Thanks, Rick. And you're right -- that's all in there. There is a tarot card, the Five of Cups, that means what you just said, and it applies to the song too: "It's time to move on, nothing good remains for you here."
Well done Greg! Love Is the greatest gift of all and a broken Hallelujah, an inability to have compassion, is the saddest experience of all. To live a life with a broken Hallelujah is a very painful experience to live. Rufus Wainwright's cover is so beautiful, sung by an angel, that crying for being kicked out of the Garden of Eden, not being grateful, not being allowed to Truly Love is the deepest hurt of all........I cry when I hear it as well. Love simply and Love well today.....
Thanks Greg for this breakdown and especially for the You Tube clip of Kate McKinnon as HRC after her loss in 2016. I can now listen to this with a new appreciation of “Halleluia” and its many references.
Right! There was the one story about how, early on, RW was staying at the house and came down to breakfast and LC was in his tighty-whities making eggs.
Moving interpretation and contextualization. I rarely cry and this essay got my tear ducts flowing.
I got lured into a regular traditional Hebrew prayer practice during a time of great loss ( 9/11, job, dad all within two months ) once I began to appreciate how severely diminished my capacity for gratitude was. Of course, the Psalms are both an explicit and implicit feature throughout the standard liturgy. The last 6, which all feature the word Hallelujah, are recited every morning as part of the "warm up" phase of the service. You quite deftly highlighted the subtle intertextual countours of Cohen's song. I wish this essay were available when I recently countered a dismissive putative Robert Johnson scholar's reductive dismissal of Cohen's masterpiece, a work that may well be considered the 151st Psalm in my opinion.
Thanks, Greg, for the deep dive into the nearly ineffable. I hear hallelujah as a word of closure, perhaps the ultimate word of closure -- thing done, completed, and therefore somehow safe, even if horrible. Perversely, perhaps, the song often makes me cry for the absences of closure (with, e.g., departed parents, lovers), the tri-tones unresolved, never to be resolved. Another song that affects me in much the same way: Joan Baez's "Winds of the Old Days."
Thanks, Jon. As usual, you have added beautifully to the discussion. Yes: closure and non-closure...another polarity. I don't know that Baez but will go find it.
The context of the Baez song is forgiveness, specifically of Dylan. I believe it's on "Diamonds and Rust" (also directed at Dylan). Of course I'd probably cry if Baez sang the phone book!
Whitney Houston sang it, sadly didn't live it, Learning to Love yourself is the Greatest Love Of All. TheRUMP and many others, get confused by the myth of Narcissus; he fell in LOVE with the Image of himself, the false self, not his True Self, and of course drowned, falling into the river going after a false illusion that goes away when the wind ripples the water.
Magnificently done., Greg: rich and deep in its thoughtfulness--and wonderfully provocative. There's so much that can be said about your performance (for that's what it is), that I now look forward to reading what others have to say as a supplement to all that I feel moved to say as I listen, read, and absorb. Here and now, though, let me just say this. As I now eagerly await reacting to each Prevail come Sunday morning, I marvel how well and how thoroughly you've mastered this new multimedia, digitally-driven electronic platform. Particularly with what you accomplish this morning, you make it a virtual Sunday morning electronic churchgoing event for us all..
I’ve been working on understanding multiple meanings of this work since I, breathlessly, listened to Cohen’s original version years ago.
Your interpretation rings true, but I’ve also thought that rather than a relationship with a lover, it is a struggle with our relationships with our religious beliefs and what happens when our faith lets us down. Since 2016 I’ve applied it to our politics as well. It’s about the journey through coming to terms with those relationships.
Cohen is angst with sexual overtones. But Ari Hest’s version, and his mellifluous chameleon voice and delivery, makes this work deliver for me. And like you, I weep.
First, thanks for the tip on Ari Hest. There are a few on YT, not on Spotify. He's amazing.
And I really like your read on it as a crisis of faith, on faith letting us down. That's true, and that also explains why the song was such a great choice for 2016. There is profound sadness in that.
Thanks for your work, Greg, and comment. Follow Ari on Patreon if his work resonates. And Amazon Music. I’d nominate him for American musician laureate if we had one. He shares his process with fans and new work with fans and a monthly Patreon free livestream. Would be curious about what he thinks as he sings it.
I have always loved the song without analyzing it. I'll never listen to it again without thinking about you and the several responses I just read and liked.
Thank you for making my days when I read your work. Billserle.com
Thanks, ant. I hope too that we won't fail the American people, and I hope that the American people won't fail...
Thanks, Rick. And you're right -- that's all in there. There is a tarot card, the Five of Cups, that means what you just said, and it applies to the song too: "It's time to move on, nothing good remains for you here."
You never cease to inspire me. Thanks Greg!
Thanks, Craig!
I love your work. Thank you so much!
Thank you, Peter. Much appreciated!
Well done Greg! Love Is the greatest gift of all and a broken Hallelujah, an inability to have compassion, is the saddest experience of all. To live a life with a broken Hallelujah is a very painful experience to live. Rufus Wainwright's cover is so beautiful, sung by an angel, that crying for being kicked out of the Garden of Eden, not being grateful, not being allowed to Truly Love is the deepest hurt of all........I cry when I hear it as well. Love simply and Love well today.....
