I was going to write about my response to the aftermath of the 2016 Presidential Election, but today I stumbled across some news that made me change my mind.
Today, legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen passed away at age 82. Though the cause of death has not yet been released, Cohen's final EP, October's "Darker".
Without a doubt, Cohen is most famous for the opening of Side Two on his 1984 LP Various Positions. That song was called "Hallelujah", and when it came out, it did so quietly and without praise. It wasn't until Jeff Buckley's cover of the song on his 1994 album Grace that the song catapulted off the charts and became an instant cult classic. It has been covered by dozens of artist and been in the background of some of TV and film's most heartbreaking moments, so much so that Cohen himself even begged shows to stop using it so often.
It took Cohen several years to write the lyrics to "Hallelujah", and eventually he emerged with eighty verses. No human wants to hear an eighty verse song, let alone record it, so he ultimately whittled it down to four. When you listen to the lyrics of "Hallelujah" you can feel torment in them, both the torment in his struggle to find the right words, and with his own personal struggles, whatever they were in 1984.
The reason people latch onto "Hallelujah" is the complex message throughout. "Hallelujah" can be interpreted as a biblical allegory or a tale of sexuality and disaster. He traces the biblical figure David being anointed with holy oil after being chosen to rule Israel in the opening verse, and brings him along to the beginning of the second verse, when he is overtaken with lust for Bathsheba as she bathes on the roof. Cohen then jumps to Delilah cutting Samson's hair after tying him to a chair. These two biblical stories set the tone for the rest of the song as he progresses. Cohen had two additional verses that he did not record, but sang in most concerts, and eventually, these two verses "replaced" the original 3rd and 4th. Later, a fifth verse was tacked on. This five-part song is a far cry from Cohen's original song, but in my opinion, that is the magic of it. "Hallelujah" can be interpreted in so many different ways, and each cover emotes different feelings and stresses different lines, making each one a story of its own.
The song (in my opinion) tells the tale of two lovers whose romance is damned but being forced through the wringer every day to keep it alive. The first verse begins with the purity of their newfound love as they get to know one another. The second verse introduces seduction, and whatever happens with that seduction sends the lovers on a spiral. The third verse dives into the lovers attempting to wade through the complexities of whatever their "this" is. In the fourth verse, after the love has become cold, the narrator reminisces on the beginnings of their love, when things were new and exciting, and their love with filled with passion and praiseworthy. The falls of both David and Samson mirror the fall of this love, from something that was once great, to something that has fallen and is now barren.
Originally Cohen wrote the song as a religious one. Eventually the song became much more secular; Cohen wanted "Hallelujah" to also be able to "come out of things that have nothing to do with religion." The obvious sexual undertones feels jarring when paired with the one-word chorus, but I feel that only adds to the realism of it all. "Hallelujah" explores conflict that cannot be resolved. The same lyrics tell different stories: John Cale sang for sobriety, Rufus Wainwright sang to purify, and Buckey sang for the orgasm. But, depending on the listener, the actual hallelujah in the song can be interpreted either as moments of reconciliation to the conflict or the feeling that no matter how many times one cries out above they get nothing back.
Most people don't even realize that Leonard Cohen actually wrote "Hallelujah." It's evolved over the last thirty-two years, but regardless, it is because of Cohen that we have this beautiful, complex, utterly devastating, and utterly real piece of music that's been able to unite people all around the world, regardless of religion or circumstance. So, thank you, Leonard Cohen. Thank you for writing a song that unifies, which we need right now in this time of chaos and disunity. May you rest in peace.
