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)