Story of the song: Suzanne by Leonard Cohen

With its ponderous, almost circular chord progression and much-quoted lyrics, “Suzanne” has long been a Cohen favourite. It was born out of a poem about a city. Cohen began it in 1965, the melody and pattern taking shape before a woman’s name became its title.

Cohen’s inspiration was the French-speaking Canadian city of Montreal. “It seemed to come out of that landscape that I loved very much,” he said. The city’s harbour and waterfront provided the setting and the sailors’ church, from whose tower Cohen could survey the St Lawrence, offered a vision.

Cohen’s poem needed a muse. One evening he ran into the wife of his friend, the sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. The Vaillancourts were then separated and Suzanne invited Cohen to her riverside loft. “She served me Constant Comment tea,” said Cohen, “which has little bits of oranges in it.” They spoke about poetry as the boats drifted by. The couple became inseparable, but, according to Suzanne, were never lovers.

Gradually, the poem “Montreal” became “Suzanne”. It got the attention of Judy Collins, who urged Leonard to write a song based on it. Collins recorded the first take of “Suzanne”, after Cohen sang it down the phone to her. He included his own version on the 1967 album Songs of Leonard Cohen. It launched his career as a songwriter: more than 100 covers have been recorded.

Suzanne has fared less well. She met Cohen only once since the song was released, and in 2006 was living in a car in Venice Beach.