Distractions Needed

and that's to keep me from dwelling on other things happening at the moment - like my collapsed clothesline (the one loaded with washing that managed to get tangled around the recently oiled support post leaving stains that show no signs of coming out despite much scrubbing and many stain treatments) for instance or the fact that my 'good' knee is currently playing catch up with my bad knee in the pain stakes. You'll note I'm trying to not even think about the grim state of world politics.

Let us think of other things - like the fact that the vegetable garden is still producing quite a lot of food despite most of the summer crops having been pulled out. I found two new self seeded tomato plants about 20 cms high and flowering yesterday - not something you expect at this time of year - and I've just brought in the last of the rockmelons and butternuts. I'm still picking snake beans, green capsicums, spring onions and even some silverbeet from the two survivors of the summer planting and trying to catch the lettuces before they bolt too.

The thing is we've had a mild summer and, although night time is getting a little chilly averaging around 12 °C, the days are still pleasantly warm in the mid twenties and this is confusing many of the plants. It's confusing us, too. I'm still wandering around in shorts and lightweight T-shirts and only adding a light jacket in the evening.

So something pleasantly distracting to finish up. How about Dolly Parton singing Jolene with a cappella group Pentatonix? Or something quite different Pentatonix by themselves singing Daft Punk? I'm in awe of what the human voice can achieve.

Hallelujah - Pentatonix

I've been a great fan of a cappella group, Pentatonix, ever since I watched them singing  - and winning - The Sing-Off in 2011. Their blend of voices is extraordinary and they have just released a Christmas album. You can hear and watch them perform Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah here.

Now I have to say that while I find this song haunting and lovely - and this rendition of it is particularly beautiful - I still struggle to understand its entire meaning. I do get the Biblical references but some of the other parts confuse me. I was relieved to find I was not the only one who was in this position when I googled 'what does Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah mean?' because literally pages of people asking the same question or trying to answer it came up. The trouble is the interpretations are as varied as those writing them so I decided to simply enjoy it and leave it to you to work out your own meaning/meanings.

It turns out that even finding a definitive version of the lyrics of Hallelujah is not easy but this link gives you a number of variations. Have fun and for some more information here is Leonard Cohen being interviewed about the song.