Leonard Cohen, Writer of Song 'Hallelujah,' Dies at 82

The Wired Word for the Week of November 20, 2016

In the News

Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who died November 7 at age 82, was also a poet and novelist who was often mentioned in the same breath with Bob Dylan as one like him who had both spiritual and artistic depth in a maverick sort of way. But most people, even if they know little or nothing about Cohen himself, have heard the song for which he is most well known: "Hallelujah." It's been covered by at least 300 singers in both recordings and concerts and has been used in the soundtracks of films and TV shows and by contestants in televised talent contests.

The song has been used so much, in fact, that some reviewers, even those who like it, have called for a moratorium on it, but most hearers among the general population continue to appreciate it no matter how often it turns up or who sings it.

Because of the song's popularity, as well as its obvious reference to two biblical stories (those of David and Samson) and its allusion to the human tendency to work against one's own well-being, we are taking the occasion of Cohen's death to consider a theme from his song, bearing in mind that poets often write more for the feelings their words evoke than to convey a clearly elucidated thesis.

Still, the theme of self-sabotage is there in the song, and to consider it, we're looking at some comments by author Alan Light from his 2012 book, The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah," an excerpt of which appears in the Rolling Stone article in the links list below.

Cohen wrote some 80 verses for this song, but used just four in his recorded version, included in his 1984 album Various Positions. Other singers have sometimes used other verses, adding to or deleting some of the original four, and Cohen himself sometimes used additional verses along with the four he first recorded. Light's comments, however, refer to the version first recorded. (See the "Hallelujah" lyrics in the links list below. You may wish to print them out for your class members.)

"Cohen's song begins with an image of the Bible's musically identified King David, recounting the heroic harpist's 'secret chord,' with its special spiritual power," wrote Light, referring to David's soothing of King Saul, who was possessed of an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:23).

"But this first verse almost instantly undercuts its own solemnity," said Light. He noted that "after offering such an inspiring image in the opening lines, Cohen remembers whom he's speaking to, and says to his listener [perhaps he means Saul] that 'you don't really care for music, do you?'"

Cohen next describes, the harmonic progression of the verse: "It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth / the minor fall, the major lift." And he ends the verse with "the baffled king composing Hallelujah!" This, said, Light, is "a comment on the unknowable nature of artistic creation, or of romantic love, or both."

Light noted that the second verse of "Hallelujah" shifts to the second person -- "Your faith was strong but you needed proof." The narrator then references another incident in the David story, the king's lust for Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11:2).

Light then quotes the Rev. Dr. R. M. A. "Sandy" Scott, who in a 2011 service at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, explicated David's story and its usage in the song.

"The story of David and Bathsheba," said Scott, "is about the abuse of power in the name of lust, which leads to murder, intrigue and brokenness." Scott said that until this point, David had been a brave and gifted leader, but that he now "began to believe his own propaganda ... he began to take what he wanted."

Referring to the "baffled king" lyric in the song, Scott called the word choice "an obvious understatement on Cohen's part, adding, "The great King David becomes no more than a baffled king when he starts to live for himself." Scott continued, "There is so much brokenness in David's life, only God can redeem and reconcile this complicated personality. That is why the baffled and wounded David lifts up to God a painful hallelujah."

The lyrics now switch to the story of Samson and Delilah – "She tied you to a kitchen chair / she broke your throne, she cut your hair" -- before, said Light, "resolving with a vision of sexual release: 'and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah!'"

Light added that both David and Samson "are brought down to earth, and risk surrendering their authority, because of the allure of forbidden love. Even for larger-than-life figures and leaders of nations, the greatest physical pleasure can lead to disaster."

Light then quoted the Rev.Thomas G. Casey, a professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University, who said, "The man who composed songs of praise with such aplomb and the man whose strength was the envy of all now find themselves in a stark and barren place."

But both men repent and seek divine favor after their transgressions and some kind of atonement.

Light says that in verse 3, Cohen "builds to the song's central premise -- the value, even the necessity of the song of praise in the face of confusion, doubt or dread. 'There's a blaze of light in every word; / it doesn't matter which you heard, / the holy or the broken Hallelujah!'"

"Every word, holy or broken -- this is the fulcrum of the song as Cohen first wrote it," said Light. "Like our forefathers, and the Bible heroes ... we will be hurt, tested and challenged. Love will break our hearts, music will offer solace that we may or may not hear, we will be faced with joy and with pain."

