So Long, Marianne Lyrics

[Chorus]
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again

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About

Genius Annotation

Marianne is Marianne Ihlen, ex-wife of the Norwegian author Axel Jensen, who was a friend of Leonard. Leonard lived with Marianne in Greece together, in the 1960s, after Axel separated from her.

To quote Leonard (backcover of “Greatest Hits”, 1976):

I began this on Aylmer Street in Montreal and finished it a year or so later at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. I didn’t think I was saying goodbye but I guess I was. She gave me many songs, and she has given songs to others too. She is a Muse. A lot of people I know think that there is nothing more important than making a song. Fortunately, this belief arises infrequently in their conversation.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Leonard Cohen say about "So Long, Marianne"?
Genius Answer

Cohen’s live prologues to the song are good guides for interpreting it. Sometimes he’s very brief but still illuminating. Berlin 24/09/74:

A song for a beautiful,gracious,eternal woman.

Frankfurt 06/10/74:

This is a song of forgiveness.

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