“Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen)
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 you
I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
But love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Sometimes there are moments of our lives in which we feel the need to simply stop and deal with “God” (or the Gods, or whoever we think somehow plays a bigger role than ours in the universe): “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?”.
Far from being a joyful encounter, it may often show us desperately searching for some help from above: “Well, maybe there’s a God above, but all I’ve ever learnt from love was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you; 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”.
Originally written by Leonard Cohen in 1984, “Hallelujah” has been covered by many artists over the years (notably Jeff Buckley in 1994): in 2007 Annie Lennox gave a very powerful live rendition of the song during a performance on French music show Taratata, showcasing with a strong gospel mood all the raw angst of the original composition.
Needless to say a huge amount of fans all over the world would be delighted to hear a full studio version too! 🙂