Among the singer-songwriters who emerged in the latter part of the 1960s, Leonard Cohen was something of an oddity. Alastair Pirrie observed in 1973, in a review of Cohenâ??s LP Songs of Love and Hate: â??[Cohen] says that he has no concept of religion in his life but, strangely enough, he sings a song about Joan of Arc.â? At the time, Cohen wrote the song off as an anomaly: â??It was a strange song indeed; it was out of myself and contained the notion of reverence. When I recorded that song I will admit to having a strong religious feeling. I donâ??t think itâ??ll happen again.â?
But in fact, this pattern would characterize his lifeâ??s work. Throughout a long and storied career, brought to a close by his death last week, Cohen evinced a remarkable respect for religion and disdain for secularism. Though he would often protest that he â??wasnâ??t really a religious man,â? Cohen seemed unable to sing or speak for very long without bringing up God.
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