“Suzanne” (Leonard Cohen/Judy Collins)

Our final classic song with a lady’s name in the title of the day this week is Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne.” This one was never really a hit single for anybody, although a lot of us remember both Mr. Cohen’s original version and Judy Collins’ cover.

“Suzanne” is a lyrical journey that draws in listeners with its multiple layers of meaning and imagery. At its core, the song tells the story of a man’s encounters with Suzanne, a enigmatic woman who lives near the river, and the profound impact she has on his life.

Leonard Cohen is a masterful poet, painting vivid pictures with a minimal number of words. Consider the following lyrics:

Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by, you can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half-crazy but that’s why you wanna to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her that you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer that you’ve always been her lover

And you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind
And then you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind

“Suzanne” is about a love either lost or never had. Cohen wrote the song about a real woman named Suzanne Verdal, a dancer with whom he had a platonic relationship. (She was the free-spirited wife of an artist friend of his.) Everything he detailed in the song were things the two of them actually did together.

The song first came to life as a poem titled “Suzanne Takes You Down” that appeared in Cohen’s 1966 book, Parasites of Heaven. Singer Judy Collins read the poem and encouraged Mr. Cohen to turn it into a song (thus also encouraging him to pursue songwriting), and recorded it for her 1966 album, In My Life. It’s that ethereal version that most of us probably know, although Mr. Cohen eventually released his own single version in 1968, although it didn’t chart.

Not surprisingly, the poem and the song also caught the attention of Ms. Verdal, the Suzanne of the song’s title. Here’s what she thought about it:

“[I was] flattered somewhat. But I was depicted as I think, in sad terms too in a sense, and that’s a little unfortunate. You know I don’t think I was quite as sad as that, albeit maybe I was and he perceived that and I didn’t… The half crazy could pertain to the sadness, but I think it was because I was so on a creative drive and the focuses were so strong in spite of any private grief I may have about my break up with Armand [her husband[ and the wheres and whys. There was so much other wonderful things happening.”

As to Suzanne Verdal, she continued her somewhat-bohemian lifestyle, moving from Montreal (where she had met Cohen) to France to Minneapolis to Texas to Los Angeles, where she worked for awhile as a choreographer. According to the latest post on her website, she is currently homeless after her cottage in Northern California burned down.

In a 1998 interview with BBC radio, Ms. Verdal reflected on the impact of the song named after her and the times that inspired it:

“There’s a little bit of a bittersweet feeling to it that I retain. I guess I miss the simpler times that we lived and shared. I don’t mean to be maudlin about it, but we’ve kind of gone our different ways and lost touch and some of my most beloved friends have departed from this planet into the other spheres. And there’s sometimes a very real homesickness for Montreal and that wonderful time.”