I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
You don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, 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 you
Well she tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and cut your hair
And from your lips she drew Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked the floor
Used to live alone before I knew ya
But I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Our love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above
But all I have ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
It's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not someone who's seen the light
It's a cold and broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah


Lyrics submitted by artbeat

Hallelujah Lyrics as written by Leonard Cohen

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover) song meanings
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    General Comment

    K.D. Lang had a big hit with "Constant Craving" -a fairly self-explainatory song about being really, really hot for somebody. This, on the other hand, is an excellent cover of a Leonard Cohen song, to which Lang has changed the lyrics a bit. There is a great deal of millitary imagry in this version, what with the "Flag on the marble arch" and victory marches and shooting people. I See the narrator here as someone who is having a first serious relationship ("I used to live alone before I knew ya") and is perhaps made bitter by their past experiences ("But all I’ve ever learn from love / Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya") -be it actually shooting someone (which goes nicely with the millitary themes of the previous verse) or simply how to propperly bury the hatchet on a doomed relationship.
    I guess we could say that the narrator is jaded -even perhaps "damaged goods", yet still happy to be with someone.

    Red Octoberon December 18, 2008   Link

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