Leonard Cohen's son Adam has shared his family's thanks for the "outpouring of sympathy" and love from fans in the days following the elder Cohen's passing at the age of 82.

Describing his father's simple burial, which happened "with only immediate family and a few lifelong friends present," Adam Cohen reflected on Leonard's legacy as a father and a musician, writing, "As I write this I’m thinking of my father’s unique blend of self-deprecation and dignity, his approachable elegance, his charisma without audacity, his old-world gentlemanliness and the hand-forged tower of his work."

Those thoughts, naturally, were tinged with grief and a wish for just a little more time together. "There’s so much I wish I could thank him for, just one last time," Cohen continued. "I’d thank him for the comfort he always provided, for the wisdom he dispensed, for the marathon conversations, for his dazzling wit and humor. ... And I’d thank him for music; first for his music which seduced me as a boy, then for his encouragement of my own music, and finally for the privilege of being able to make music with him."

The Cohens worked together on Leonard's final album, You Want It Darker, which arrived in stores mere days before his death. Adam, who served as producer, told the Guardian he watched his father work through tremendous physical pain during the sessions, with the side effects of his cancer and his treatment for the disease often requiring the need of a medical chair.

"I think in states of pain and discomfort, what do you seek with more energy and more clarity than joy and jubilance?" mused Adam. "This guy is speaking from his particular vantage point, he’s speaking about things that are meaningful to him at his particular rung in life – he will be leaving a giant void when he leaves us."

My sister and I just buried my father in Montreal. With only immediate family and a few lifelong friends present, he was lowered into the ground in an unadorned pine box, next to his mother and father. Exactly as he’d asked. As I write this I’m thinking of my father’s unique blend of self-deprecation and dignity, his approachable elegance, his charisma without audacity, his old-world gentlemanliness and the hand-forged tower of his work. There’s so much I wish I could thank him for, just one last time. I’d thank him for the comfort he always provided, for the wisdom he dispensed, for the marathon conversations, for his dazzling wit and humor. I’d thank him for giving me, and teaching me to love Montreal and Greece. And I’d thank him for music; first for his music which seduced me as a boy, then for his encouragement of my own music, and finally for the privilege of being able to make music with him. Thank you for your kind messages, for the outpouring of sympathy and for your love of my father.

A photo posted by 🌶 (@commandercohen) on

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