By Chad
Of course, by now, everyone has heard this song ad nauseum, due to it being on Shrek, West Wing, Watchmen, Without a Trace, the O.C., Edukators, Lord of War, and House. Originally written by Leonard Cohen, the song Hallelujah is one of the most covered songs in history. Cohen’s original version had the great choir in the chorus, and the pacing and voice make it haunting. Buckley’s version has heart. Rufus Wainwright’s version is almost liturgical and smooth. I noticed a while back that every time I heard the song covered, there were different sets of verses used. A little research yielded that Cohen wrote over 80 verses, which he rotated through in his concerts. When I end up recording this song, these are the verses I will use:
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
Maybe there’s a God above, and all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can 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
Ultimately, this is a song about life. The second to last verse I think epitomizes the theme when it says “It doesn’t matter which you heard, The holy or the broken Hallelujah” The point is, whether it is the formal, knowing hallelujah that we sing at church or specifically to God, or the “broken hallelujah”, romantic love filtered through all that comes with it - heartbreak, passion, and loss – we all utter hallelujah. Life is lived. That is hallelujah. Love, even the bad parts of it. Is hallelujah. Singing and music. That is hallelujah.
How many times have I thought that last verse? “And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the Lord of Song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah” Sometimes we have great things ahead of us. Some of us will have everything together, more or less. Some of us struggle with any hallelujah at all. Sometimes, perhaps it is enough of a hallelujah just to have lived.
