Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah Meaning
Song Released: 1984
Covered By: Rufus Wainwright (2007), Jordan Smith (2015), Pentatonix (2016)
Hallelujah Lyrics
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Cohen is confessing to infidelity. His song is to the woman he cheated on.
He begins by referencing King David at his weakest moment. He suggests that David never doubted God's love or forgivenss but needed proof...thus a higher motive for his sin...should he be forgiven, his faith is not in vain, God's love is reassured.
By inference he is suggesting that he was testing her love and forgiveness by his infidelity.
It is a half hearted argument...because even as he makes it he acknowledges that like David it weakened him (reference to Samson) and made him common (tied him to a kitchen chair..domestic)and that additionally the whole argument was lost on her since she never understood his art (you don't care for music)
In vs 3 Cohen moves to accusation. He reminds her that he lived without her before she came around...by inference could do so again. He claims her love was nothing more than a conquest (flag in marble, victory march)
In vx 4 he softens to remember their former intamacy...when they were at one, in unison, spiritually and sexually....he laments it's passing but blames her for withdrawing and becoming secrative.
By committing adultery Cohen has broken one of the 10 commandments...yet he chooses to defend the accusation that he broke one of the other 10 commandments by taking God's name in vain (Hallelujah means Praise Jah, a shorted form of the divine name)...he says "what's it to you?" He is simply not apologizing for his sins.
In the final verse he hides behind his honesty...at least I told you. 'I couldn't feel so I tried to touch' is an attempt to offer some sort of explaination she may understand...but whether she does or doesn't he will not allow himself to be judged by her..he will face whatever judgement the future brings confident that he is justified. -
As much as I can appreciate the idea of religion being the basis for the song because of the word hallelujah, A hallelujah is simply a song of praise and thanks. Reference to all of the religious connotations does not necessarily mean this is a religious song. the positive references hallelujah it is simply a positive need of praise and thanks. the negative connotations refer to singing out and sorrow crying out in pain. similar to those times we feel the need to cry. The need to feel the loss of what we once had. I'm not referring to the ideas of depression. I'm referring to those times when necessary to mourn the loss of something you once had. My case in point, my brother died 3 years ago. I spent my evening remembering the loss the pain the want of memory. what I felt inside was my definition a hallelujah a song of thanks and praise not necessarily to God but by definitiony thanks and praise. Thus a cold and broken hallelujah. And for those who think I might be trying to keep disturbing about religion,know this, I believe in God deeply. a hallelujah is not just a praise to God but also just simply a praise of thanks.
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These lyrics are different than the ones I've found/heard sang. I think different singers change them based on their own feelings. Personally, I think the first stanza is about David and Bathsheba, while the second is Samson and Delilah. The baffled king singing Hallelujah is when David realized he was wrong. He was blinded by tunnel vision of 'love' and sinned against God. He didn't even realize he'd sinned until an aid told him a parable. He then let out a praise to God and asked forgiveness. Everyone thinks that in the second stanza when the narrator says 'She drew the Hallelujah', it means they had sex. But instead I think it's when Samson realized he messed up. When he was strengthless, he cried out to God for God's help. The third always seems to vary, with the fourth (if there is one)being a closing. The closing always seems to suggest they all admitted they screwed up and they're admitting it and praising God. It's a song about how we all mess up, and when we do we always cry out to God. That's the 'broken hallelujah.' It's broken because we are broken. And the line (in the 3rd stanza) saying about 'taking the name in vain' is referring to the people who get mad when people call on God when they mess up. The narrator's asking 'why do you care?' It's saying that God doesn't care if we praise Him when we're on top of the world, or falling when we make a mistake. God just wants us to come to Him. And no one's praise is any more special to Him than anyone else's, because He loves us all.
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A man's love for God or for woman is the active embrace of faith and commitment for which he proclaims Hallelujah.
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I think the general meaning suggests that we (mankind) have fallen from grace, in regards to our once beautiful relationship with Christ/God/etc (beginning of song). As we bask in the glorious and mysterious temptations the world offers, we sink further into that "broken hallelujah," and henceforth are ill content with our inner conscience for letting evil/sin (the sexuality of the song, in reference to the woman's actions towards him) grasp hold over us. Thus, man (woman) will revel in his (her) ill made decisions, making the daily task of fighting one's inner "demons" the revelationary epitome of such a "fallen" state (mindset) that is near impossible to overcome without returning to that freedom one once had (freedom from self and from worldly desires).
Cohen is (as I like to believe), attempting to convince himself of a certain 'truth' he thinks he believes to be absolute...but questioning the absolute always seems to come into play, thus provoking his conscience and making him ill at ease with life. -
This song has a great deal of meaning to me, as it's something that I can relate to.
