Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

  • Thread starter Thread starter Footprints
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Footprints

Guest
A lot of the posts on here relate to this song being sung at Mass which I think is pretty odd. I’d never sing a song like this at Holy Mass, especially since I enjoy hymns!

My dance teacher has chosen this song as sung by the a capella group, Pentatonix, as our Contemporary Jazz dance for a Christmas recital. I honestly don’t get how this is a Christmas song…

Anyway, I’ve heard people say that the meaning of this song is about intimate relationship stuff and honestly, I never really thought of that all the times I’ve heard the song. I guess I thought it was somehow about someone’s spiritual journey? I also never knew it was in Shrek. I really like the a capella version (It’s shortened and beautifully sung) but I do have a problem with the line, “Maybe there’s a God above” because I KNOW there is a God above.

Just curious what some of you think of the song in a secular situation. It’ll be performed at a school auditorium and I think the theme of the recital is the “Not so Nutcracker”. Not sure how this song ties in 🤣 The beginning of the dance that she has already showed us is really pretty too and I get the idea that she has no clue about the “real meaning” of the song. I don’t think most people do and I sure didn’t until I saw a post here.
 
Footprints said:
but I do have a problem with the line, “Maybe there’s a God above” because I KNOW there is a God above
Click to expand...
People understand that a song lyric may not be an actual statement of the composers beliefs (I have no idea what Cohens religious beliefs were, for the record). It’s meant to convey the perspective of the fictional person singing, someone who is on the edge of despair and may not be certain of Gods presence.

All this to say, there’s no reason for you to stress that line. Its no different than if you were portraying an atheist in a play and had to say the line “there is no God.” Everyone understands that that is being said in the context of a performance and may not reflect the actual views of the actor or playwright.
 
I don’t get its appeal, honestly. Everyone thinks it is such a great song, but I just don’t feel that way. To each his own. Not for mass, not for funerals…
 
It is not at all fitting at Mass, changing the lyrics from those about adultery does not baptize the song.

ETA: And I have hours of Cohen in my playlist.
 
Last edited:
Irishmom2 said:
I don’t get its appeal, honestly. Everyone thinks it is such a great song, but I just don’t feel that way. To each his own. Not for mass, not for funerals…
Click to expand...
Probably that depends on how much you like Leonard Cohen and his whole gestalt: that is to say, if I didn’t know Leonard Cohen and his signature croaky voice and beaten up world-weariness and find it appealing in some way I probably wouldn’t find it a great song. But I do so I do. It’s a song that reveals a little more of its enigmatic nature each time you listen to it. In that sense it’s quite an achievement.

However, all that said, I don’t think it’s an explicitly religious song (despite its allusions to Biblical figures), I think it’s more of a paen of gratitude to just being alive and experiencing life despite its vicissitudes, so not appropriate for mass or funerals, etc.
 
Last edited:
I completely understand about this not being played during Mass or at a religious function, I was just asking about how people feel about the song in secular situations.
 
Footprints said:
I was just asking about how people feel about the song in secular situations.
Click to expand...
At this point, trite: clichéd, commonplace, stock, conventional, stereotyped, overused, overdone, overworked, stale, worn out, timeworn, tired, hoary, unimaginative, unoriginal, uninteresting, dull, uninvolving;
 
I am not even sure I have heard his version though I do know what he sounds like. I still don’t think I would like it any better.
 
Luckily I’ve been under-exposed to the overexposure. For what it’s worth, I think I read somewhere that even Cohen was surprised by the song’s popularity in recent years (given that it featured on an album he made in, I think, 1988).
 
Last edited:
It has been used in so many TV shows, movies, before SHREK made it into a children’s song :confused:

The West Wing used it in a very moving scene. That one wins “Best ‘Hallelujah’ adaptation” award in my book.

Pentonix is my most cringe worthy, too slick and polished.
 
I have to amend what I wrote earlier: I had thought the song was on his 1988 album ‘I’m Your Man,’ but actually it’s on his previous album ‘Various Positions’ from 1984. It was the first song on the B side of the album.

I came across this quote from Cohen on the late popularity of the song, from 2009:

'I was happy that the song was being used. Of course there was (sic) certain ironic and amusing sidebars, because the record that it came from, which was called Various Positions, that record Sony wouldn’t put out. They didn’t think it was good enough … So there was a mild sense of revenge that arose in my heart. I was happy about it but it’s … I was just reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it, and the reviewer said “Can we please have a moratorium on ‘Hallelujah’ in movies and television shows?” And I kind of feel the same way … I think the song came out in '83 or '84, and the only person who seemed to recognize the song was Dylan. He was doing it in concert. Nobody else recognized the song till quite a long time later, I think. ’

I guess when you write or compose something that has lasting value, what happens to it after you’ve created it is out of your hands, to a large extent.
 
Last edited:
Footprints said:
I completely understand about this not being played during Mass or at a religious function, I was just asking about how people feel about the song in secular situations.
Click to expand...
I love it, personally. I don’t have to agree with every word, on a personal belief level, to enjoy a song. Heck, I love “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but that doesn’t mean I’ve killed someone. 😁
 
I normally am not a huge fan of Pentatonix and yet for some reason, I liked this from them 😂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top