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Leonard Cohen, singer-songwriter of ‘Hallelujah,’ dead at 82

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Leonard Cohen, a Canadian-born poet, songwriter and singer, whose intensely personal lyrics exploring themes of love, faith, death and philosophical longing made him the ultimate cult artist, and whose enigmatic song “Hallelujah” became a celebratory anthem recorded by hundreds of artists, died Nov. 7. He was 82.

His death was confirmed by his biographer, Sylvie Simmons. Other details were not immediately available.

Cohen began his career as a well-regarded poet and novelist before stepping onto the stage as a performer in the 1960s. With his broodingly handsome looks and a deep, weathered voice that grew rougher and more expressive with the years, he cultivated an air of spiritual yearning mixed with smoldering eroticism.

Cohen never had a song in the Top 40, yet “Hallelujah” and several of his others, including “Suzanne,” “First We Take Manhattan” and “Bird on the Wire,” were recorded by performers as disparate as Nina Simone, R.E.M. and Johnny Cash. His lyrics were written with such grace and emotional depth that his songwriting was regarded as almost on the same level as that of Bob Dylan – including by Dylan himself.

Cohen was named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, but his incantatory, half-spoken songs were more in the tradition of the European troubadour than the rock star. Lyrics were paramount to Cohen, but whether he was composing songs, poetry or fiction, there was always an underlying musical pulse.

“All of my writing has guitars behind it,” he said, “even the novels.”

A character in Cohen’s 1963 novel “The Favorite Game” said, “I want to touch people like a magician, to change them or hurt them, leave my brand, make them beautiful.”

He labored over his songs, spending five years on “Hallelujah,” which appeared on his 1984 album “Various Positions” and is generally acknowledged as his masterpiece. Like much of his music, it took years to gain a popular foothold.

A 1994 recording by Jeff Buckley found a niche, and over time it was recorded by at least 300 artists. K.D. Lang’s performance of “Hallelujah” formed the centerpiece of the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

It was difficult for critics to explain exactly what made Cohen’s music so memorable and moving. The lyrics were poetic, of course, but his musical settings were ingenious, with shifting chords and deceptively simple melodies.

His first song to pierce the public consciousness was “Suzanne,” which became a minor hit for Judy Collins in 1966 and was later performed by Simone and others. The song, written about one of Cohen’s many girlfriends, is on one level a simple love song:

– – –

And you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind

And you know that she will trust you

For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind

– – –

But Cohen broadens the lyrics to included references to Jesus walking on water before referring to the hidden heroes in life:

– – –

There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning

They are leaning out for love and they wil lean that way forever

While Suzanne holds her mirror