You see, I am a recovering addict struggling with sex addiction. What I see in this song is the juxtaposition between what so many seek in life, that is spiritual realization, but too often sacrifice it for the quick and easy carnal satisfaction.
Don't get me wrong, that parts good, but the problem rises in the fact that one cannot use sex to satisfy spirituality, and for those who try to do so it leaves them worse for wear, or those like me, in tatters when they hit rock bottom, thus the "broken hallelujah"
The best part of the song for me is the ending, where the artist chooses not to give up hope, to still seek God however they can. -
I think that it's important to take the meaning from the references in this song, but simply because it contains allusions to religious stories by no means makes this a song about God, or any of the tales mentioned.
This song is about love- its good parts and its bad- and the gradual recognition by the narrator that, as the old saying goes, it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
I'll break the meaning as I see it apart by verse below:
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
In the first verse, the early stage of the relationship, the narrator and the woman he is falling in love with are still getting to know what one another are like. The songwriter reveals that what is important to him- music, as evidenced by the fact that he writes and performs it, as well as the fact that he, like David, seems to consider it a gift worthy of God- is not an interest shared by his lover-to-be. He wants to offer up the secret of it, wants to win her with something he feels is worthy of her, and is "baffled" by her indifference to his tribute.
The contrast between the first two lines and the third- the Lord is pleased by this secret, sacred thing, but she is not- offers an almost tongue-in-cheek aside, another reason for the bafflement. If not this, what can he do to please her? The "Hallelujah" here is not literally for god; in this verse, he is writing the praise, and the song, for the woman he is beginning to love.
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
The narrator believes that he has truly fallen in love; he has faith that it is so. He does not feel completely convinced until he sees her in a moment of striking beauty, however, the result strong enough to "overthrow" him and provide his "proof."
The cutting of hair here is not literal; it references the story of Samson and Delilah and is used as a metaphor. The woman he loves metaphorically cuts his hair, stealing away the narrator's emotional strength as a parallel to the way Samson's physical strength was stolen in the tale. She has completely gained control of his heart. The "Hallelujah" here is one of joy- he is overcome with love.
Maybe 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
love is not a victory march
it's a cold and its a broken hallelujah
However, he has been in love before. He suspects that this time will end the same as all the rest. He knows how it will go; he's seen it before. He "used to live alone," presumably as opposed to a time before this when he lived with another lover. He's seen her displaying their love like a flag, a "victory march," but he knows better. Love will grow cold, and the "Hallelujah," from the previous verse will become broken.
There was a time you let me know
what's really going on below
but now you never show it to me do you
remember when I moved in you
the holy dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah
As he suspected, they have begun to grow apart. There was a time when they were close; she used to tell him things, show him her true feelings. She "let [him] know what's really going on below." They used to share each others' bodies, and they were so in love that they gave thanks for the relationship with every breath they took.
Maybe there's a god above
but all I ever learned from love
was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
and it's not a cry you can hear at night
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and its a broken hallelujah
In the end, he feels that love has taught him nothing but how to turn on people who have turned on him first- "how to shoot somebody who outdrew you." It's not pleasant, or enlightened- it's that cold and broken "Hallelujah" he predicted it would become.
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
"The name" the narrator talks about here is not the name of God, although as with the rest of the song he cleverly slips a religious reference into this, too. He's speaking of love. The woman- his lover, or perhaps ex-lover by now- claims that he took the name of love "in vain," but he claims he does not even know what love is. But why, he asks, does that matter? There is a "blaze of light" to what he's saying, no matter whether he understands love or not- whether the "Hallelujah" he utters is one of joy or the broken one he predicted it would become, there is an honesty to it, a "light."
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
Here, the narrator admits that he has failed in the relationship. His best "wasn't much." After he falls out of love with the woman in the song, he dallies with other women; he "couldn't feel," his love any more, had no emotional connection to his lover, "so [he] tried to touch," or seek physical pleasure elsewhere. He admits it, and owns up to what he's done.
However, after the slow downward descent of this love story and subsequent unraveling, he goes on to add one final, uplifting remark. Even though everything has gone wrong, when all is said and done- when he metaphorically stands before God for judgment- he will not regret having been in love, despite the loss. There will be nothing on his tongue but words of gratitude for what has happened. -
Cohen wrote some 80 verses of Hallelujah, so who, including Leonard, really knows what it's all about?
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As Cohen himself said there are a lot of different Hallelujahs.
