouragement of my own music, and finally for the privilege of being able to make music with him. ”
Adam, a member of the California pop-rock band Low Millions, concluded by thanking his Facebook followers for “your kind messages, for the outpouring of sympathy and for your love of my father.”
The younger Cohen produced his father’s final album, “You Want It Darker,” released Oct. 21.
In the album’s liner notes, Leonard Cohen praised Adam’s efforts, writing, “I want to acknowledge with deep gratitude, the role my son Adam Cohen played in the making of You Want it Darker. Without his contribution there would be no record. At a certain point, after over a year of intense labour, both Pat Leonard (musician/arranger) and I, coincidentally, broke down with severe back injuries, and other disagreeable visitations. In my case, the situation was bleak, the discomfort acute, and the project was abandoned. My son, Adam, sensed that my recovery, if not my survival, depended on my getting back to work. He took over the project, established me in a medical chair to sing and brought these unfinished songs to completion. It is because of my son’s loving encouragement and skilled administration, that these songs exist in their present form. I cannot thank him enough.”
The elder Cohen’s death was revealed Thursday via a post on his Facebook page that read, “It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away. We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries.”