"But," Light added, "Cohen is telling us, without resorting to sentimentality, not to surrender to despair or nihilism. Critics may have fixated on the gloom and doom of his lyrics, but this is his offering of hope and perseverance in the face of a cruel world. Holy or broken, there is still hallelujah."

The fourth verse, said Light, starts "with an all-too-human shrug: 'I did my best; it wasn't much.' Cohen reinforces his fallibility, his limits, but also his good intentions, singing, 'I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you.'"

And the song concludes, "And even though it all went wrong, / I'll stand before the Lord of Song / with nothing on my lips but Hallelujah!"

Light then quoted Cohen: "I wanted to push the Hallelujah deep into the secular world, into the ordinary world. The Hallelujah, the David's Hallelujah, was still a religious song. So I wanted to indicate that Hallelujah can come out of things that have nothing to do with religion."

"He's rescued the word hallelujah from being just a religious word," said the Right Rev. Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon (UK), cited by Light. "We're broken human beings, all of us, so stop pretending, and we can all use the word hallelujah because what it comes from is being open and transparent before God ….'"

TWW editorial team member Mary Sells commented, "To me one of the apparent missions of Leonard Cohen was using his gift for songwriting to stir a person to acknowledge the reality of a living God in our very broken lives."

More on this story can be found at these links:

Leonard Cohen, Epic and Enigmatic Songwriter, Is Dead at 82. The New York TimesHow Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' Brilliantly Mingled Sex, Religion. Rolling Stone'Hallelujah' lyrics (from Cohen's original Various Positions recorded version)
Leonard Cohen performing 'Hallelujah.' YouTube (video, includes extra verses)

Applying the News Story

Since both David and Samson fell by giving in to lust, it may be hard for some of us who have not damaged our lives via that particular vice to identify with the "Hallelujah" lyrics. But we should think more broadly. The upsets some of us apparently feel compelled to inflict upon ourselves from time to time are part of the riddle of what it means to be human.

There seems to be something in many of us that has a perverse need to introduce a complicating component into our lives when things are going well. It's as if something within us becomes uneasy when our lives finally become balanced and harmonious.

For some of us, it's the small, self-defeating, self-destructive, self-sabotaging things that are really hurtful. Maybe, in the words of the song, they're a "minor fall," but they can do major damage. For example:

• We gossip or say negative stuff that comes back like a boomerang and hits us where it hurts.
• We often overcommit because we can't say no.
• We're willing to enable abusive relationships.
• We strongly fear succeeding, which makes us unconsciously booby-trap the path to success.
• We have a fixed income but wildly unfixed spending habits.
• We make rash decisions, even though we know we should think more carefully before stepping out into the abyss.
• We show up for work or school drunk or hungover.
• We should attend class but don't.
• We procrastinate, and it undermines us every time.
• We insist on spending time with the wrong friends.

And so on.

Better to praise the Lord -- "hallelujah" in Hebrew means "praise Yahweh" -- and seek his help before we sabotage our lives, of course, but God invites us to seek him after we do as well. God hears both the holy and the broken hallelujah.

The Big Questions

1. When have you knowingly undercut what you clearly knew was good for you? What insight, if any, did you gain about why you behaved as you did?

2. When, if ever, have you felt that you had nothing left but to turn to God? In what sense might that have felt like a broken hallelujah? What, if anything, happened to change it into a holy hallelujah?

3. What means do you use to examine your urges to make significant changes in your life beforeyou actually do so? Whom do you consult? What role does prayer play? What role does the church play?

4. In the "In the News" section above, Light quotes the Bishop of Croydon: "We're broken human beings, all of us, so stop pretending, and we can all use the word hallelujah because what it comes from is being open and transparent before God ….'" What is your response?

Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Psalm 150:1 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. (For context, read 150:1-6.)
Revelation 19:6
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. (For context, read 19:1-10.)

"Hallelujah" appears in both testaments, as the two verses above show, but in most Bible versions you won't find the word in the Old Testament. It's actually there several places in the underlying Hebrew, but most English translations render that Hebrew as "Praise the Lord!"

That's why we quoted Psalm 150:1 above from the Holman Bible, because it's one of the few versions that translate the Hebrew hallelu, which means "to praise joyously," and yah, which is a shortened form of the name for God, as "Hallelujah." As used in the Old Testament, it is an instruction to the hearer to praise God.

In the New Testament, "hallelujah" appears only in the book of Revelation, where it is not an instruction but an actual expression of praise to God and a lyric of a song of rejoicing occurring in heaven.

