Whether or not he literally saved your life, I'm convined that Leonard Cohen possesses some sort of mystical power. I flew 3,000 miles to see him perform at the Beacon Theatre in NYC last year and it was worth every penny. For further evidence, check out the newly released Live at the Isle of Wight: 1970 DVD, in which Cohen enchants a crowd of 600,000 people who up to that point had been setting things on fire.

Roger, my favourite Cohen song is from his 2001 album and it is called "By The Rivers Dark".

Thank you Leonard Cohen, for saving Roger's life and for your music.

Eternally grateful for both.

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

As any bloke who loves music, I'm fond of saying this or that song has saved my life. It may be true in many ways, but not in the way you just wrote. That is truly unique (or at least not seen by me before).

It's nice to read something new from your life and mind every day. Keep the good writing coming, 'cause I'm always reading up!

P.S.: Songs that have "saved" my life:
"Never is a Promise" Fiona Apple
"Morning Morgantown" Joni Mitchell
"Dream Brother" Jeff Buckley
"Oceans" Pearl Jam
"Parabola" Tool
"I'll be seeing you" performed by Billie Holiday

That's awesome. One of my all-time favorite artists saved the life of my favorite critic. Probably karma from putting "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" on your Great Movies list.

I think everyone should have an iPod playlist for just this purpose. Some slow songs if it's appropriate to drift off to the hereafter. Some upbeat songs to rouse the patient out of a coma. Some that are particularly poetic and nostalgic so the music won't get old when played over and over. What's on mine?Travelling Wilburies, Iggy Pop, Jethro Tull, Robert Plant, Alabama 3...

I think "I'm Your Man" is just about as good a song as any to save a life. I agree with all the comments posted above. I saw Cohen just a few months back, a concert I had waited 16 years to see (I'm not that old, yet...) and it was worth every second of anticipation.

Leonard Cohen indeed works magic, and he may have worked his magic on you. I'm very, very grateful that he did.

Your profile in Esquire was beautiful, and I have always had, and continue to have, the utmost respect and admiration for you as a film critic and a journalist. Now I can follow every hilarious thought on Twitter too. Yippee!

Bird on The Wire has saved my life, I'm quite sure. I have tried in my way to be free.

I thought so then, but now I'm sure you were right yesterday when you tweeted about having the smartest readers on the Internet.

I know I am a lot smarter now for having read this.

:)

Obviously you could have gone on and on and on with the YouTube embeds but I have to link to this pre-1970 gem of a performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_223jKXKgQ.

And there I was thinking the Cohen song that saved your life was 'Don't Go Home With Your Hard On'.

Keep up the good work!

We are all certainly glad you paused to listen that day.

That song has probably created life more than once, too.

Cohen is one of those artists that makes me remember how it felt to be religious, as a child. Pure and uncomplicated, somehow.

(Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in)

There are so many great songs he's written. I put him in my holy trinity of songwriting (Bob Dylan / Leonard Cohen / Tom Waits) and I'll bet all of us could list a top five Cohen songs and not repeat a one. My favorite Cohen song is "Suzanne". There's something mysterious about it, in the old sense of Mystery. A kind of wisdom beyond knowledge. The rites and sacrifices of love. The connection between all things. She shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers. There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning. They are leaning out for love, they will lean that way forever while Suzanne holds the mirror.

The only good cover version of one of Cohen's songs that I can think of is one from that documentary, Rufus Wainwright's version of "Chelsea Hotel No. 2". I think it's fundamentally different from Cohen's, but in a way I can sympathize with. Rufus is a singer of my generation, and in his version I hear a lot more regret. She never said "I need you" or all of that jiving around, but maybe he wishes she had. Maybe they were too cool for that sort of thing, and it's really too bad. A lot of the performances in the film are great but that's the only song that made it to my iPod.

(Jeff Buckley sang so beautifully, but I don't know that he understood "Hallelujah". Not like Cohen did. That's the problem with most covers of Leonard Cohen, I think.)

I was still in high school when I first heard Leonard's music, specifically his "The Future" album. There wasn't a hope of using it to win over my friends at the time but I've remained a fan ever since. In 2008 I was fortunate enough to see one of his performances at the 02 arena in London and it was the closest I've ever come to a religious experience.

"There is a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in" Can the man in the sky provide much more wisdom than that?

lenny c did it to me

Leonard Cohen lifts my spirits just by being on the planet. And, so does Roger. :)

Leonard Cohen captivated and captured me in the mid-1960's. His music had a redemptive quality that I couldn't resist. Critics say the choice of 'Hallelujah' was inappropriate for the opening activities of the Olympics. I disagree, perhaps because I thought it was the best part of the that otherwise flat 'festivity.'
-my 2 cents.

