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Marianne Ihlen was considered a muse of Leonard Cohen in the 1960s and inspired two of his best-known songs, “So Long, Marianne” and “Bird on the Wire”.
As Leonard Cohen told in an interview three years ago before his death, he wrote a detailed letter to his girlfriend shortly before her death after learning from her long -time friend Jan Christian Mollestad that she was dying.
As the British “Guardian” finally reported, the lines on her deathbed were read to her. “We brought her the letter the next day and she was so happy with full consciousness and so happy that he had written something to her”so Mollestad.
Marianne Ihlen loved Leonard Cohens “Bird on the Wire”
In the letter, Leonard Cohen was thoughtful: “Marianne, we have both arrived at that age because our bodies slowly start to pass – and I think that I will follow you soon. Knowing that I will be so close to you, you can simply extend your hand, and I think you will achieve mine. Bye, my dear friend.
“You know that I always loved you for your beauty and wisdom.”
Molestad told CBC that Marianne Ihlen actually stretched out her hand at the moment when he read the sentence with the outstretched hand. “Just two days later she lost consciousness and died”so her friend. “I wrote back a letter Leonard and told him that I buzzed ‘bird on the wire’ shortly before she left us because she felt so much connected to the song. Then I kissed her on the head, said ‘So long, Marianne’ and left the room”.
Leonard Cohen had met Marianne Ihlen in the 1960s on the Greek island of Hydra. The song “So Long, Marianne” inspired by her was located on his debut album “Songs of Leonard Cohen” published in 1967.