Seminary professor Robert W. Neff used to tell his Old Testament classes that everyone already knows two Hebrew words -- "amen" and "hallelujah" (to which we might add "shalom"). Most of us say hallelujah only in a positive context, almost as a synonym for "Eureka!"

Questions: When have you literally said "hallelujah"? Why? Have you ever said hallelujah in a negative circumstance? If so, how did it apply?

Romans 7:15
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.(For context, read 7:14-25.)

Speaking of people who sabotage themselves, here's the apostle Paul owning up to it. He tells here in chapter 7 of his own shortcomings as an introduction to his explanation of life in the Spirit, which he discusses in chapter 8.

Questions: When have you personally identified with Paul's comment here? In light of your own struggles, how do you feel reading about Paul's inner conflict? Why? How would the cold and lonely hallelujah work in situations like Paul's?

Psalm 16:6
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. (For context, read 16:5-11.)

When the psalmist says boundary lines have fallen for him in pleasant places, he's using vocabulary from the book of Joshua, where boundary lines referred to the division of Canaan among the tribes of Israel, granting each tribe a portion (see, for example, Joshua 18:10). The tribes believed that their destiny from that point onward was tied up with the land portion they received.

Here in Psalm 16, however, the psalmist is using boundary lines in a metaphorical way, to say that his life is marked by good fortune and destiny in God that cannot be taken from him because God himself holds it fast. In some ways, his statement about boundary lines is not unlike saying, "I got lucky," "I got dealt some pretty good cards," or even "All my hard work and sacrifice is finally paying off."

But if the psalmist is like many people, he won't leave things there indefinitely. The boundary lines may have fallen for him in pleasant places, but sooner or later, he'll grow dissatisfied with the status quo of the settled life and go looking for what is beyond the boundary lines, deliberately throwing a wrench into his life. It's self-sabotage, and it's not unintentional.

The fact is, upsetting the status quo of our lives is sometimes painful for us but it's almost always painful for somebody. If we are the one seeking the change, then the excitement of the new thing may cover over some of the pain for us personally. But we cannot overlook that others who have counted on us or who have gotten used to the way we were going may be thrown off balance or even hurt by changes of direction we make that affect them. That is the interconnectedness of life, and we cannot escape it.

Thus, every urge to rip apart something significant in our lives needs to be examined seriously, and even prayerfully. If God is calling us, we should listen. But if the yen to change is simply change for its own sake, we should count the cost and move cautiously.

Questions: When have you identified a self-sabotaging impulse in yourself but consciously turned away from it? Did you have deal with that same impulse again, or was that matter settled? What helped?

Psalm 51:1-2Have mercy on me,O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.(For context, read 51:1-17.)

This is the psalm considered to be from David reflecting on his sins of lust and murder. In contrast to Cohen's song, the word "hallelujah" seems to be conspicuously absent. However, though the psalm uses a different Hebrew word for "praise" (tehillâ) when, reflecting upon God's forgiveness, David declares, "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise" (v. 15), tehillâ is drawn from the same root word as is hallelu (see commentary on Psalm 150:1 above.) Specifically, both tehillâ and hallelu are derived from halal, which means to "celebrate" or "commend."

The psalm indicates repentance is a necessary step between sin and praising God for forgiveness. David acknowledges his sinfulness and his sins against God before pleading, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (v. 10).

Nor is God's forgiveness only something to be kept to oneself. It is to be shared: "Then I will teach transgressors your [God's] ways, and sinners will return to you" (v. 13).

Questions: When have you personally identified with David's pleas in this psalm? What has been your response to God's forgiveness of you?

Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (For context, read 57:14-19.)

Isaiah reminds us that God will revive the humble and contrite. Had the prophet known Cohen's song, he might have worded this as "God will revive those who offer broken hallelujahs."

Questions: Synonyms for "contrite" include remorseful, repentant, penitent, regretful, sorry, apologetic, rueful, sheepish, hangdog, ashamed, chastened, shamefaced, conscience-stricken and guilt-ridden. Why do you think we have so many words in our language related to the same concept? How are these related to the matters of salvation, reconciliation and healing?
How has "revival," in the sense of being revived back into a life-giving situation or restored to good relationship with God and with others, made itself felt in your life?

