5 Facts About the Back Cover of Songs of Leonard Cohen

The back cover shows a Mexican religious image called the Anima Sola. It depicts a woman breaking free of chains while surrounded by flames.

Leonard Cohen found the picture in a botánica near the Hotel Chelsea. A botánica is a store that sells folk remedies and religious items.

The image is not original to the album or Cohen’s design. He simply chose it for the cover because it resonated with him.

The Anima Sola represents a soul in purgatory, trapped between heaven and hell. This fits the album’s themes of longing, suffering, and redemption.

The detail is typical of Cohen’s esoteric, literary sensibility. He often incorporated obscure religious and cultural references into his work.