HALLELUJAH !

This Christmas, musicians seem to be queuing up to sing 'Hallelujah'. Out in front is X-Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, who selected the song for her breakout pop release. But hot on her heels is Jeff Buckley's sparse and passionate version, currently being championed by highbrow fans of the late singer, protective of what they consider to be his definitive rendition. Down the years the song has proved an inexorable draw for performers as diverse as Willie Nelson, k.d. Lang and Susanna & Her Magic Orchestra, with dozens of versions having been recorded since Leonard Cohen's gruff original.

What should we make of 'Hallelujah', with its biblical references and insistent refrain?

Cohen's song tracks the sad descent of a relationship from seduction to cynicism, via obsession. Identifying with the songwriter, David, who is then tempted by Bathsheba, he uses the biblical story as a metaphor for the ignition stage of a passion, escalating in verse three into an intensity of lust and desire, and referencing Samson along the way. Verses four and five capture the realization that love can be tiresome, with even sex failing to move the writer any longer. Finally, we hear Cohen reflecting back on a life of love, having been led 'cold and broken' to suspicion and discouragement.

Cohen's love appears driven by lust, and so we should not be surprised that he ends up so disillusioned with it. Far from being a pop song, it is a sensitive and poetic attempt to encapsulate the trajectory of a love in six verses, allegedly culled from 80 candidates.

From a Christian perspective, the deep irony of the song is that Cohen was onto something in each plaintive chorus. Whilst we might feel that in all versions of the song the 'Hallelujahs' sound hollow, in our 'Praise the Lord', we recognize God for who he really is. If we expect another person to supply needs that should properly come from God, we will be disappointed. Supremely, when Jesus was born, a vast and immeasurable act of love was initiated by God to save a lost humanity. We did not earn this love, we do not deserve it, and we are left to exclaim:

'Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live' (Psalm 146:1-2).

Hallelujah, indeed!

John Lee(licc)
LYRICS:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/leonardcohen/hallelujah.html