The lyrics in the second version seem to have been brought around to refer back to something more personal with Cohen's life, but his resolution (very Cohenesque) is the same in both - be it love, art, or spirituality - he sees the dark side, but in the end his answer is to embrace - "Even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the lord of song, with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah."īeause that is the resolution, I find it very ironic that no cover version uses that verse. I think there was a typo somewhere early along the line, and this became one of the most recorded Mondegreens in history.baffled instead of battle. It's a good attempt, but I don't buy it - there's nothing in the David story that indicates he was ever a "baffled" king - but he certainly was a battle king, and that image seems to fit the tension of the song - I interpret the "you" as talking directly to Yahweh "You don't really care for music, do ya?"- it's kind of the same tension you see in Blake's "Tyger" - "did He who made the lamb make thee?" - about the mysterious contradictions one must wrestle with if they want to believe in a monotheistic god. Question: Does anyone know, why the hell they printed Wainwright's cover on the o.s.t, though in the film it was Cale's version? (Rufus' version is nice, too, and both version are quite similar, but still, it seems very odd to me.) Verse O4/N4 is the only one, which appeared in both of Leonard's published versions - yet also the only one, which never shows up in any cover version! (Left out is always the the verse N2, which contains the most explicit lyrics.) Mainstream covers (Show-winners Kurt Nilsen and Alexandra Burke e.g.) usually cut the verses N1 and N2 to give it a standard playing time, leaving only three verses (O1, O2, N3). Most used version was: O1, O2, N3 (or O3), N1, N2, O/N 4 Cohen itself made use of all seven verses during his 2008 tour, playing usually six of them on each performance. Bono uses the full original album lyrics with added N3. And even here it 's only true for the lyrics, music is closer to Cale here, too.). Hardly anybody uses one of Cohens versions (The German Group Wir sind Helden is the only exception which comes to my mind right now. The same goes with the slight change ofthe melody. Lang (omitting N2 on studio version, N3 on live version). Apart from those already mentioned, there are for example Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crowe and Allison Crowe sticking to those five verses. Nearly every cover version is based on the mixture of verses introduced by John Cale. Today it is an obligatory performance for every singer to win a talent show on TV anywhere in the world. With the help of Shrek Hallelujah entered the mainstream and became more and more popular. Wainwright also adopted the Cale mix of five verses. Very odd: While you could listen to Cale's version during the film, it was Rufus Wainwright's version, was was printed on the soundtrack disks. no speaking or other noises hearable while most of the time), featuring the verses O1, N1 and N3 in full length. The song, sung by Cale, was played in the film for quite a long time, and in the foreground (i.e. The song reached an broader audience when featured on the soundtrack of the popular animation movie Shrek. Jeff Buckley adopted exactly Cales constellation on his Album Grace (1994), his Hallelujah is one of the most famous and adored versions today. Strangely enough, already a few years before Cohen published the altered version, John Cale presented a cover version of the song on the tribute album I'm your fan (1991), which included some of the newer verses.Ĭales version contained the following five verses: A1, A2, N1, N2, N3Ĭale also changed the melody of the first two lines of the verse slightly. One year before the additional verses had also been published in the book Stranger music (1993). So only the last verse of four stayed the same. It's a cold and it's a lonely(/broken )Hallelujah It's not some pilgrim who's seen the light Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool youġ0 years later Cohen published an almost completely changed version on Live Songs (1994) She broke your throne and she cut your hairĪnd from your lips she drew the Hallelujahīut if I did, well really, what's it to you? Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you Your faith was strong, but you needed proof Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah That David played, and it pleased the Lordīut you don't really care for music, do you? These are the original lyrics from the Album Various Positions (1984): I tried to bring somes systematic order in the Hallelujah lyrics in the different versions.
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