Leonard Cohen intends to "live for ever".
The iconic singer-songwriter has previously said he felt ready to die, suggesting he was content with his life and all that he has achieved – but the 82-year-old star has now performed U-turn on that statement, admitting he was wrong.
He shared: "I said I was ready to die. I think I was exaggerating. One is given to self-dramatisation from time to time. I intend to live for ever."
Leonard recently worked with producer and songwriter Patrick Leonard, who co-wrote many of Madonna’s biggest hits at the height of her career success, on his new album ‘You Want It Darker’.
However, Leonard has remained tight-lipped about the meaning behind his new work.
He told the Sunday Times newspaper: "Look, people wanted to intellectualise Madonna records, too. I mean, hello? If they even knew. But people will always try. You know, ‘This is about this.’ Hmm… Kind of. Look, it’s song by song, until you can go, ‘Thank God we got a body of work together.’
"If artists can’t figure it out, why do we think we can? You give up everything you have to be good at it. It’s a daily grind in search of the lost chord. Forever. There’s no end, and you never win. And you make the choice knowing those are the rules."
Leonard is, however, happy to admit that he doesn’t draw any great inspiration from religious beliefs, as many other songwriters do.
He explained: "I’ve never thought of myself as a religious person. I don’t have any spiritual strategy, I kind of limp along, like so many of us do in these realms."
Leonard Cohen: I’m not ready to die
