Leonard Cohen turns an erotic fantasy that wasn’t into a sleepless night’s work

Love could not bind them
Fear could not either
They went unconnected
They never knew where

Excerpted from a little-known interview conducted by Kathleen Kendel in 1974, this instalment of PBS’s animated Blank on Blank series features the recently deceased Canadian writer, singer and artist Leonard Cohen reading his poem ‘Two Went to Sleep’ in his distinctive baritone. He then goes on to tell the story of writing the song ‘The Sisters of Mercy’, evoking a restless moonlit winter night spent in Edmonton, Canada, with two sleeping companions nearby. How Cohen got himself into bed with two women is a good story, but what actually transpired is something altogether more wonderful – a lovely evocation of songwriting’s power to transport.