What does this have to do with the Holidays?

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G

Godsgirl83

Guest
#1
#1
Last year during the holidays I heard this awful (in my opinion) song. I kept listening to the lyrics trying to figure out just HOW it has
ANYTHING to do with the holidays...…..
I'm not posting the song itself, just the lyrics google provided...…...
Anyone have a take on it? All I can figure is it is played at this time of year because it says "hallelujah" several times...….

I'd 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, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to the kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well 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 ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
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
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

 
shittim

shittim

Senior Member
#2
Dec 16, 2016
13,914
7,836
113
#2
nope, I don't feel uplifted from the lyrics, more like brought down.
Toxic lyrics, I feel a need to get back into Dr. Leaf.
 
A

Adstar

Senior Member
#3
Jul 24, 2016
7,589
3,618
113
#3
Godsgirl83 said:
Last year during the holidays I heard this awful (in my opinion) song. I kept listening to the lyrics trying to figure out just HOW it has
ANYTHING to do with the holidays...…..
I'm not posting the song itself, just the lyrics google provided...…...
Anyone have a take on it? All I can figure is it is played at this time of year because it says "hallelujah" several times...….

I'd 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, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to the kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well 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 ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
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
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Click to expand...
Yes a very defeatist song.. The writer seems to be confusing the David Bathsheba incident with the Samson Delilah story.. As for the rest it seems to be a song written by a guy who seems to have repeatedly failed in his romatic dealings with woman..

It seems to be a weird entwining of Biblical and personal stories about bad relationships..
 
PennEd

PennEd

Senior Member
#4
Apr 22, 2013
13,612
9,127
113
#4
Godsgirl83 said:
Last year during the holidays I heard this awful (in my opinion) song. I kept listening to the lyrics trying to figure out just HOW it has
ANYTHING to do with the holidays...…..
I'm not posting the song itself, just the lyrics google provided...…...
Anyone have a take on it? All I can figure is it is played at this time of year because it says "hallelujah" several times...….

I'd 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, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to the kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well 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 ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
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
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Click to expand...
Not sure why you omitted this section of the song, but it is the most disturbing aspect of it for me:


There was a time you'd let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you?
THE HOLY DARK was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
 
L

Locoponydirtman

Guest
#5
#5
I have heard that song. Never liked it, but I'm not into mellow drama. Oh well, I guess to answer the op question. It doesn't have anything to do with any holiday.
 
shittim

shittim

Senior Member
#6
Dec 16, 2016
13,914
7,836
113
#6
wow, looks like the adversary slipped one in . Thank you for the heads up, sticking to the oldies here!!!!
 
G

Godsgirl83

Guest
#7
#7
PennEd said:
Not sure why you omitted this section of the song, but it is the most disturbing aspect of it for me:


There was a time you'd let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you?
THE HOLY DARK was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Click to expand...
I just cut and copied what came up on a google search of the lyrics..... if anything is missing it is NOT intentional on my part.
THAT is disturbing....
 
G

Ghoti2

Well-known member
#8
Nov 8, 2019
469
283
63
#8
It is one of my all-time favorite songs. (And, who told you it was supposed to be about the holidays?)
 
shittim

shittim

Senior Member
#9
Dec 16, 2016
13,914
7,836
113
#9
I think of what is going on in the minds of the youth who need to hear the Gospel story correctly as they hear something like this.
 
G

Ghoti2

Well-known member
#10
Nov 8, 2019
469
283
63
#10
If you understand how to listen to the words, it is about turning from God, to trusting in humanly "love" and what happens to mankind when we do that . Several Biblical examples of men doing that are given.
 
