Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah Meaning
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flygirl_osu Aug 30th 2010, 13:01 report
When looking at the interpretation of songs, I tend to look at it from my point of view, as opposed to the artist's. This song is a perfect example.
When I perform this song, I sing it from the scorned wife's perspective.
Obviously, the first verse is referring to the biblical David. When it gets to the second verse, I shift the song as if I were singing to my straying husband. We had a strong marriage, but that strength dissolved when he met the other woman. She was so beautiful to him that he chose to risk our marriage for sexual desires. When I sing the "she tied you to her kitchen chair" part, I see it as sarcasm. As if she made him do it (in response to his "I didn't mean for it to happen" statement). It implies that he was a big boy and did it of his own accord, she didn't force him into it. Also, the cutting his hair statement does refer to taking his strength away as someone before me mentioned. Once my husband felt trapped in both relationships (our marriage and his girlfriend), he lost strength. He was in too deep and didn't know how to get out or "fix" the situation.
The third verse is sung as if I had left my husband in the end (upon learning of the affair). "I've been alone before, so I'll be OK when I leave you," is how I sing it. Then, of course, the meaning at the end of the song is fairly self evident when looking at it from my perspective. There was once a time when our love was strong and he thought the world of me. During the affair, our sexual interactions were few and far between.
Love sucks. -
wje37fcsm Aug 24th 2010, 09:10 report
I just became aware of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah this past month while watching a PBS fundraiser and was very taken by the song and Cohen's intensity of this performance. I'm writing this because as I played the song and tried to learn if for myself, my cat Sam has taken great offense at these efforts. He freaks out and meows at the speakers when I play it and in my face when I sing it. I wonder what that means.
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anonymous Aug 22nd 2010, 22:48 report
The song is about a mans walk with God, which at one time drew a happy and spirit filled praise, but each of his sins the 4th the 5th, etc. led to a great fall, but the fall was quite “minor” in comparison to Gods love and mercy.
This second type of hallelujah came from a cold reality, and from the mans brokenness, but this type of hallelujah also came from the depths of his heart (Where it matters most).
It is when we cry out to God with a broken and empty spirit, that He lifts us up again. It often times takes a great fall before we humble ourselves, and realize His love and great mercy to us ward. Even so, the fall itself is "minor" compared to the "major" lift (Exaltation) we receive from our Lord in return.
David composed this hallelujah with his very life. God doesn’t care much for music, but rather how we live our lives and acknowledge him. David composed his song through his life, and was baffled at the Lords mercy after he committed such crimes against him.
He became empty, void of the Holy Spirit at one point, but God exalted him in his humility, whereby He came to praise God once again.
Both David and Sampson were great men of power who ended up broken, reaching out to God in desperation, humility, and shame. David’s fall was the murder of a man who had what he desired (The man out drew him) while Sampson's fall was the pride of self and vanity.
Each of our lives are a composition of the "Secret chord". Our lives are a composition of "hallelujah" in the making. Our devotion to God both in happiness and when broken is the "Secret Chord" that pleases the lord. David played this secret chord through a life devoted to God.
We live, we stumble, we fall, we become broken and it is in our brokenness that we call on God in desperation, and repentance. God then leads us to His love, whereby a heart felt and joyful “hallelujah” is drawn from our cold, broken realities, and from the depths of our soul once again.
Life can break even the strongest man, yet in a mans brokenness, God is able to build him back up with His love. Such is the reality of many a believer.
The Hallelujah the writer gave before his fall was out a joyful praise, while the hallelujah he gave after he fell was out of broken humility, yet also with great and joyful praise.
"Hallelujah" remained on his tongue and was offered to the Lord of song because God had exalted him in His humility. -
anonymous Aug 12th 2010, 12:29 report
I think Minor fall and Major lift can also refer to failure followed by being lifted up by the holy spirit, in addition to the minor and major chords of the music. The music pleased the lord, maybe that was part of the reason.