Here's another link worth adding:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/ladies_and_gentlemen_mr_leonard_cohen/

One of my favorite films.

Leonard Cohen shames me, makes me feel, at once, more and less like a man.

I've been a fan of Leonard Cohen for a decade or two. I finally saw him in concert a few months ago and it was superb...one of the best gifts I've given to myself in a really long time.

I'm glad you like him too. And were saved by him. He does amazing work! :)

Mr Ebert: LC is one of my "desert island " musicians. His songwriting and phrasing are impeccable. He did a duet album with Jennifer Warnes that was actually quite good; "Famous Blue Raincoat". Check it out if you have a chance.

I have watched then later read your reviews for several years and also have several of your books. Erudite writing concerning film is always a pleasure.

Blessings to you, and to borrow a line from Neil Young "Long may you run".

I have been a fan of Leonard Cohen since his first book of poetry was published, "Let us compare mythologies," in the early sixties. I have all his books and music and have never tired of the depth and freshness of his vision as he dances in the dark, the great holy mystery his partner.

Do yourself a favor and pick up the novel, "Beautiful Losers," if for nothing else the portion, "God is alive," which Buffy Sainte Marie turned into a song.

I am fortunate enough to have an anthology of his poetry which he autographed for me.

Let's cherish him while we have him.

"Pure and uncomplicated, somehow.

(Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in)"

and

"My favorite Cohen song is "Suzanne". There's something mysterious about it, in the old sense of Mystery. A kind of wisdom beyond knowledge. The rites and sacrifices of love. The connection between all things. She shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers. There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning. They are leaning out for love, they will lean that way forever while Suzanne holds the mirror."
So perfectly said, lizvelrene.

Dear Roger ~

Thank you so much for giving Leonard Cohen so much attention. Life and love work in such mysterious ways... and Leonard is so deeply in touch them and with mystery that I'm not at all surprized at the timing of your personal event relative to his song. I am so glad that Leonard has been there for you in multiple ways.

Your multitude of links to his songs reveals a very deep love of his music. How heartening to see that. I, too, was a devoted watcher of your and Siskel's movie reviews. They are the ones I always took seriously, even if to balance the differences between yours and his. I miss having them there for us... and, still, I am glad to see you writing and sharing what's irrepressible within you.

I love the photos of Leonard. Only he could manage such a balancing act of a hat rack, and with his own on, as well ;). The second one is blissfully sweet. It's so Leonard. I would love to hear the back story of how that pose came to be.

Thank you, Roger, for sharing with the world your love for Leonard.

May you continue to do as well as you are. You're a paragon of will and goodwill.

Highest regards,
Lizzy

Dear Roger,

When you survive a calamity that almost always ends in death, everyone and everything present that might have nudged you a little bit towards life, from Chaz, to the doctors, and the nurses, and even Leonard Cohen, can rightly be said to have saved your life. Such is the tenuousness of life at critical junctures.

I am thankful to Leonard Cohen, and your medical team, and Chaz for saving your life. I can't explain it, but reading your reviews and other commentaries is uplifting to me, probably because what you write seems to come from a place of deep integrity, respect for the reader, and love of life.

Thanks,
-Peter

Leonard Cohen is inspired. I'm not surprised you're a fan!

Wow, what a great story. That's a great story to tell people for years to come. Does Leonard Cohen know about this, by the way? And if so, what does he say about it?

Thank heaven for it, anyhow. I am very, very happy that you are still around because I simply couldn't do without your amazing reviews every week.

Altman's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" is what really turned me on to Leonard Cohen. According to Altman's dvd commentary, Cohen effectively donated the soundtrack.

Dating Tip:
If you are ever in a cafe or bar with a jukebox, and "I'm Your Man" is available on the jukebox, put your dollar in that jukebox. And let that be the absolute first song you play on that jukebox.
You'll be glad you did.

It wasn't the only thing (can't disregard your doctors and Chaz), but it definitely helped. And I'm glad it did, you blog makes my day.

Maybe God is a Leonard Cohen fan. ;)

I can't listen to "I'm Your Man" without that scene from "Secretary" in my head.

Synchronicity? Why not? I can see why your beloved wife tells this story. Leonard Cohen has that ancient Trickster mystic sparkle about him. A long time fan, I met him back in the seventies, after a concert in Washington DC, outside the theater. He graciously invited me to dinner and I declined, shy and embarrassed by my art student uniform of old jeans and a t-shirt. I told him, I'm sorry I'm not dressed for such an occasion. I'm sorry I am, he replied.

This is just beautiful, Roger. "I'm Your Man" is such a great song about a man's devotion, tinged with a little humour. In many ways, it's typical of most Cohen songs.

