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December 27, 2004
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
A Discussion
Thanks to one of my mentors and Shrek for the popularization of a throroughly trimmed version of an awesome song, I keep getting bugged about Hallelujah. Zeck seems to like to prod at my underlying issues, and this song describes them to a T. First of all, let's get this straignt (no pun intended), Rufus Wainright did not compose this song. Leonard Cohen did a long time ago. Actually, the original version is very, very weird and seems some combination of Elvis meets R&B. Check it out at Hellelujah . You'll have to scroll down and hit, "See all 18 tracks on this disc," between Disc 1 and Disc 2. Two of my favorite versions include covers by John Cale and Jeff Buckley. Both these versions are great, but there's another John Cale version that blows the others away in my opinion. Search KaZaA for it. I have yet to see any version other than the original include all of the verses. That aside, on to the lyrics.
This is by no means a definitive explanation of Mr. Cohen’s lyrics. This is my opinion. My thoughts on the matter are the product of my own experiences and training in the arts and may be considerably different from those of someone else. One of the neat things about Mr. Cohen’s style of writing is how he leaves a certain vagueness while giving the reader the idea that he intends his words to mean more than what is obvious. I personally feel that many writers simply write songs and stories that are straight-forward and have absolutely no intentional hidden meanings at all; the derivation of BS so commonly found in modern literature courses. Considering the source here, however, I feel Mr. Cohen’s intentions are pretty clear.
I've heard there was a secret chord That David played and it pleased the Lord
Literal biblical reference: David was a powerful king who wrote and played many psalms to glorify God, something God really liked. On another level, David was just that—a king. He was a stud. Now draw the line to the person singing in this song. He is a real catch, hot stuff, a person people respect, a master of his world, powerful and strong on many levels.
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Speaking directly to for whom the song was written, most likely a former girlfriend, the writer tells how he has resorted to writing a song about his situation. “You don’t really care for music, to do you—“the girl won’t fully understand the song, nor does she fully understand what she left.
Another angle: when you’re in love, that other person becomes you’re number one—your life. “I used to write and sing for you, and you absolutely loved it, but now you don’t care.”
It goes like this: The fourth, the fifth the minor fall, the major lift
On one level, this part of the verse describes how the song will be structured musically—fourths and fifths are names of musical chords. But perhaps more meaningfully, this section’s text along with the actual musical chords describes the emotions of a relationship: the rise of falling in love, the feeling of being in love, the fall and hurt of breaking up, and then, perhaps, the lift of moving on. Think of this as the song plays: happy-sounding, rising chords, a sad, minor chord, and another happy, major chord.
the baffled king Composing Hallelujah
The baffled king, the writer, doesn’t understand how or why she could have left him or why she hasn’t come back. He ends with a cry of, “Hallelujah,” perhaps painting a picture of himself throwing his hands up into the air and looking skyward, “praise God, help me—I don’t understand!” Perhaps his “Hallelujah” shows his hands in the air in disbelief. This could be a cry of mercy to God or the girl in question.
The first verse simplified: I know what a catch I am and how awesome we are together, but you don’t fully understand this. I could try to explain it to you, but I know you still won’t get it. I don’t understand how you could leave me.
Perhaps this sounds a bit arrogant? Read on.
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
Biblical reference: King David saw a beautiful married woman, Bath Sheba, bathing on the roof of her house. He subsequently gave into temptation, killing her husband and seducing her, effectively turning his back on God. David was a powerful king brought to his knees by his own weakness—a woman. When David turned his back on God by sinning, God stripped him of his Kingdom, causing David to cry out in mercy once he realized what had happened. The hair cutting line refers to the story of Samson and Delilah, where Samson, a powerful giant, was rendered powerless by a beautiful woman as she learned his secret and cut off his long hair. Pointing inward, the writer tells how his world was nearly complete and how he was in absolute awe as he first saw this former girl. He completed his world by perusing her and was forced to watch it all come tumbling down as she left because of his weakness for her. Again, his arms up in the air, "Hallelujah!"
The second verse simplified: “I had so much, but I wanted you, too. I got you. You became my world, and when you changed your mind, my world fell apart. Mercy!”
We'll stick with the first two verses for now, as I do intend to leave the house today. This should be sufficient for a sizable uproar from my entire reading audience of four people.
Posted by Richard at December 27, 2004 10:23 AM
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Comments
I just found this page somewhat accidentally, by Googling 'Leonard Cohen Hallelujah'. I was not necessarily in search of a discussion of the interpretation of the lyrics.
I think your interpretation is interesting, especially the explanation of the cutting of the hair.
My take on the song was probably more shallow, and less literal, but I always believed that Cohen was bashing organized religion with it. He was saying that you string a few chords together and somebody says it pleases the Lord because it is the right notes in the right order ("the Holy, not the broken, Hallelujah"), which is absurd. Then, using those same three chords, whether Holy or broken, other things happen as well that are much more down to earth.
But then again, like anyone else, I like to interpret things the way that I see them, and bashing organized religion is a favorite pastime.
Now I must find a copy of John Cale's version!
I am glad I came across your page. Thanks!
Posted by: Phil at January 31, 2005 01:37 PM
Phil,
Glad you enjoyed my discussion and that you even found the page! Guess Google going public wasn't a bad idea after all! Your interpretation is quite valid and is something I never really thought of. Though I don't recall where I heard it or who sang it, I seem to remember a version with the lyrics, "... It's not some Christian who's seen the light..." in place of, "It's not some cry you hear at night." That would back you up quite a bit. I don't know if it was a different Leonard Cohen version or not...
Nonetheless, I would be happy to set you up with John Cale's cover.
Posted by: RLS at January 31, 2005 05:04 PM