Heaven Above
A song that was sung and ignored, covered and ignored except for one man who covered it again, only for it to be ignored. Until there was a death.
Who knows when anyone first heard Jeff Buckley sing Hallelujah. It was probably some guy, sitting alone in his pickup truck one night, shotgun loaded and cocked, barrel filling his mouth, tears running down his cheeks as the moon lit up his shameful thoughts. The song came on. He listened. He lived.
This is the power of music.
Hallelujah as Covered by Jeff Buckley
What says Wikipedia about this tune?
“Hallelujah” is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984). Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a recording by John Cale, which inspired a recording by Jeff Buckley. It is considered as the “baseline” of secular hymns.
The secular hymn is entitled Hallelujah, you say. Lemme take a look at the lyrics and see what they say…
Hallelujah as Covered by Jeff Buckley Lyrics
Well 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?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
But baby I’ve been here before
I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor
You know, I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well there was a time when you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show that to me do ya
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
And 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
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
I have no idea. That doesn’t seem overly secular to me.
In 2004, Buckley’s version was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.[9] The same year Time called Buckley’s version “exquisitely sung,” observing “Cohen murmured the original like a dirge, but … Buckley treated the … song like a tiny capsule of humanity, using his voice to careen between glory and sadness, beauty and pain… It’s one of the great songs.”
Wow, that’s a bit of a dick thing to say about Cohen. I wonder, is Cohen sick of the song?
There’s been a couple of times when other people have said can we have a moratorium please on “Hallelujah”? Must we have it at the end of every single drama and every single Idol? And once or twice I’ve felt maybe I should lend my voice to silencing it but on second thought no, I’m very happy that it’s being sung.
Good for you, dude. Good for you.
