Hydra, Greece
“So Long, Marianne” – I didn’t think I was saying goodbye, but I guess I was. She gave me many songs…. She is a muse.”
– Leonard Cohen referring to Marianne Ihlen
The ancient Greeks believed that literature, poetry, and music were gifts of the Gods. Words were produced by mortals, but conveyed to them by Gods, through a Muse. I tend to agree.
Compiling words into tractable sentences comes from an ethereal place, and it doesn’t happen without a conduit.
Hesiod and the Muse – Gustave Moreau
The Greek word mousa, from which Muse is derived, means “art” or “poetry”. It is also the root of the word Music.
Muses, Polyhymnia, Erato, and Melpomene.
Leonard Cohen lived on Hydra Island in the 1960s, in a complicated relationship with a Norwegian woman, Marianne Ihlen. The couple co-existed on Hydra in a mix of youthful exuberance, creative tension, and unbridled passion. Many of Cohen’s most famous songs were written about, or in consort with, Marianne Ihlen.
Marianne Ihlen was Lenard Cohen’s muse, but so was Hydra. The Greek island was a haven for emerging writers in the 1960s. Hydra’s simple lifestyle nurtured artistic inspiration; creativity flowed through wine-filled taverns, along motor-less streets.
The words he wrote on Hydra, with Ihlen as his inspiration, propelled Cohen to become one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
Marianne called Leonard to the window one morning to look at birds on a wire. She thought they looked like musical notes.
And soon they were.
This photo of Marianne Ihlen has Pygmalion qualities; it demonstrates her tenderness for an inanimate object.
Cohen and Ihlen eventually drifted apart, he to Montreal and his music, she to her native Norway with her child from a previous marriage, but the Artist and the Muse maintained a loving relationship their entire lives.
Apollo had nine Muses. Leonard Cohen and I only need one.
Me, and my …
… Muse
Like and Subscribe…
To join the WellWaterBlog audience, scroll down and add your e-mail address to the growing list. You will receive a notice each time a new article is posted and nothing else – No Advertising, No Solicitations, No B.S., Just Fun.
Leave a Reply