"Hallelujah"

[George K]

At Mrs. George's church, there's a gal who has a really great voice. A couple of years ago she sang "Rejoice! Rejoice!" from "Messiah." It was tingles-up-the spine good, even if only accompanied by a piano.

Today, during the offertory, she sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." I was far enough away that I couldn't really discern the lyrics. Apparently, there are hundreds of different lyrics out there - even Cohen acknowledged it.

But, other than the title, is Cohen's "Hallelujah" a song you'd expect to hear in an Easter service?

[Jolly]

Nope.

[George K]

@Jolly said in "Hallelujah":

Nope.

That's what I thought. This is a Lutheran Church, Misery Missouri Synod congregation. Probably the 2nd-most conservative branch of the Lutrins (Wisconsin being #1).

So, I was surprised.

[George K]

[Verse 1]
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 ya?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing "Hallelujah"

[Chorus]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

[Verse 2]
Your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

[Chorus]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

[Verse 3]
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 ya?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

[Chorus]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

[Verse 4]
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 ya
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the lord of song
With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

[Chorus]
Hallelujah...

[Outro]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

[Additional Lyrics]
Baby, I've been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

[Additional Lyrics]
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

[Additional Lyrics]
Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
And 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

[George K]

Also,

I've been a Cohen fan since I first heard "Suzanne" back in the early 1970s. He was a fabulous tunesmith, and could turn a phrase with a hook that you'd never expect (see "Take This Waltz).

He never struck me as religious - spiritual, to be sure, but not religious.

[Jolly]

@George-K said in "Hallelujah":

@Jolly said in "Hallelujah":

Nope.

That's what I thought. This is a Lutheran Church, Misery Missouri Synod congregation. Probably the 2nd-most conservative branch of the Lutrins (Wisconsin being #1).

So, I was surprised.

Maybe, just maybe, the lyrics made it appropriate...There are a million lyrics to the song.

[Mik]

It’s a particular favorite of mine as my daughter soloed it at her senior recital. But for church? Not even.