In Montreal, Leonard Cohen is an almost mythical figure. His presence is everywhere. His portrait watches over the streets in murals, tourists visit his old haunts like pilgrims, and all over the city, you'll find landmarks that he wrote about in his songs.
But despite that mythical status, when Cohen was still alive, he was also kind of just a normal guy who really loved his hometown.
"As he got older, he'd walk around the streets in his slippers 'cause they were more comfortable," says Ruby Roy.
Roy's a guide who's given countless tours of Cohen's Montreal. As part of our latest Sense of Place trip to this great Canadian city, Roy talks about how Cohen left his mark on the city, how the city left it's mark on him, plus she shares her own story of meeting Cohen on an airplane.
"He said, 'Do you like my work?' and I said, 'Honestly, it's really depressing.' And he laughed," Roy recalls.
This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Kimberly Junod. Our digital producer is Miguel Perez. World Cafe's engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.
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