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Universally beloved Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen died on November 7 at the age of 82. The video above by the PBS Digital Studios animated web series Blank and Blank goes back to a rare 1974 interview with Cohen to uncover some of his influences.

Cohen, then 40, recites Two Went To Sleep in his signature deep, rich and soothing voice – a poem he wrote when he was 20. Rich in imagery, the poem – “Two went to sleep, almost every night, one dreamed of mud, one dreamed of Asia, visiting a zeppelin, visiting Nijinsky” – is visualised through animation.

In the second half, the singer-songwriter explains what he thinks of covers of his songs, “I’m always pleased when somebody sings a song of mine. In fact, I never get over that initial rush of happiness when someone says they’re going to sing a song of mine.”

And finally, the piece de resistance: the real-life incident that inspired Sisters of Mercy.

“It’s one of the few songs I ever wrote from top to bottom without a line of revision,” he explains. Here’s the song:

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