To me it is a lamentation of a failed relationship. This is most evident in the following verse:
"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" -
I can't help but interpret this song as portraying human weakness and frailty. It speaks of love, faith, pride and folly. The first verse is about King David, a biblical character whos Psalms are more often then yet from a place of brokenness. Where He is crying out in need. And Cohen wrote, "the baffled King" - having no answers, now words. Just Hallelujah. And then the story fo David and Bathsheba - tempted by another mans wife - tied with Samson and Delilha - the theft of strength and pride. This love that breaks you and makes you beg, and when she has taken it all, you are left with an emptiness and a simple word - hallelujah. "Baby I've been here before", retreading past ground. "I've seen your flag on the marble arch, love is not a victory march, its a cold and its a broken hallelujah". She is proudly proclaiming victory but he is feeling defeated and broken. In this love, there is an imbalance, he has been overthrown and all he has left is a word. Cohen speaks in past tense of the love that was once so passionate, when hallelujah was a passionate cry, but now all he has learnt is how to win – and guard himself so he will not be hurt. He questions faith again. And Hallelujah is now no longer a cry of passion, but a cry of hopelessness. “Its a cold and its a broken hallelujah”. I love the 6th verse. “You say I took the name in vain, I do not even know the name... There’s a blaze of light in every word, it doesn’t matter which you hear. The holy or the broken Hallelujah.” The actual definition of hallelujah is a shout of praise or an exclamation of relief. And in my experience those moments where you reach the end of yourself are refreshing – when you no longer can strive and strain because you know you can do no more and you have given everything. So if Leonard took this definition to heart, he has played with the two meanings well throughout the song – the proud, happy and passionate praise, and the cold, broken yet relieved whisper. The final verse repairs love with faith. He admits he has given everything, he is raw and open about his weakness. But he is also safe knowing he can stand before the Lord of Song (David’s God) with nothing on his tongue but hallelujah. As a Christian, this is a beautiful picture of God’s grace that meets us when we are broken. If not a Christian. It is a prompt to accept your flawed broken self and be relieved when you can stand bare.
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I love this song. But, it touches me in a different way. My fiance and I have both gone through horrible relationships and were lucky enough to find each other. This song resonates with both of us we understand that love can suck. But, you can appreciate it so much more because of it. So, to us the Hallejuah is saying hallejuah i didnt give up, hallejuah i found this person after everything. And, the line that says "love is not a victory march.. it's a cold and broken hallejuah." To us that's just reality. Love isn't a victory march. It's a hard march it is cold and broken. Cause when you really love someone it's not easy but you'll go through it and change yourself to do it. But in the end, it is Hallejuah.
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More like an quest to somebody smart in sound esoterics. Is Fa and Sol strong element in "secret cord"?
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The genre of abstract poetry is usually over interpreted to fit the listener's point of view. I believe this is the case with LC's lyrics to this song. As a musician and song writer myself, I can see many points in these lyrics where he wrote the rhythm and rhyme to fit the structure. Think of it as a song explaining the elusive qualities that make a song appeal to basic human instinct. There has always been, from the very beginning of music itself, a formula that makes a melody so appealing to the masses that it becomes "popular". From the time that the biblical character, David, wrote songs up to the present, there has always been a certain something about a composition that demands the attention of listeners. Part of that elusive formula is the chord structure that Cohen describes in the first verse. The forth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift. Cohen calls this structure "the Hallelujah". Whether it's a primitive song composed on the Harp (a secret chord that David played), an exclamation during the act of physical sex (and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah), the exaltation of God in religious music (it doesn't matter which you heard the holy or the broken Hallelujah), the social comment on current events (love's not some kind of victory march) or a popular song (I'll stand before the lord of song with nothin' on my tounge but Hallelujah), the formula is the same and simply called "hallulujah". A progression of notes and chords as we have come to accept them in western music that immediately demands empathy from the listener. Song writers from the beginning of what we call music have searched for that unexplainable something that makes people listen with fascination. Cohen has not only found that formula but explains it in such simple and straight forward terms that most people over look his explanation and apply a much deeper meaning to the lyrics. I'm sorry if this explanation does not satisfy those here who would like to put a religious meaning or some kind of love correlation to what is a simple discussion of the formula for a popular song. If you read the lyrics again from this viewpoint, several things become clear. But that is the beauty of abstract poetry. It will mean something different and personal to everyone. Just another part of the formula. Enjoy it for what it means to you and especially the fact that it does mean something to you.
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I see it as a love song between the Jewish and Anglican nations. Each lover reaches a point of disillusionment, yet, in the end, sings Hallelujah.
Jewish Nation:
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
Anglican Nation:
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
Jewish Nation:
Baby I have 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
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Anglican Nation:
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 with you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Jewish Nation:
Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve 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 has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Anglican Nation:
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
Jewish Nation:
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 actually don't think this song is about religion, advertantly, anyway. I think there are parts where he relates his feelings the religion and stories in religion about faith and true love and stuff but I feel like the song is about sex. "remember when I moved in you, the holy dark was moving too, and every breathe we drew was hallelujah..." and "There was a time you let me know What's really going on below But now you never show it to me, do you?" etc. My mind might just be in the gutter, but soundds like sex to me.
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