Subject: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH (Leonard Cohen) From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 11 Nov 16 - 08:02 AM Hallelujah> Written by Leonard Cohen Album:Various Positions Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC Released: December 1984 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 her 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 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 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 Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Sung by: Leonard Cohen1984 Bob Dylan 1988 John Cale 1991 Jeff Buckley 1994 Rufus Wainwright 2001 Regina Spektor 2005 Bon Jovi 2009 Neil Diamond 2010 Sincerely, Gargoyle Newsweek Magazine had a critical review of 60 recordings of this song…it will have your chuckling60 Versions font color=olive> 56. Susan Boyle (The Gift, 2010): It is difficult to encompass every trite, melodramatic "Hallelujah" cliché in a single, four-minute rendition, but Britain's Got Talent star Boyle succeeds. Cloying beyond mercy. 59. The Canadian Tenors (The Canadian Tenors, 2008): "This song is pretty much indestructible," singer Regina Spektor once said of "Hallelujah." This vomitously overstuffed murdering of the track proves her wrong. 58. Michael Bolton (Gems - The Duets Collection, 2011): From its opening string swells to its steel guitar flourishes and choir crescendo, Bolton's "Hallelujah" is a miserable grab bag of elevator-core tackiness, with a key change that would make even Jon Bon Jovi grimace. Avoid at all costs |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: Mrrzy Date: 11 Nov 16 - 10:11 AM And by Shrek. I had no idea he'd written this. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 11 Nov 16 - 12:06 PM Several commonly included verses omitted I think. And the odd less common, depending on the versions you listen to. Here is a another set of words: I heard there was a secret chord That David played and it pleased the lord But you don't really care for music, do you Well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth The minor fall and the major lift The baffled king composing hallelujah Well 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 her kitchen chair She broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the hallelujah Baby I've been here before I've seen this room and I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew you I've seen your flag on the marble arch But love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah Well there was a time when you let me know What's really going on below But now you never show that to me do you But remember when I moved in you And the holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was hallelujah Well, maybe there's a god above But all I've ever learned from love Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you It's not a cry that you hear at night It's not somebody who's seen the light It's a cold and it's a broken 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 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 I am always amazed people don't seem to listen to songs and realise what they are about. This is a good example of one of those songs. I remember driving in the car one time when a choir of Irish ten year olds came on for some religious occasion or other and they went the whole Well there was a time when you let me know What's really going on below But now you never show that to me do you But remember when I moved in you And the holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was hallelujah apparently without the choir leader blinking an eye about what she had her pupils sing. But it said 'Hallelujah' so it must must be about god and what have you, right? |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: Joe Offer Date: 11 Nov 16 - 01:23 PM This tablet has neither keyboard nor mouse, so I can't make the crosslink group clickable: http://mudcat.org/threadgroup.cfm?threadgroupid=2649 Got it for you. -Mod |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Pete from seven stars link Date: 12 Nov 16 - 06:17 AM Not sure what the problem is peter...the verse seems to me to be about having a struggle about retaining belief inGod. Be that so, I would have no problem with 10 yr olds knowing some people have struggles with faith. The book of job would be a similar biblical example. But perhaps you see something else in the lyric ? |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Ed Date: 12 Nov 16 - 08:33 AM Pete, You might want to listen to this version... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx3d6F8vd-w |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 12 Nov 16 - 10:56 AM I read he wrote 80 verses for this, and just picked a few to sing. That, room for an awaful lot of versions. The point is, peter, the man was a poet, and poems most times don't just have one meaning. Even when they seem to. Like Holy Books. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 12 Nov 16 - 11:52 AM Hallelujah is remarkably pliable text that means many things to many people. But Cohen sometimes spoke how he created a 'secular hallelujah', in spite of the rich biblical references. And, given the recurring themes of his work, I think it is not too hard to figure out what this particular verse is about. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 12 Nov 16 - 11:58 AM As with the Song of Songs, it's both at the same time. At least that's how I read it. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: Jeri Date: 12 Nov 16 - 12:17 PM Not hard to figure it out, Peter. I'm sure he meant it to be about David & Bathsheba, and about sex, and about relationships. Once a song gets out in the world, though, it had different meaning for different people. I personally find the belief that just because the word "hallelujah" is in it, it must be a religious song, a bit amusing, and a bit annoying. Suuuure, the Jewish Zen Buddhist monk wrote a Christian hymn. But, like I said, it's open to interpretation |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: meself Date: 12 Nov 16 - 12:22 PM And as with the Song of Songs, if you were to have a ten-year-old stand up in church and read passages from it, you would probably choose them with care ... ! _________________ Hallelujah is not a religious song in the conventional sense, but it is a spiritual song, undoubtedly. But choirs should not be allowed to sing it. That is blasphemy. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 12 Nov 16 - 12:23 PM Well, that was my point really, amusing, but that's really as far as it went. And it was the reason for mentioning it, my sense of amusement at hearing that particular verse (that is not used in all versions), in that context. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: meself Date: 12 Nov 16 - 12:39 PM Yeah, I got that. If you didn't laugh, you'd cry. Or at least, I would! |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: Joe Offer Date: 12 Nov 16 - 03:25 PM Yesterday, All Things Considered on National Public Radio had an interesting piece on the song. Worth a listen. -Joe- A transcript: ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: We learned yesterday of the death of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. He was 82 years old. He's now known best for the song "Hallelujah." (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HALLELUJAH") LEONARD COHEN: (Singing) Now I've heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord. SHAPIRO: It took more than a decade for the song to find its audience. Alan Light wrote the book "The Holy Or The Broken" about the unlikely ascent of "Hallelujah," a song Cohen released as his career seemed to be winding down. ALAN LIGHT: Through the '70s and into the '80s, it was a bit of a gradual decline in interests. And by the time it was 1984 and he recorded the "Various Positions" record, which included "Hallelujah," he turned it in to Columbia Records and they rejected the album. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HALLELUJAH") UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing) Hallelujah. LIGHT: Came out on a very small indie label to virtually no attention and no acclaim. He had written 40, 50, 70 verses for this song. And he just couldn't figure out exactly what the song was. John Cale from The Velvet Underground saw Leonard perform and saw him do one of these versions of "Hallelujah" and thought that might be an interesting song to do. So he asked Leonard, can you send me over the lyrics so I get it right? And apparently they sent him pages and pages of lyrics. And Leonard just sort of said, see what you like in here and you figure it out. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HALLELUJAH") JOHN CALE: (Singing) Maybe there's a God above. All I ever learned from love was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you. LIGHT: A couple years later, a kid named Jeff Buckley is house sitting for a friend in Brooklyn and sees this Leonard tribute record on the shelves and puts it on. And here's John Cale's version of "Hallelujah." And he starts to work it into his own show. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HALLELUJAH") JEFF BUCKLEY: (Singing) But remember when I moved in you and the holy dove was moving too, and every breath we drew was Hallelujah. LIGHT: After Jeff died in 1997, his recording of "Hallelujah" sort of became his own elegy. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HALLELUJAH") BUCKLEY: (Singing) Hallelujah. LIGHT: September 11 comes and Jeff Buckley's recording of "Hallelujah" really became sort of an anthem in the aftermath, emotional shorthand for melancholy and for sadness. SHAPIRO: That's writer Alan Light. Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" has been covered by at least 300 different artists. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Jump Jump Music Date: 15 Nov 16 - 06:46 PM Folklorist friend just showed me this sight. Can I ask this question here? The repeated Hallelujahs, original melody or traditional hymn? |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,humper Date: 16 Nov 16 - 07:55 AM usual cohen rubbish |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: David C. Carter Date: 16 Nov 16 - 09:02 AM "usual cohen rubbi sh" IT's always great to hear a wonderful,articulate,in depth view of an artist's work;so refreshing!Thanks'''Guest'humper |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: Pete from seven stars link Date: 16 Nov 16 - 10:18 AM Well there you go , I would never have thought of it like that at all , but if you know that was what he intended , I can see the veiled reference now . |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 17 Nov 16 - 03:08 AM Sorry Pete, there's nothing 'veiled' about : There was a time when you let me know What's really going on below But now you never even show it to me, do you But remember when I moved in you And the holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was hallelujah especially if you're even slightly familiar with the themes of Cohen's work. Next someone will come along and they always thought 'Sisters of Mercy' is about nuns. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,humper Date: 17 Nov 16 - 02:06 PM isn't it? |
Subject: beautiful renditions of Halleluia From: GUEST,mg Date: 22 Nov 16 - 08:45 PM here are some nice ones. it seems to be almost an anthem lately... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7C2MKoBL7Q russian children https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-4JmRnv_nE welsh teens and children |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: meself Date: 22 Nov 16 - 09:54 PM Oh, if only the Powers-That-Be had listened to poor Leonard, and put a moratorium on his cri-de-coeur .... |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH by Leonard Cohen From: GUEST,Pete from seven stars link Date: 23 Nov 16 - 03:22 PM If you say so peter . I am not over familiar with his work so it was not obvious to me |
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