Thanks, Dennis. I really like what you wrote here.
In listening to various renditions, I was shocked to discover that Bon Jovi, of all people, has a really great version of it.
Good morning Greg; I'll find Bon Jovi's cover, thanks!
Thanks Greg for this breakdown and especially for the You Tube clip of Kate McKinnon as HRC after her loss in 2016. I can now listen to this with a new appreciation of “Halleluia” and its many references.
Thank you. Kate rose to the moment. Always loved her, but that performance was a whole other level.
Rufus was close to Leonard, and in 2011 had a child with Cohen’s daughter Lorca.
Right! There was the one story about how, early on, RW was staying at the house and came down to breakfast and LC was in his tighty-whities making eggs.
Moving interpretation and contextualization. I rarely cry and this essay got my tear ducts flowing.
I got lured into a regular traditional Hebrew prayer practice during a time of great loss ( 9/11, job, dad all within two months ) once I began to appreciate how severely diminished my capacity for gratitude was. Of course, the Psalms are both an explicit and implicit feature throughout the standard liturgy. The last 6, which all feature the word Hallelujah, are recited every morning as part of the "warm up" phase of the service. You quite deftly highlighted the subtle intertextual countours of Cohen's song. I wish this essay were available when I recently countered a dismissive putative Robert Johnson scholar's reductive dismissal of Cohen's masterpiece, a work that may well be considered the 151st Psalm in my opinion.
Thanks, Randy. And thank you for sharing that. I'm glad that the prayer practice helped you. I'm going to go read the Psalms now.
So profound & poignant!
Thanks, Gratia!
I think if Choen read this he'd turn to you smile and say you got it. Amazing
Oh, thanks, Christopher. That's a pleasant image!
Thanks, Greg, for the deep dive into the nearly ineffable. I hear hallelujah as a word of closure, perhaps the ultimate word of closure -- thing done, completed, and therefore somehow safe, even if horrible. Perversely, perhaps, the song often makes me cry for the absences of closure (with, e.g., departed parents, lovers), the tri-tones unresolved, never to be resolved. Another song that affects me in much the same way: Joan Baez's "Winds of the Old Days."
Thanks, Jon. As usual, you have added beautifully to the discussion. Yes: closure and non-closure...another polarity. I don't know that Baez but will go find it.
The context of the Baez song is forgiveness, specifically of Dylan. I believe it's on "Diamonds and Rust" (also directed at Dylan). Of course I'd probably cry if Baez sang the phone book!
Second thoughts on Hallelujah and TheRUMP
Whitney Houston sang it, sadly didn't live it, Learning to Love yourself is the Greatest Love Of All. TheRUMP and many others, get confused by the myth of Narcissus; he fell in LOVE with the Image of himself, the false self, not his True Self, and of course drowned, falling into the river going after a false illusion that goes away when the wind ripples the water.
Oh, that's good, Dennis. I like that. A great read.
Magnificently done., Greg: rich and deep in its thoughtfulness--and wonderfully provocative. There's so much that can be said about your performance (for that's what it is), that I now look forward to reading what others have to say as a supplement to all that I feel moved to say as I listen, read, and absorb. Here and now, though, let me just say this. As I now eagerly await reacting to each Prevail come Sunday morning, I marvel how well and how thoroughly you've mastered this new multimedia, digitally-driven electronic platform. Particularly with what you accomplish this morning, you make it a virtual Sunday morning electronic churchgoing event for us all..
Yes indeed.
Paul, that's such a lovely thing to say. Thank you. I'm deeply grateful.
I’ve been working on understanding multiple meanings of this work since I, breathlessly, listened to Cohen’s original version years ago.
Your interpretation rings true, but I’ve also thought that rather than a relationship with a lover, it is a struggle with our relationships with our religious beliefs and what happens when our faith lets us down. Since 2016 I’ve applied it to our politics as well. It’s about the journey through coming to terms with those relationships.
Cohen is angst with sexual overtones. But Ari Hest’s version, and his mellifluous chameleon voice and delivery, makes this work deliver for me. And like you, I weep.
First, thanks for the tip on Ari Hest. There are a few on YT, not on Spotify. He's amazing.
And I really like your read on it as a crisis of faith, on faith letting us down. That's true, and that also explains why the song was such a great choice for 2016. There is profound sadness in that.
Thanks for your work, Greg, and comment. Follow Ari on Patreon if his work resonates. And Amazon Music. I’d nominate him for American musician laureate if we had one. He shares his process with fans and new work with fans and a monthly Patreon free livestream. Would be curious about what he thinks as he sings it.
I have always loved the song without analyzing it. I'll never listen to it again without thinking about you and the several responses I just read and liked.
Thank you for making my days when I read your work. Billserle.com
Thanks, Bill. Much appreciate you!
I'm paralyzed with anxiety and then you do this.
Love you, Sharon.