The use of “apparently” can be put down to bad writing habits as well as uncertainty about my single-source of research (let’s face it, Wikipedia is not infallible!)

And I thank you kindly for solving the mystery of “A Thousand Kisses Deep”. You see? I knew someone would enlighten me.

Cheers,

Vanessa

I think you’re being a bit too tough on yourself when you write “Well, of course, I’m a complete idiot, because a little research will reveal that Cohen’s been a singer/songwriter since the 60’s. True, he’s published a quite a few books of poetry, and even a couple of novels, but music has always been his thing and I just never noticed.” In fact, Cohen was 32 before opting for songwriting, a switch he says was prompted by the belief that singing might pay better that publishing poems and prose. And, his novels and poetry met with critical acclaim. The Boston Globe, for example, anointed him the reincarnation of James Joyce. In writing a series of posts for new fans, in fact, I’ve found it necessary to emphasize that “Leonard Cohen, long before he was a singer-songwriter, was a well-known, successful poet and novelist. And, he was not a rock poet, a folk poet, or any other kind of pop songwriters are today’s poets poet. Nope, Leonard Cohen was and is the kind of poet who has a grasp of the craft of writing prose and poetry, who knows a dactyl from a trochee, who understands how an elegiac couplet varies from the heroic couplet. He sold volumes of well-reviewed poetry and novels before anyone thought of paying to hear him sing anything other than square dance tunes.” See my post, Leonard Cohen - The Literary Years.

I would quibble only with the “apparently” in “he’s apparently had affairs with Janis Joplin and Rebecca DeMornay, among many others,” Cohen has repeatedly announced that his liaison with Janis Joplin is the basis for the song, Chelsea Hotel #2, and he openly lived with DeMornay and the two were often interviewed as a couple. For the past several years, his romantic partner has been
Anjani, who has been worked for Cohen as a singer and keyboardist and is the performing artist on Blue Alert, an album produced by Cohen.

The song A Thousand Kisses Deep is based on a poem called For Those Who Greeted Me. The poem and a brief explanation of the process by which the song evolved can be found at http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/kisses.html.