How the light gets in

I went to see Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song this evening. So many songs I knew, so much information I didn't. I've never been very good at looking beyond songs - if I like a song I'll listen, if I don't I won't and if I really, really like a lot of songs by the same person I'll try to see them live. But that's about as far as it goes.

Although I was listening to Leonard Cohen from 1969 (I think) I kind of lost track of what he was doing after Death of a Ladies Man, though I am in the minority who enjoyed and defended that album, so I had no idea that his record company had refused to put out Various Positions, the already-recorded album that contained Hallelujah. That song seeped into my awareness through other musicians' versions and I remember being quite surprised when I discovered that it was by Leonard Cohen.

Hallelujah was the thread running through the documentary but it was about very much more than that - it was about me too - and I loved it, like being wrapped up, knees to chin, in a warm blanket. I was shaken at the end to realise that he died a whole six years ago. It feels much less time than that since I last heard him live. But it seems that was nine years ago.