About the song "Field Commander Cohen":
Ira Nadel in his book Various Positions indicates that after Leonard's journey to Israel during the Yom Kippur War, he arrived in Asmara, Ethiopia where he began "Field Commander Cohen". Leonard "lived in the Imperial Hotel for a while, writing songs and re-assessing his life...he finished 'Chelsea Hotel #2' and began several songs incorporating his Israeli experience: 'Field Commander Cohen'"...1
However, upon forwarding the notebook pages containing his first creative efforts on the song "Field Commander Cohen", Leonard indicated to Jarkko Arjatsalo of The Leonard Cohen Files that the song was begun sometime during 1971:
"Let's see, I went to Asmara after the Yom Kippur War which was in '73,
wasn't it? No, this little notebook predates that by a couple of years. There is an entry written on March 14, 1971, in the coffee shop of the Hilton in
Acapulco, and one in Suzanne's writing, on June 1, 1971. It also contains
the first draft of 'Love Is a Fire' which was published in The Energy of Slaves, in 1972."
For a more indepth study of the notebook pages, click here.
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