Hallelujah
I adore Leonard Cohen. I'm resigned myself to the knowledge that I'll always have pedestrian tastes in poetry because I'm no poet but Leonard Choen's lyrics/poems always give me Guh!. (Margaret Atwood is my second favourite poet but her novels throw me into dreamland after the first sentence)
The song "Hallelujah" is one of my favourite Cohen pieces although "Suzanne" comes at a close second. You know "Hallelujah". It's been covered by a frillion artists but the most famous at the moment is Rufus Wainwright's cover from the Shrek soundtrack. Another cool thing about the covers is that because Cohen wrote 15 verses, the other artists tend to mix and match the verses. Cohen himself used 8 of them in his own albums.
(Original Verses from 1984)
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 you?
It goes like this he fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
2. 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, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
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 you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
4. I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I learned 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 lips but Hallelujah
(Additional Verses - All by Leonard Cohen)
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,
But love is not some kind of victory march,
No it's a cold and it's a very broken 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?
I remember when I moved in you,
And the holy dove was moving too,
and every breath we drew was Hallelujah.
Now maybe there's a God above,
As for me, all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
and it's no complaint you hear tonight,
and It's not some pilgrim who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a very lonely Hallelujah.
(Variations on the Last Verse)
Maybe there's a God above,
But all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew you.
It's not a cry that you at night
It's not somebody who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.
Now maybe there's a God above,
But all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
But it's not a cry that you hear tonight
And it's not some gleeful laughter
From somebody who says he has seen the light,
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.
Now maybe there's a God above,
As for me, all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
But it's not a cry that you hear tonight
It's not some gleeful christian who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Imagine my joy when I found My Old Kentucky Blog which has links to almost all the cover versions out there. Pardon the pun, but I'm in heaven. My favourite so far is Allison Crowe's. He voice is so powerful; she could probably sing in a concert hall without a mic and still sound soulful.
The song "Hallelujah" is one of my favourite Cohen pieces although "Suzanne" comes at a close second. You know "Hallelujah". It's been covered by a frillion artists but the most famous at the moment is Rufus Wainwright's cover from the Shrek soundtrack. Another cool thing about the covers is that because Cohen wrote 15 verses, the other artists tend to mix and match the verses. Cohen himself used 8 of them in his own albums.
(Original Verses from 1984)
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 you?
It goes like this he fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
2. 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, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
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 you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
4. I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I learned 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 lips but Hallelujah
(Additional Verses - All by Leonard Cohen)
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,
But love is not some kind of victory march,
No it's a cold and it's a very broken 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?
I remember when I moved in you,
And the holy dove was moving too,
and every breath we drew was Hallelujah.
Now maybe there's a God above,
As for me, all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
and it's no complaint you hear tonight,
and It's not some pilgrim who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a very lonely Hallelujah.
(Variations on the Last Verse)
Maybe there's a God above,
But all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew you.
It's not a cry that you at night
It's not somebody who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.
Now maybe there's a God above,
But all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
But it's not a cry that you hear tonight
And it's not some gleeful laughter
From somebody who says he has seen the light,
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.
Now maybe there's a God above,
As for me, all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
But it's not a cry that you hear tonight
It's not some gleeful christian who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Imagine my joy when I found My Old Kentucky Blog which has links to almost all the cover versions out there. Pardon the pun, but I'm in heaven. My favourite so far is Allison Crowe's. He voice is so powerful; she could probably sing in a concert hall without a mic and still sound soulful.