Leonard Cohen Backtracks: “I Intend to Live Forever”

In a recent interview, Leonard Cohen discussed his unfinished poems and songs. He acknowledged that he may not have a chance to finish them and said, “I am ready to die.” Last night, Cohen addressed his comments during a question-and-answer session in Los Angeles, Billboard reports. After a listening session for his upcoming album You Want It Darker, the host asked Cohen, “How are you feeling?” He responded, “I said I was ready to die recently,” and continued, “And I think I was exaggerating. I’ve always been into self-dramatization. I intend to live forever.” Upon closing the session, Cohen–who just turned 82–reassured the crowd, “I hope we can do this again. I intend to stick around until 120.”

Elsewhere during the Q&A, Cohen said he hopes to release two more albums, according to Billboard. He also commented on Bob Dylan’s recent Nobel Prize in Literature, which he said, to him, “is like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain.” Read the full report here.

You Want It Darker is out next Friday, October 21. It is currently streaming online. Listen to the full album here, and hear the title track below.

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