For Further Discussion

1. From 2002-2006, there was a television series called Everwood about a widower doctor and his two children living in a small Colorado town. The doctor's son, Ephram, was dating a girl his age named Amy, and to viewers of the show, they seemed an ideal couple with a lot going for them. But during Ephram's senior year in high school, he experienced some unsettled feelings, and found himself rethinking his plans for the future. At one point, he tells his father that he does not understand himself. Here, he has a wonderful relationship and has been accepted at a top-flight music school, and yet he finds himself thinking of breaking up with Amy, not going to college and backpacking through Europe instead. "Why am I doing that?" he asks, puzzled. His father responds that such things are part of the nature of life. 
            Is his father's response correct? If you were Ephram's father, what further advice would you have offered?

2. The song "Hallelujah" was used in the computer-animated fantasy-comedy film Shrek when the characters realize their flaws have caused what appear like irreparable fractures in their various relationships. A conversation ensues between Shrek, who is an ogre, and Donkey, as follows:

Shrek: For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think.
Donkey: Example?
Shrek: Example... uh... ogres are like onions! [holds up an onion, which Donkey sniffs]
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes ... No!
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry?
Shrek: No!
Donkey: Oh, you leave 'em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs …
Shrek: [peels an onion] NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers... You get it? We both have layers.
Donkey: Oh, you both have LAYERS. Oh. You know, not everybody likes onions. CAKE! Everybody loves cake! Cakes have layers!
Shrek: I don't care what everyone likes! Ogres are not like cakes.
Donkey: You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "... no, I don't like no parfait."? Parfaits are delicious!
Shrek: NO! You dense, irritating, miniature beast of burden! Ogres are like onions! End of story! Bye-bye! See ya later.
Donkey: Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole ... planet!

What are your "layers" like and how do they affect how you steer your life?

3. Comment on this, from TWW editorial team member Frank Ramirez: "The scripture 'Hallelujah' focuses on seems to be David's story, where his songs temporarily soothe King Saul, but do not prevent that king's tragic end, or David's own inability to control his sexual proclivities, or his inability to deal with a daughter's rape by her half-brother, that led to further dysfunction and death. The David story is the story of where we live, and God's walk with us despite our flaws. We tend to ignore scriptures that deal with trauma, yet trauma is where we live."
            Ramirez also said that "Hallelujah" makes him think of the ending of Samuel Beckett's novel The Unnamable, with its rambling, disembodied voice, that ends, "I can't go on. I'll go on."

4. Discuss this, from TWW editorial team member Stan Purdum: "These wrinkles some of us seem compelled to inflict upon ourselves might be called the upset-the-fruit-basket factor. 'Upset the fruit basket,' is a children's game. It's a variation of musical chairs in which the children put their chairs in a circle. Each child is placed into a fruit group -- apples, oranges, bananas and so forth, usually with four or more children in each group. Then all the children sit in their chairs, and the leader calls out a fruit group. If the leader says, 'apples,' for example, then only the apples have to stand up and walk around the circle. While they are walking, the leader removes one chair. When the leader calls 'apples' again, all the apples scramble for a chair. The apple child left standing is out of the game. The game continues in similar fashion with the leader calling out 'bananas,' or 'oranges' or some other fruit. But if the leader says 'upset the fruit basket' then all the children have to get up and walk around the circle while the leader removes a chair. The winner is the last child in the 'basket' at the end of the game. 
            "As a child's game, it's all right, I guess, although it may not seem so to kids who get eliminated from the game, but as a way of injecting abrupt change into our lives, upsetting the fruit basket can be downright painful. We have a tendency to upset the fruit basket of our lives precisely at those times when our lives are as arranged and as peaceful as a basket of summer fruit."

Responding to the News

First, don't worry if you can't understand everything in the song, for God speaks to us through many formats, and not all of his messages are clear. It was St. Augustine who said, "We are talking about God. What wonder is it that you do not understand? If you do understand, then it is not God."

That said, "Hallelujah" invites us to be aware of our complicated human nature and our tendency toward self-sabotage, but it also helps us to hear afresh the Bible's message that God does not abandon us even when we deliberately "jump off the wagon" of stability and righteousness.

This is a good time to remember that whether we approach God with a holy or a broken hallelujah, God hears us.

Prayer (adapted from Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck)

Lord God, you who are the source of all truth, wisdom, justice and love, lead me each day that I might constantly rest my life upon the eternal foundations of your love and presence. Save me from haste, confusion, self-sabotage, wrongful desire and the net of evil. Through the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, enlighten, instruct and guide me all day long. Accept my "Hallelujah" in the name of Jesus. Amen.