Also, in Jeff Beckley's version he has added a paragraph (did he write it?) with the lyric "All I've ever learned from love was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you". I think this means falling in love with someone who later leaves you, and thus learning to shoot first (not to trust them). -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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anonymous Jul 25th 2010, 18:02 report
"Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord"
through Jewish Literature, David is known as the "Sweet Singer of Israel" In fact, all of the classic commentaries on Psalms point to David's incredibly spiritual and sin free state that he was in. all Psalms show David's longing to connect with G-d.
"Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you'
this clearly refers to the incident of Batsheba- But our rabbis say that david did not sin, because the way he married her was 100% legal-for someone of his caliber it was not the preferred thing to do.
"She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah"
This refers to Samson who was a nazirite and forbidden to cut his hair by a vow. once Delilah got the scret out of hi, that was when the Divine Spirit left him helpless-then the philistines gouged his eyes out for tormenting them all those years.he then acknowledged G-d's judgement and the Divine Spirit returned to him and he brought the house down on them, killing many Philistines
the rest of the song i have no clue as to what hidden meanings could be behind it. -
lordhumungus Jul 9th 2010, 23:36 report
Bible stories can make for pleasantly didactic allegories, so for my fellow atheists out there, please resist the temptation to be alarmed by this amazing song’s namesake or its biblical references as it is, at least in my interpretation, not at all a religious song.
Cohen likely chose David, King of the Jews, not only due to his ethnic connection but for a better-than-Milton illustration of a fall from grace at the hand of the misapprehension of love. Few interpretations of this song identify the allusion to the woman on the roof not as a departure from the David reference but a continuance of his story. He coveted another man’s wife, sent the man to his death in battle and at that moment ceased to be a great king, “baffled” by the ease with which he abandoned righteousness for lust, only to find that his desire was an ephemeral illusion. David, a musician, was painfully disenchanted by the woman’s lack of love for music, a lack of love for him, and likely the realization he, too, was nothing to her without his crown.
When beauty fades, when marriage happens and lonely men may no longer peer into “what’s really going on below” they are left only with the question of whether or not the loss and pain of domesticity were worth it. -
anonymous Jul 2nd 2010, 11:58 report
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
The man in this song aches for the love he once had with a woman. David knows a secret chord that will please the Lord, but there is no longer a chord he can strike to please her or win her back. He is not exactly sure how or what went wrong.
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
Though her beauty amazes him, he needs proof of something more. Is it just beauty or will she love him. They are married and his almighty throne of lonliness is broken. He will do anything for her. He loved her and gave himself totally to her. She drew the sacred Hallelujah from his lips because he loved her and she loved him.
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
He knew what it was like to be lonely before he met her and he has those feelings again. They are there together, but he is alone again. She hangs her flag on cold stone and has surrendered the love she once had for him. It's over for her.
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
There was time when their love was passionate and wild. They shared what only true lovers can know and feel. The Hallelujah was sacred because only they could give that meaning and feeling to each other.
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
She is hurt by something he has done. He didn't keep their Hallelujah sacred. She feels he has violated their love. Though he didn't leave her, perhaps he lusted after another woman. He's angry here and can't understand why she has turned away from him.
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
He did his best but it wasn't enough because he lost her. He can't feel her love anymore. He tries to touch it but it's gone. He tells her he loves her, and he means it, but he knows it's over. He is left with nothing but the memories of a love that was once beautiful. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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milount Jun 1st 2010, 10:59 report
This song seems to me to be an examination of the similarities between spiritual ecstasy and sexuality. A lot of perifrial things go along with both. The protagonist (King David and/or the poet) seem to be wrestling with what they want more. Ultimately the steam runs out of both. For example "She tied you to the kitchen chair/ she broke your throne she cut your hair" are all the potential downsides of entering in a sexually intimate relationship but when the lyrics run "and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah" give the reader a pretty good idea that for at least a little while it is all worth it. Further other interpretations have said that the line "There was a time when you let me know/ Whats really going on below" refers the the sexual organs. I do not see it that way. It seems plain to me that the joy of religious ecstasy has run out and the poet is finding that he has to try harder and harder to maintain that connection. Regardless of where you believe those feelings come from, in the end the same chemical exchanges that lead to orgasm can also lead to ecstasy of any type.
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anonymous May 29th 2010, 10:56 report
"she tied you to a kitchen chair, she broke your throne and she cut your hair"
hair used to symbolize the power of a king.
full and long hair and a beard meant that a king was blessed and that he was supposed to reign.
so the cutting of hair just means that his royal powers are stripped away, that he has lost his privileged place in the world. -
anonymous May 21st 2010, 03:19 report
Everyone thinks about this song so biblically when in reality I think it is using biblical ideas to stress a different point. The first verse is about the glory of hallelujah and the miracle of song, but the other verses have something different in mind in my opinion. "your faith was strong but you needed proof, her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you." In my opinion this line is talking about the baffling nature of love and how it attracts us to people in all these different ways.
"She tied you, To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah." In my opinion this is a reference to how love can change someone for the better, even if in the moment you're changing you feel awkard and like this isn't right for you. The tying to the kitchen chair represents force, the breaking of the throne represents your old lifestyle and habits, and the cut your hair is a refernce to cleaning someone up, while also changing what they look like. "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"
This in my opinion is a reference to the feeling you get when a relationship ends, and how even though it hurts its for the better. "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"
A clear reference to the act of making love and waht an incredible thing it truly is, the dove signifying the rightness of the moment. "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"
In my opinion this line compares the miracles of god to the miracles of man, implying that the person being spoken to doesn't think that man has the capacity to do things on the same level of greatness as God. '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"
This last line says that even though nothing is right and nothing has gone according to plan, there still is good somewhere in the scenario, even if in that moment you can't see it. -
anonymous May 19th 2010, 19:33 report
Hallelujah by Lee DeWyze (originally written by Leonard Cohen) is a great song!!! It starts out with just the sound of mellow violins behind the artist’s singing, but throughout crescendos leading up to the refrain. This continues on throughout most of the song until the “big finish” at the end. Although many people think that this song is sexually related in some way, I just think it means that no matter what happens during it, at the end of each day we should just say hallelujah, meaning glory to God.
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viafossa May 11th 2010, 21:16 report
I think it's about a man who has married the woman he's dreamed of...hoping for the white picket fence, children, sex, being looked after and the woman he thought would be attracted to him forever.
Years later he's given up on that idea, on passion, on love.
He finds someone new...thinks he's finally found HER...They have it all in his eyes...love, passion, acceptance after years of waiting and wanting.
She lets him down...she loves him, but she only gave him what he was seeking at first to draw him close and eventually she wanders away to leave him reeling again in confusion and despair.
In her defense, she believed him when he said he'd love her no matter what. No matter that she was disillusioned too when they met...now he draws as far away as he does. They both wind up broken and questioning...on the verge of giving up entirely...all that's left is a faint glimmer of hope, of faith.
Sorry for sounding so bloody dramatic...just my take on the song, lol. -
DeadPoetsAnxiety May 11th 2010, 08:27 report
There is a movie named "Sugar" which chronicles the rise and fall of a young Dominican baseball player. He starts out playing the game out of joy and love. Then it becomes a burden, as his desperately poor family sees his talent as a way out of poverty. This leads to tremendous pressure on the young man.
He is signed by a major league team and manages to make it to their entry level minor league affiliate. After an auspicious start he suffers an injury and struggles to get back to where he was. But, despite his best efforts, including a disastrous experiment with performance enhancing drugs, his pitching arm is just not capable of what is was before the injury. (He is tied to a chair, powerless, his hair cut, his strength gone.)
He leaves the team, moves to the New York City barrio, and supports himself on a dishwasher's pay. Hitting bottom, he is helped by an older man, who has no love of baseball, but who has come to know Sugar as a person, not just a baseball player. (Sugar plays the chord that pleased the Lord, but the man doesn't care for music.)
The movie ends with Sugar playing in a pickup game at Roberto Clemente Field, a city park, with other young Latin men who have similarly failed in their pursuit of a professional baseball career. The final scene shows Sugar smiling as he prepares to throw a pitch. He is smiling for the first time, as a player, since he played the game purely out of love, as a child. (He did his best, it wasn't much, he couldn't feel, so he tried to touch. He told the truth, he didn't come to fool you. And even though it all went wrong he stood before the Lord of Song (baseball),with nothing on his tongue but Hallelujah.)
The music that is playing as the scene fades out is a beautiful Spanish version of "Hallelujah." The song sums up the movie and the movie sums up the song perfectly. Love fades into the mundane, the mechanical. But after time, if it is true love, we realize that we still love, just in a different way. And that is when we sing "Hallelujah!" That is when we grow up. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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anonymous Apr 3rd 2010, 14:47 report
This is a complex song, all the more marvelous for its many layers of meaning. There is a deliberate juxtaposition of the religious and the sexual, which I believe is an intentional blurring of a beloved (woman) for what is often referred to as The Beloved (God). This is fairly common is Indian ragas, for example, where the feeling of desire for a mate is not seen as any different as devotion to God, but part of the same spectrum of feeling. When he refers to love as "a broken hallelujah", it puts me in mind of Jesus saying, as he was dying on the cross, "O Lord, why have you forsaken me?"
If you truly believe that God is Love, then the most God-like activity most people ever participate in, is reproduction, whereby "our words are made flesh". The power that drives us to do what alone creates life, cannot be denied.
But like David, or Sampson, our heart's desire betrays us, and we are left with the fact of our own inpossible to escape isolation. David, like Leonard Cohen, was a songwriter, his Psalms were designed to be sung. What was the secret chord? Why did she fall in love with me? We are baffled.
I read somewhere that the price of love for the soul with the capacity for a great love, was eternal pain for bestowing upon a mortal what belongs alone to God. Anyone who has ever loved someone else with all their heart and soul can understand this.
In short, the song is about communion, or the lack of it, in all the different senses of the word. -
Bathsheba Apr 1st 2010, 11:06 report
This song completely undid me and transported me to places I was unprepared to go.I found myself listening to it over and over and every possible artist and rendition I could find on you tube in my office surrounded by books on theology and biblical interpretation and this is where it has brought me. You cannot deny Cohen's references to David and Bathsheba and Sampson and Delilah. Why? Because of the obvious. It could have been any number of Old Testament characters who loved God, were chosen by God to accomplish something monumental but failed because of their human condition. We always succumb to our human frailties. There was only One who did not and by the way He was a descendant of David and Bathsheba so their sin was ultimately reconciled by the birth of the sinless One who reconciled all of our sin. But back to the story/song...David was a musician beyond compare and used music to interpret everything he felt..joy, sorrow, disappointment,longing, fear, grief,etc. just read the Psalms...he wrote them! And as far as the sexual implications of the lyrics? Why not? God created us as sexual beings (read the very erotic Song of Solomon). He made us in His image and shaped us in a way that we could express love in a very physical way....it was intentional! Love and lust are powerful and must not be confused or it will and does lead to destruction. Love equals creation. Lust equals destruction. Just ask Sampson. However God can and does take the most absolutely destructive acts of mankind and create life and beauty out of them. Don't believe me? Read the Old Testament, it happens over and over again. There is nothing you can do that God cannot recreate into life-giving beauty. For instance David and Bathsheba's first son who was born of their lustful union died. But out of their love was born Solomon...remember him...King Solomon? The wise and wealthy king. And that line eventually led to the birth of Jesus. Anyway a couple of ideas on some specific lines, "Your faith was strong but you needed proof" I believe this refers to God's testing of his chosen ones. He tested Adam and Eve and Abraham and Moses and Job and David and You and Me and many many more and not every one stays strong... Adam and Eve didn't, Hallelujah or we wouldn't be here, Abraham did, Hallelujah or we wouldn't be here. Moses choked but God continued to bless His people anyway...do you see a pattern here? I think the kitchen chair is just a metaphor for "the test" will we be bound by our earthly desires or will we choose true Love over lust."You say I took the name in vain,I don't even know the name", Ancient Jews did not, could not utter the Name of God, it was considered too sacred to pass their lips, they would breath in and out the Spirit in their prayers and it became a kind of name Ya ah weh, Yahweh, so "really what's it to you?" "It doesn't matter which you heard" cause it's my prayer my Hallelujuh. And in the end it doesn't matter because... "and even though, it all went wrong, I'll stand before the Lord of Song, With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
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