However, as Cohen sings to end both versions of his song: The deeper these relationships go, the more they have the capacity to enrich our lives, or to hurt us profoundly. To me, this song reflects the reality that as humans we are drawn into relationships, whether with God or one another. For many, sex should never be totally separated from procreation, and the question 'Should I have sex with him/her?' should really read 'Do I want to make a family with him/her?'. When we have sex, we are acknowledging something divine, sacred or holy in each other.įor Christians, Jews and Muslims, God's first command was to find a partner, have sex and start a family. We may get the impression that sex has become casual or hedonistic, but in truth, for most of us, sex involves us at a spiritual level.
The continued popularity of this song shows that it still strikes a chord with people of all ages. Many Christians, particularly in the Anglican Church (the Church of England or the Episcopal Church) include a variation of the following in their wedding vows: It is important to understand this in a religious context. Most commentators see this as a more secular song, identifying with the way in which lovers worship one another. It's purifying."Ĭohen's second version of the song leaves out the Biblical references. Rufus Wainwright said "The melody is almost liturgical and conjures up religious feelings. " She broke your throne, and she cut your hair" Samson in Book of Judges.Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you." David in 2 Samuel 11:2 That David played, and it pleased the Lord" David in 1 Samuel 16:23 "Now I've heard there was a secret chord.Here, Lord refers to the Tetrgrammaton, the four-letter name of God: Yahweh or Jehovah, although observant Jews will not say this name aloud.Ĭohen is Jewish, and in the original version of the song he included several Biblical references: 'Hallelujah' is a Hebrew word meaning 'Praise the Lord'. The mystical 15th could merely reflect a slight change in lyrics of one verse, or may simply have been a mistake by Cale. It looks like this involves seeing each verse as two verses (they could be seen this way by simply splittling them in half), which gives 14 verses. There has been much speculation about '15 verses' of Cohen's song, based on a comment made by John Cale.
Burke sang a shorter version than Buckley, taking 2 verses from the 1984 original and one from the 1988 version. Buckley's song takes 2 verses from the 1984 version and three from the 1988 version. In 1988, he sang a different song, with 3 new verses (shown here in red) and the same concluding verse. Here are the versions (click on each for lyrics):Ĭohen's original song contained 4 verses (shown here in black). So, where do the three versions come from and what do they mean? The original, written and released in 1984, also made it into the same Top 40 chart for the week beginning 15th December 2008. Amazingly, the number two song on the same charts was Jeff Buckley's version of the same song. 'Hallelujah' was the UK Christmas number one for X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke in 2008.
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