My favourite Cohen songs are probably:
"Avalanche"
"Dress Rehearsal Rag"
"In My Secret Life"

I think someone else has said this, but I also love the pictures you have used, especially the bottom one. I love the darkness of the surroundings, yet there is light, which seems distant, between the tree and the house. However, he is stanidng in the one area that is covered in light. Quite simply, beautiful.

Wow! "You're In My Heart" is one of the songs that Jeff and I consider *ours* too. "Tower of Song" is my favorite by Leonard Cohen. Such powerful imagery.

I was fortunate enough to see him on this last tour. Who new that the best concert experience of my life would be delivered by a 75 year old man? "Sublime" gets thrown around a lot when talking about the man, but that's exactly what it was.

What did you think of the documentary (I couldn't find a rogerebert.com review)? I thought it was a real disappointment, a truly missed opportunity to do a definitive Cohen doc. One third of the film was musicians gushing over his greatness, one third was interviews with Cohen that really didn't plumb deeply at all (a shame, because I'd imagine a skilled interviewer would get some fascinating stories and perspectives from him), and the rest was a rather banal concert with unimaginative takes on his songs by normally interesting performers. The pairing of LC with U2 for the finale had the potential to be incredible - but they mimed it! (or Leonard re-recorded his parts, either way it looked very fake.) Walked out feeling very unfulfilled.

Leonard Cohen Live from London - a fresh and surprising performance on PBS not so long ago. The video was mesmerizing; the CDs less so. "Dance with Me to the End of Love" stopped me in my tracks. We were awed by k.d. lang's performance of "Hallelujah", feeling Leonard Cohen's draw to step out of our world for a moment .. and sample another place. Thanks so much for devoting the blog to one very special artist.

Someone once called Leonard Cohen "the poet laureate of pessimism." Although I find much of his music very melancholic, I don't think it's depressing. Rather, I find it comforting when I'm feeling down. Many years ago when suffering a case of the blues, Cohen's music helped me get over it, particularly "Songs of Love and Hate" and "Cohen Live." If any artist's music is capable of saving a life, I think it's Leonard Cohen's.

Rarely, if ever, is a "you might also like" suggestion in Amazon or Netflix useful to me. But a suggestion in ITunes that I might like "Hallelujah" sung by Brandi Carlile was accurate beyond words.

An Eskimo showed me a movie
he'd recently taken of you:
the poor man could hardly stop shivering,
his lips and his fingers were blue.
I suppose that he froze when the wind took your clothes
and I guess he just never got warm.
But you stand there so nice, in your blizzard of ice,
oh please let me come into the storm.
(“One of Us Cannot Be Wrong”)

Much has been written about Leonard Cohen’s reputation as the mordant ladies’ man, the grocer of despair, and so forth. Yet it is indisputable: there has never been, before or since, a better, more intelligent lyrical craftsman in the annals of Rock – Dylan not excepted. As evidence, run out and buy Live at Isle of Wight 1970 and you will be convinced, just as 600,000 squalid and unruly hippies were, quite early one August morning. Personal highlight: the best lyric poem since Wordsworth’s ballads, “One of Us Cannot Be Wrong.”

(2009)Tel Aviv — Despite the row ahead of his performance, when Leonard Cohen began his sell-out Tel Aviv concert Thursday, September 24, there wasn’t a hint of awkwardness about coming to Israel.
Pro-Palestinian activists(Chicago Muslim Brotherhoodwinked) called on him to boycott Israel, but he came anyway and was brimming with enthusiasm about his host country. “How goodly are your tents Jacob, your dwellings Israel,” he declared, using the original Hebrew from the Biblical book of Numbers.
Almost 50,000 people crammed in to Ramat Gan Stadium — a far bigger crowd than Cohen is used to. Judging by the numbers mouthing along to each and every song, most were dedicated fans. And judging by numbers on the look out for tickets outside the stadium at the last minute, many who were equally devoted didn’t get in.
Cohen’s Israel following isn’t only surprising for how large it is, but also how mixed it is. There were plenty of people in the stereotypical Cohen fan age-range, forties and upwards, but there was a large much younger following — many of whom were not born when he last performed Israel in 1975.
1975, for the culturally literate, was just before our American White House was occupado by Muslim Bro-Jimmy Carter justice revolution... follow the hamas trail, and saving your own life gets messed up in the brainwash followship of fools. amen.
Dylan has plans to play in Isreal this June. Bob will save more than one life among those who cherish free will and exercise passion for truth. Israel is being set up for flotilla of lies and deadly mustard gas.
(Nice h'job Hellary,Samantha and O'hamas- killer tools, hollow souls.

God said to Leonard, 'Save me thE son'
Leonard said, 'Man, you must be putting me on'
God say, 'No' Leonard say, "What?'
God say, "you can do what you want Leonard, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run'
Well Leonard says, 'Where do you want this savin' done?'
God says, 'Out in OR: "Ebert Son".