"Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

[friscogrl]

This is blasphemy!

M

[leonardfan2010]

I wish there was a way to unhear it.

[imaginary friend]

I just noticed that Kelley Mooney is Canadian – YIKES!

The only cover that I think comes anywhere close to broaching the essence of LC's Hallelujah, is KD Lang, who delivers it with respect, with passion and with humility.

[friscogrl]

And with the correct lyrics!

M

[IMM]

I forced myself to watch this, so as to be able to comment validly, but it was not a pleasant experience. What struck me was the banality of the lyrics.

Tone medium.
Character medium.
Eyes medium. (I always thought this one awkward - but alternatives are few)

[hydriot]

For 'Hallelujah',you might have to omit the "...she tied you to a kitchen chair...." verse out, for most easily-shocked churches..... .

Surely, Delilah's first attempt to betray Samson involved binding him with a particular type of creeper? So the 'tying' is entirely appropriate to a religious setting. And who is to say it wasn't a kitchen chair he was sitting on at the time?

[Violet]

I just noticed that Kelley Mooney is Canadian – YIKES!

The only cover that I think comes anywhere close to broaching the essence of LC's Hallelujah, is KD Lang, who delivers it with respect, with passion and with humility.

.. hmm.. what I was trying to get at before in terms of Leonard's rendition and his lyrics is that the song seems to require a certain "disposition".. I mean, "what's it to ya??".. I mean.. we're not only talkin' humility here..

v. x

[Rain]

Surely, Delilah's first attempt to betray Samson involved binding him with a particular type of creeper? So the 'tying' is entirely appropriate to a religious setting. And who is to say it wasn't a kitchen chair he was sitting on at the time?

Yes, it is a reference to Sampson and Delilah, and I see nothing wrong with singing it in a church setting. I just know that most churches are so repressed, even though the Bible itself has risque things written all through it! I just heard Susan Boyle's Christmas album and SHE does Hallelujah and includes the "tied to the chair" verse! (I have no idea what this song has to do with Christmas, but I guess that could start a whole different argument....but give her points for using Cohen's lyrics!

[TipperaryAnn]

Singing the ORIGINAL version in church as Mooney was asked to by an unknowing clergyman, THAT would have been something! And it surely would have given the congregation something to gossip about for years to come

Come to think of it, maybe the clergyman was not "unknowing", and would have been quite happy with the original lyrics - perhaps he is more liberal in outlook than Ms. Mooney!

The reaction of the congregation would be interesting. I think many people don't really listen to lyrics, responding more to the tune and the presentation, and in this case hearing mainly the word hallelujah, so it might not cause much of a stir at all. I know a very zealous Born Again Christian who describes "Hallelujah" as "a lovely song" .

[IMM]

I think I should clarify that I quoted Hydriot a few posts above this one, because of his choice of the word banality.
My 'medium' comments are on the rendering of the song, and not on Hydriot's opinion.
I'm not sure whether I thought that the use of the song was the result of the nature of 'joiners' (there does seem to be a run on covers of it) or if I thought it just evil to ruin the song in that way.
Hannah A. seems so long ago - but the concept of paint the portrait in words, to see if it's true, seems not have lost any validity.

The only cover that I think comes anywhere close to broaching the essence of LC's Hallelujah, is KD Lang

K.D.'s version, has, to go with the 4th and the 5th, the 'separated chord' where the left hand of the 'piano', 'rolls' through chord notes individually -- very nice.

[neo]

acotrel says: 06:49am | 16/11/10
I bought a cheap CD of Leonard Cohen. I really like his cover of Hallelujah. He reminds me a lot of Paolo Conte who the Europeans love so much. Many people cannot understand the attraction of his voice.

Reply
Lindy says: 08:04am | 16/11/10
I think you will find that in Leonard Cohen’s hands Hallelujah is not a cover, but his own original work! All those others who’ve done it so well have merely been covering the work of the great mad himself.

Roseman says: 08:15am | 16/11/10
Um, cover of Hallelujah?!?!?

papachango says: 03:55pm | 16/11/10
Just like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan gets regularly accused of covering his own songs. Must be pretty annoying… especially if everyone thinks Jeff Buckley or Peter Paul & Mary wrote the original

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/leo ... allelujah/

[sebmelmoth2003]

let's worship the Lord via city harmonic

...So can their songs be used in corporate worship? "Certainly I think they could be," [Elias ]Dummer responds. "I'm in this tiny little church plant where two Sundays ago we sang part of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'...

http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/ ... /42609/p1/

[nycsongs]

Lol, those words are banal all right, but I'm going to give her a pass on this one for two reasons: first, because she at least had the courtesy to get official permission first. You know there are plenty of unauthorized versions of this song out there, and I'll bet there are musicians in these very boards who have performed this song for their own personal gain without one cent going to LC.
Second, I just love the sound of that girls' choir! It's a beautiful arrangement; I hope they get to perform it someday with the original words. (I'm no religion lover by any means, btw, just a musician.)

[Rain]

I have removed my prior post. Sorry I used big scary print in the old post, but I really think this song should be left alone and NOT have other lyrics put to it. This song really has nothing to do with Christianity. Sorry, but it doesn't. I didn't mean to "flame" the artist on the forum. Sorry.

---Rain

NOTICE to everyone here on the forum:

I have removed one of my prior posts from this particular thread due to the artist contacting me via PM and saying that I hurt her feelings with my negative comments. (Even though most of the comments by other forum users were negative as well) So the above-quoted response replaces the original one. I apologized for hurting her feelings, but I DON'T apologize for my OPINION (and remember, it is ONLY an opinion) that the song Hallelujah should not have any other lyrics except those written by LC. I don't want to be accused of being uncaring, or "flaming" anyone on the forum, so I'm apologizing publicly....sincerely sorry.

--Rain

[LisaLCFan]

Regarding Rain's post (immediately above this):

If an artist is going to take another artist's song (particularly a song as famous as Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen, who is also somewhat famous ) and not only cover it, but change the lyrics ( ), they should be prepared for a few negative reactions. I personally think that "big scary print" is a perfectly acceptable reaction to this "rendition" of Hallelujah (for some reason, the political concept of "extraordinay rendition" came to mind when I heard it...).

Lisa