Breaking Up With Kindness

Heart Banter/Music Covers & Acoustic Guitar · Jun 30, 2026 · 2m · transcript

The ending of a love relationship is often painful and dramatic. In “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye,” Leonard Cohen has penned a poetic plea for a graceful, respectful breakup that honors the beauty of a dying connection, rather than dwelling on the pain, anger, and lingering regret of the ending.

Cohen wrote the song in 1966 on a decrepit bed in the Penn Terminal Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. In 1967, Judy Collins, who became Cohen’s good friend, recorded the song for her album Wildflowers. The following month, Cohen’s own version was released on his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen…