Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah
The beauty, meaning and backstory of this iconic song
Somewhere, you may have heard these soulful lyrics —
“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 and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah”
— lyrics to Hallelujah, songwriter, Leonard Cohen, 1984
The complexities of Hallelujah
Many hold the song Hallelujah as a masterpiece in striking lyrics and musical composition, performed beautifully by so many singers.
While some feel its beauty, others find it steeped in emotion and contradictions. It is not in truth a religious hymn, but it is very spiritual; it is an emotional response to things that can affect and ambush you in life.
As the years passed since I first heard Hallelujah, I myself grew in awe of the complexity of this song.
The poetry and symbolism of Hallelujah
It has been said that Canadian singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen wrote 150 drafts of different stanzas and versions of the song and that it took five years to complete. He masterfully used effective and inspired rhyme, cadence and melody, along with literary and historical references.
Leonard Cohen used spiritual metaphor to describe secular depths of meaning. “It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah” is his outlook towards life.
The song is a paradox
- Its textured meanings are layered in spiritual and biblical connotations with unexpected overtures and undertones filled with sensual and sexual innuendos. There is light and there is darkness. The writing is stunning and powerful, and as previously mentioned, contradictory. This stanza blew me away:
“Maybe there’s a God above
but all I ever learned from love
was how to shoot
somebody who outdrew you.”
Cohen’s brilliance is apparent as he delves into the complexities of usurped spirituality, definitions of love, life, power, manipulation, survival, cynicism.
Despite the meaning of the song, one thing remains true, there is an inherent beauty in the music. I remember hearing this cover years ago:
Or maybe you remember Hallelujah from a scene in the movie, Shrek. Was the tone reminiscent of sorrow, love, heartache? What makes the song so memorable?
The ultimate beauty of poetry, art and music
Is it possible that Leonard Cohen saw elements of life that shaped his thinking, his poetry, his music and his destiny? Is this the ultimate beauty and purpose of poetry?
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