Sunday Tribune (Ireland) this week carried a story on the history of this song. Over 100 recorded versions!
Apparently the version recorded by Cohen was cut from 200 verses to 6 - and he reckoned that even at 200 he wasn't finished and it nearly killed him. Dylan recorded it live and when he asked Cohen how long it had taken to write, Cohen replied 2 years - out of shame as it had actually taken a lot longer!
Fabulous song, fabulous version, but I still fall in the Jeff Buckley camp when it comes to favourite versions