A broken Hallelujah

Our friend Tammy from South Africa drew our attention to a recent music video of  Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' .   The choirmaster at Roedean School in South Africa put together brilliantly and movingly a video of the choir singing this haunting song after the school had closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Somehow he used technology to film the choristers individually and then put them together as though they were performing in the school.  It was deeply moving to see them singing together in harmony whilst we saw the empty rooms and corridors.  I recommend that you watch the video before reading on: if you search for 'Hallelujah' on Youtube and choose the Roedean School version, it's easy to find. 

Or copy and paste this link into your browser:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y51WWrYodI&list=RD3y51WWrYodI&start_radio=1

Listening to the strange words of this song I wondered what they really meant. These are the lyrics:

Well, I 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
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...
 
You say I took the name in vain

I don't even know the name

But if I did, well really what's it to ya?

There's a blaze of light in every word

It doesn't matter which you heard

The holy or the broken Hallelujah.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...
 
I did my best, it wasn't much

I couldn't feel so I tried to touch

I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya

And even though it all went wrong

I'll stand before the lord of song

With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...

Well, 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

 

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian Jew - his surname indicates his Jewish background:  Cohen, the most common surname in Israel, means 'priest' and represents an ancient biblical priestly heritage.  Just what sort of a faith Cohen himself had isn't easy to pin down, though towards the end of this song he seems to express a struggle to retain a faith that he once had, or thought he had.  As he struggles with belief versus unbelief, he still retains some sort of desire to worship.     His thoughts expressed in this song have clear links to the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament).

 

David the harpist - window at Roedean School, SA

The song  looks at David, the musician and man of God, who despite his deep faith in God is tempted by Bathsheba and falls into sin. 

 

David spies on Bathsheba - painting by Tissot

Then there is the parallel story of Samson, another man dedicated to God, who falls into the same sexual temptation and is seduced by Delilah. 

 

Samson and Delilah - painting by Van Dyck

 Both are imperfect human beings - (aren't we all?) - yet both are repentant and both want to continue to worship God  -  hence their use of 'Hallelujah', which roughly translates as 'Praise the Lord'.  Though the song doesn't mention it, that's where every believer in God stands. We are all sinners - all fault-ridden individuals. It's only by the grace of our creator that we are acceptable to Him.  It's very appropriate therefore that our praise to Him is described as 'a broken Hallelujah'.

The sinful actions of David and of Samson are recorded in the Bible and we can see in their stories that their actions had terrible results.* They certainly paid a heavy price for their behaviour.  Yet they repented, and David's moving repentance is recorded in Psalm 51 , where David says "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;   you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

The Bible is a treasure-house of stories which tells us repeatedly that if we sincerely want a relationship with our maker, he is willing to set aside our imperfections, our inadequacies and our stumblings, provided we acknowledge and repent of them. We can turn to Him and not be turned away.  It seems to me that Leonard Cohen was trying to grasp this when he wrote   Hallelujah!

*  2 Samuel 11 and Judges 16

There's a much more detailed analysis of the lyrics of Hallelujah at

  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-leonard-cohens-hallelujah-brilliantly-mingled-sex-religion-194516/