One of Those Leonard Cohen Moments

[linmag]

This actually happened last year, but I never got around to sharing it then so thought I would now.

I was at a concert by a group called St Agnes Fountain, whose members pursue solo careers during the rest of the year but in December they get together to perform Christmas music both traditional and new. They were singing a song one of the group had written, which had a refrain that went 'We're home for Christmas now, hallelujah'. As the song ended I was wondering how many others in the audience were thinking of Leonard Cohen, when one of the band called out "Come on now, all together, you know you want to", and they launched into the Leonard Cohen Hallelujah chorus with no further introduction. They were immediately joined by pretty much the whole of the rest of the audience, so I guess that answered that question It quite sent shivers down my spine!

And it can't all have been down to X-Factor - can it?

[lizzytysh]

That's an interesting postulation at the end, linmag.
If it were in the U.S., it would hold greater possibility, but being in the U.K., absolutely NOT due to X-Factor or any other such show!!!

Thanks for sharing your last year's moment! I'd have gotten shivers, too.

[Vicomte]

Sorry Lizzy but millions watch this kind of show over in the UK and when it was used by competitors in the X Factor, it sent 3 different Hallelujah recordings in to the top 30 or so.

So no doubt it was the X Factor and that kind of show that without doubt saw millions find out about this song. Before that you would have had to ask many British people before you found one that not only knew the song but who the writer was. In fact here in France, many believe it was Jeff Buckley that wrote the song.