The 1970 song Joni Mitchell wrote as a goodbye to Leonard Cohen

A new look at Joni Mitchell’s work revisits the 1970 song she wrote as a goodbye to Leonard Cohen, framed against their brief but influential romance. The article recounts that Mitchell and Cohen first met at the Newport Folk Festival in 1967 and entered a relationship that lasted only a few months, while later remaining close friends until Cohen’s death in November 2016 at age 82. It notes Mitchell spent a month living with Cohen at her Laurel Canyon home and reflects on Cohen’s songwriting inspiration from nearby relationships. The piece also describes Cohen’s broader legacy of lyrical storytelling, quoting Mitchell on how she first reacted to “Suzanne,” and emphasizing how Cohen’s impact carried into other artists’ careers.