G

Ghoti2

Well-known member
#11
Nov 8, 2019
469
283
63
#11
"Hallelujah", in its original version, is in 12
8 time, which evokes both early rock and roll and gospel music. Written in the key of C major, the chord progression matches lyrics from the song: "goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, and the major lift": C, F, G, A minor, F.[6]

Cohen wrote around 80 draft verses for "Hallelujah", with one writing session at the Royalton Hotel in New York where he was reduced to sitting on the floor in his underwear, banging his head on the floor.[7] His original version, as recorded on his album Various Positions, contains several biblical references, most notably evoking the stories of Samson and Delilah from the Book of Judges ("she cut your hair") as well as King David and Bathsheba ("you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you").[6][8]

Following his original 1984 studio-album version, Cohen performed the original song on his world tour in 1985, but live performances during his 1988 and 1993 tours almost invariably contained a quite different set of lyrics. Numerous singers mix lyrics from both versions, and occasionally make direct lyric changes; for example, in place of Cohen's "holy dove", Canadian-American singer Rufus Wainwright substituted "holy dark", while Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Crowe sang "holy ghost".

Cohen's lyrical poetry and his view that "many different hallelujahs exist" is reflected in wide-ranging covers with very different intents or tones, allowing the song to be "melancholic, fragile, uplifting [or] joyous" depending on the performer:[6] The Welsh singer-songwriter John Cale, the first person to record a cover version of the song (in 1991), promoted a message of "soberness and sincerity" in contrast to Cohen's dispassionate tone;[6] the cover by Jeff Buckley, an American singer-songwriter, is more sorrowful and was described by Buckley as "a hallelujah to the orgasm";[6][9] Crowe interpreted the song as a "very sexual" composition that discussed relationships;[6] Wainwright offered a "purifying and almost liturgical" interpretation;[6] and Guy Garvey of the British band Elbow made the hallelujah a "stately creature" and incorporated his religious interpretation of the song into his band's recordings.[6]
Canadian singer k.d. lang said in an interview shortly after Cohen's death that she considered the song to be about "the struggle between having human desire and searching for spiritual wisdom. It's being caught between those two places."[10] Former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, who sang the song at Canadian politician Jack Layton's funeral, described the song as being "about disappointing [other] people".[11]
 
J

JustEli

Well-known member
#12
Dec 23, 2018
1,374
983
113
50
#12
it has nothing to do with the Lord. just cohen being a Godless dummy. doing it well but....................
 
StrugglingTilMyReward

StrugglingTilMyReward

Well-known member
#13
Aug 10, 2019
552
437
63
Canada
#13
Here's my favorite version of the song, but be sure to listen past the 30 second mark or you'll miss the fun:

 
D

dodgingstones

Active member
#14
Nov 20, 2019
430
238
43
#14
I looked into this last year. Couldn't believe how many versions exist.

Found a couple that actually were inspiring, but most were "dark" to say the least.
 
Pemican

Pemican

Senior Member
#15
Sep 27, 2014
959
246
43
#15
It is strictly a humanistic secular song with no spiritual meaning at all. Hallelujah (praise God) is being used as a secular expletive.
It appeals to people who are spiritually dead.
 
D

dodgingstones

Active member
#16
Nov 20, 2019
430
238
43
#16
Searched "How many versions..." are there. Came up. 300 versions 😄

Would have 2 go thru all of them 2 condemn all of them.
 
G

Ghoti2

Well-known member
#17
Nov 8, 2019
469
283
63
#17
As I have said before, whether listening to a song, or reading the Bible, most people will find the God they look for.
 
G

Ghoti2

Well-known member
#18
Nov 8, 2019
469
283
63
#18
Pemican said:
It is strictly a humanistic secular song with no spiritual meaning at all. Hallelujah (praise God) is being used as a secular expletive.
It appeals to people who are spiritually dead.
Click to expand...
Thank you. (I guess that's not the worst I have been called.)
 
G

Ghoti2

Well-known member
#19
Nov 8, 2019
469
283
63
#19
Here's the original: Leonard Cohen singing of a broken man lamenting how, though he once knew the Lord, he threw it all away for worldly pleasures.

If you cannot see a cry to God in this song, then I guess you have lived too perfect a life for me to ever be able to identify with you.

 
G

Ghoti2

Well-known member
#20
Nov 8, 2019
469
283
63
#20
Leonard Cohen is not a Christian. He was born a Jew, tried to become a Monk (living in a Monastery for 6 years in the 90's) and he is still searching.... for something. He doesn't live my lifestyle, but I cannot condemn him as I have heard others doing here.
 
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