Fair warning – I have strong feelings about this song…always have. So, let me get this out of the way… While it may be spiritual and touch the soul, this is not a “religious” song and versions that update it to be an Easter or Christmas song don’t quite do it justice and are a bit short-sighted. But, the irony is that my feelings about it (and the error in them) are exactly the point of the song. The best description I’ve found – Many of us ask ourselves what the meaning of Hallelujah is, but probably every thesis is wrong and right at the same time, since music is subjective and everyone can attribute different meanings to it.
When Leonard Cohen wrote the song, it didn’t get a lot of attention. Only after Jeff Buckley covered it, did it become a hit. And now there are thousands of cover versions, and it’s a bit overused in movies and TV dramas (kind of like how Martin Scorsese LOVES to use the Rolling Stones in gangster movies!). When asked if that annoyed him, Cohen said at first it did, but then he realized he was just grateful that people were singing it.
It’s a song that evokes strong emotion. Appreciation for life and love lost. Consequences of taking risks. The third verse sums it up – but many versions cut this one out… “Maybe there’s a God above, but all I ever learned from love was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you. It’s no complaint you hear tonight. It’s not some pilgrim who’s seen the light – it’s a cold and it’s a lonely(/broken )Hallelujah…” But on this week of the year anniversary of losing my sister to breast cancer, I chose this song because it has always been the perfect juxtoposition of sorrow, loss, grief with hope and appreciation. Our lives are neither the perfect story book fable, nor a steaming hell pit – our lives are both, meshed together with tears and smiles. It just is. For the stars to shine, there must also be darkness.
“This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can… reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that’s what I mean by ‘Hallelujah’.
The song explains that many kinds of hallelujahs do exist, and all the perfect and broken hallelujahs have equal value. It’s a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way but with enthusiasm, with emotion.”
Leonard Cohen, on the meaning of the song “Hallelujah”
Listen and experience the song below!
Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Your faith was strong, but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Maybe there's a God above but all I ever learned from love Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you It's no complaint you hear tonight It's not some pilgrim who's seen the light No, it's a cold and it's a very broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah… Baby I've been here before I know this room, I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew you I've seen your flag on the marble arch Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a very lonely Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah There was a time you let me know What's really going on below but now you never show it to me, do you? And remember when I moved in you the holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you And even though it all went wrong I'll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah You say I took the Name in vain I don't even know the Name But if I did, well really, what's it to you? There's a blaze of light in every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Are there songs you use for catharsis – what are some of your favorite?
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