Sisters of Mercy is a wonderful and unforgettable song...like many of Leonard Cohen's. The man is a true poet. The French LOVE Leonard Cohen, because the French appreciate that sort of thing to the max. ;-)

Most songwriters can't sustain the intensity of their youthful writing past a certain point, and I think that's mainly because their overall physical/emotional vitality goes down with the aging process, and there's less fuel to burn, so to speak. Leonard Cohen, on the other hand, seems to be able to keep that fire burning. Ian Tyson has also written many of his best songs in the later part of his career. Dylan, I feel, was writing some very powerful stuff all the way through the 60s, 70s, 80s, and well into the 90s...but his output since the end of the 90s has dwindled quite noticeably.

(And so has mine, for that matter. I wrote a ton of stuff in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but I only occasionally write a new song or poem now. I'm just not as hungry to do it anymore. I feel much more reflective than I did then.)