Untold Stories:From This Broken Hill.
In June 1982 Cohen began an affair with Gabriela Valenzuela, over 20 years his junior. A student from Costa Rica. He had been working up to it for 2 years.
Her story – one night he wanted a haircut. So she did, both naked. “I tied him to the kitchen chair and seduced him, kissing without letting go”. He wrote all that night.
Another evening she slept on the roof and they made love. “We held tight to each other like sailors in a bad storm”.
It didn’t end well 4 years later.
“I don’t know if the song is about that, but when I hear it my soul vibrates”.
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Halleluja
