Hallelujah Part 2

Sorry, for the long delay guys, but school and basketball have kept me busy. Here's the 2nd part of my analysis of the famous pop song "Hallelujah" that was written by Leonard Cohen, made popular by Jeff Buckley, and covered my artists of many different styles and genres.

In the first part, I described the background behind this song, the first and the simple chorus " Hallelujah". Part two will cover verse two.

" Your faith was strong, but you needed proof."
There are three ways to look at the latter verses of this song. The song could be Cohen continuing to instruct the young musician as he or she grows up (most likely he). It could also be a completely different person that Cohen is writing about. Or in a strictly literal sense, someone could take this song at face value and look for the Biblical allusions.

Infused with the "secret" song of King David, the young musician has become closer to God, but as he matures, he begins to question why he believes what he believes. This is very similar to the logic or dialectic stage in classical education where the young teenager begins to ask questions and argue about why they believe something or why they should learn something. This musician has technical skill but wants proof of the existence of the God that David is writing about.

Cohen could be moving on and writing about a completely different "hallelujah" in part two. This male character used to be a strong believer in something. Whether this is Christianity, Judaism, karma, or the "power of love", he has some source of truth in his life. However, as he begins to interact with people who believe differently (E.g. college or a new job), he has doubts about absolute truth. This line describes the obsession with scientific knowledge. Every "educated" person wants empirical proof on everything, even when some things like evolution and the existence of God can't proven true or false.

" You saw her bathing on the roof/ Her beauty in the moonlight overthew you."

I love the Canadian Tenors version of this song because they substitute "you" with a beautiful Vancover "ya." Bathing on the roof is a clear reference to the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. King David took a break from war, and while he was chilling out on his roof, he saw a beautiful woman bathing naked. Because he was an absolute monarchy under God's theocracy, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and got her pregnant.

David got Bathsheba pregnant which led to the death of her child, his eldest son Amnon, and a revolt by Absalom. But this "lady" could stand for many things other than sexual lust. In a musical sense, it could be fame. When musicians become rich, they sometimes depart from their roots and "sell out." For example, Metallica, which began as a heavy, fast,and erudite thrash band from San Francisco (Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets) started to become more commercial by making a music video ("One"), cutting their hair and getting pictures made by Anton Corbijn, and suing Napster.

I think this mysterious woman is a stand-in for any kind of temptation
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" She tied you to a kitchen chair/ She broke your throne and cut your hair"
Cohen manages to cleverly intertwine the stories of David and Bathsheba, and Samson and Delilah in these lines. Delilah was a Philistine woman and Samson's partner in Judges 16. She seduced him with her beauty and love, and Samson told Delilah the secret of his great strength: his luscious locks.

Earlier, Samson was able to break free from the cords Delilah bound him with. Now, after he broke his sacred vow to never shave his hair, Samson undergoes extreme humiliation. He isn't tied to a chair, but a millstone where cattle would grind wheat. Once the mighty savior of Israel, Samson is now a slave to their worst enemies: the Philistines.

After his affair with Bathsheba, David also suffered. He lost their first child, conceived in adultery. Then, his oldest son Amnon raped his virgin daughter Tamar, and his third son Absalom killed Amnon. Later, Absalom usurped David's throne and forced the old king to go into exile.

" And from your lips, she drew the hallelujah"

Once you give into temptation, the tempter controls your life. Samson lost his sight and strength when he let Delilah cut his hair. He managed to kill many Philistines in death, but his lust cost his life. The hallelujah in this verse could mean someone's soul or psyche, their innermost being.

When someone does something based on feelings or desires, they let someone else have ownership of their soul. When Paris captured Helen in the Trojan War, he violated the traditional guest-host relationship in the Mediterranean world. By giving into his desires, Paris caused his own death, the death of brother Hector and father Priam, and the fall of one of the most powerful cities in Asia Minor.  

That's why one must have balance between the head and the heart. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:20). Giving into any kind of physical lust can destroy the outward and inner person. The second verse of "Hallelujah" uses the examples of Samson and David to illustrate the downfall of a good man and a good musician by the power of desire.

 " Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver. As a bird hastens to the slaughter, so he does not know that it will cost him his life. (Proverbs 7:22-3 NASB)

Hallelujah Part 1

(This is my 1st attempt at a music post, so bear with me.) The song "Hallelujah" is a standard in popular music and singlehandedly got its writer and original performer Leonard Cohen into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The bluesy, mournful ballad really became famous when Jeff Buckley released an emotional cover of the song on his 1994 debut album Grace which was listed on Rolling Stone's 300 greatest songs in 2004.

However, this song continues to be relevant in modern pop music. Artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Celtic Thunder, and Bon Jovi have done covers of "Hallelujah" either live or as an album cut. My favorite version of "Hallelujah" by The Canadian Tenors, which was number 1 on the US Vocals chart and was discovered using the Top100s app on my iPod touch. This cover has great blended vocalists of different ranges and a meditative guitar solo à la U2.

But apart from being a good song, "Hallelujah" features many Biblical allusions other than its title and is very open ended. Musical critics have interpreted this song from being anything from a hymn to God, a protest song, a love song, or a sexual anthem. I will clarify the Biblical references in "Hallelujah" and discover its worldview. This should be a two or three part mini series.

 "I heard that there was a secret chord/That David played and it pleased the Lord."                                   Cohen starts out the song in first person, setting the stage that this song is based on his recollections and memories. The first verse acts as an introduction to the greater work. The David in the song is clearly King David, the second king of Judah, who was a prolific singer-songwriter in his own right, writing and performing 73 Psalms or songs written to God. His instrument of choice was the harp (1 Samuel 18:10), which he used to please his earthly lord, the restless King Saul ( 1 Samuel 19:9) and above all, his heavenly Lord (Psalm 108:1-2). David's main desire in his life was to use his talents and "worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling (Psalm 2:11).

"But you don't really care for music, do you?" 
 There are many ways that you can look at this extremely ambiguous line. Here are three. First, the "I" in the first line is an older musician telling a reluctant, probably younger, listener about the musical talent of King David and the struggles in his life. Second, in a theological sense, the listener to the song wants to suppress the truths about God that David sang in the Psalms. David talks about these people in imprecatory or judgment Psalms, like Psalm 35:16 which calls the non-listeners "godless jesters at a feast." Lastly, Cohen has an important message about the musical structure that he's going to tell the listener no matter what.

"Well, it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth/The minor fall, the major lift/The baffled king composing hallelujah"
  Cohen reveals the secret music formula behind David's secret composition and the chord progression of his own song. The fourth is F major, the fifth is G major, the minor fall is A minor, and the major lift is F major. To music theory fans, this song was composed in C major, the most popular musical key. The revelation of the structure of the song shows that Cohen's thoughts are well ordered in "Hallelujah" and gives other people to make their own "Hallelujahs." David is described as " baffled", which is allusion to when he danced before the Lord to the scorn of his wife Michal (1 Chronicles 15:29). David was so enthralled with the glory and majesty of love that he didn't care about his dignity and station as king.

"Hallelujah!"                                                                                                                                                   This is the simple chorus of the song, repeated several times. Hallelujah can be translated from Hebrew as "Praise Yahweh". Yahweh was the twelve tribes of Israel's special name for God (Exodus 3:14). It's used in the Bible for the intense praise of God (Psalm 111:1) It's transliterated as "Alleluia" in Greek in the New Testament. Hallelujah is used several times in Revelation 19 to show praise to God by Christians and angels, when Jesus "the Lamb" defeats the sinful world system of the Antichrist before ushering in His reign on Earth.

Hallelujah's use in the song is also ambiguous. It could be an expression of David's praise to God, like in the Psalms. Hallelujah could also represent a person's personal life and values, as exemplified in some of the illustrations in the latter verses. In an interview with BBC, Leonard Cohen said "many different hallelujahs exist." Therefore, in an existentialist worldview, one's "hallelujah" is a summation of thoughts, beliefs, and life experiences. This also means the definition of "hallelujah" is different and depends on the individual. I think that the "hallelujah" in this song is one's worldview. The hallelujah can be happy and joyous, sad and somber, or weak and compromising depending on the person. Even when he or she has a bad day, the Christian can find solace in praising God.

What is your own personal "hallelujah" like? What's your favorite version of this song?

" After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a loud multitude, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God." (Revelation 19:1, NASB)