Meaning of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen
“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen is like peeling back the layers of an onion; each line reveals a new set of spiritual and earthly thoughts. The song, which came out in 1984 on the record “Various Positions,” was a reflection of Cohen’s inner thoughts and feelings during a time of personal struggle and introspection in the early 1980s (Recording History).
Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ is a complicated story that weaves together religious references and everyday events, crossing the line between the holy and the ordinary. ‘Hallelujah’ is a prayer and celebration word in Hebrew, but Cohen used it to show a wide range of human feelings related to love, loss, and trying to find some kind of peace in the middle of life’s chaos (20 Beckfords).
Cohen’s words resonate with a universal struggle – the tug of war between the spiritual and the corporeal. He described the song as an affirmation of his faith in life, imbued not with religious rigidity, but with fervent emotion and enthusiasm. He acknowledged the world’s innate dissonance, yet within it, he found moments of acceptance where one could embrace the ‘whole mess’ and find their own Hallelujah【28†(Wikipedia)】.
One of the most beautiful things about “Hallelujah” is how it can change with each performance. Each artist who has sung on this song has found a different Hallelujah, which shows how the song can ethereally capture all of human emotions and experiences. There are a lot of deep and different readings, from “sober and sincere” by John Cale to “hallelujah to the orgasm” by Jeff Buckley. This range of styles shows not only how great Cohen is at writing lyrics, but also how general the song’s main idea is (Wikipedia, 28).
The historical background of the song, which comes from the Bible stories of Samson and Delilah, King David, and Bathsheba, along with Cohen’s modern-day thoughts, make for a lot to think about. A song that’s both sad and positive, fragile and strong (Wikipedia, 28). It explores the eternal themes of love, betrayal, and the search for a deeper understanding or meaning.
“There is a religious hallelujah, but there are many other ones,” Leonard Cohen once said. “There is only one thing to say about the world: hallelujah” (Wikipedia, 28). This says it all: the song is about a trip through life’s problems, finding hallelujahs in the everyday, the painful, and the beautiful.
“Hallelujah” is a story about life, a musical meditation on the depths of human experience, and an ode to the search for meaning that will never go out of style.