Farewell

What news to be greeted with as I switched on my computer this morning.

Leonard Cohen is dead.

82 years is a fine innings, by anyone's book, and I guess we all knew it was coming soon. But still. It feels desolate to know that Leonard Cohen is no longer with us. He was my first musical obsession, as I think I may have mentioned before.

What a legacy he leaves behind. So much poetry, so much beauty. I could fill a book with my "favourite" lyrics. There are so many gems. So much wisdom.

It's been this track from his penultimate album of two years ago that has stuck with me most today, though:

"You got me singing
Even tho’ the news is bad
You got me singing
The only song I ever had

You got me singing
Ever since the river died
You got me thinking
Of the places we could hide

You got me singing
Even though the world is gone
You got me thinking
I’d like to carry on

You got me singing
Even tho’ it all looks grim
You got me singing
The Hallelujah hymn

You got me singing
Like a prisoner in a jail
You got me singing
Like my pardon’s in the mail

You got me wishing
Our little love would last
You got me thinking
Like those people of the past"

Rest in peace, dear Leonard. Rest in peace.