Hallelujah the song

cnoc

Is Hallelujah, written by Leonard Cohen, secular (sexual) or religious?

Bubbaclaus

It's about sex. I always have a good giggle to myself when I hear it in a religious setting.

cnoc

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

It's about sex. I always have a good giggle to myself when I hear it in a religious setting.

Do you listen to the song?

Sleeper12

Bubbaclaus wrote:

It's about sex. I always have a good giggle to myself when I hear it in a religious setting.

They have sex in the bible too.

splinter65

Sleeper12 wrote: »

They have sex in the bible too.

What’s that got to do with anything?

Sleeper12

splinter65 wrote:

What’s that got to do with anything?

The song is both secular & religious.

Sleeper12

splinter65 wrote:

What’s that got to do with anything?

The song is both secular & religious.

Sleeper12

splinter65 wrote:

What’s that got to do with anything?

The song is both secular & religious.

Sleeper12

splinter65 wrote:

What’s that got to do with anything?

The song is both secular & religious.

Sleeper12

Wow! Did I stutter?

Boards.ie is full of gremlins today

Peregrinus

What Sleeper12 said (repeatedly:))

Plus, it's also sexual.

Sex and religion - especially but not exclusively Christianity - are closely linked. Both have to do with relationships, and both have to do with love. So there's plenty of artistic material that has layered meanings that are both sexual and religious.

Hallelujah is hardly the only Leonard Cohen songs that deals with sex and religion; it's one of his regular themes. But Cohen is not doing anything new in linking sex and religion. Exhibit A:

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini

cnoc

Peregrinus wrote: »

What Sleeper12 said (repeatedly:))

Plus, it's also sexual.

Sex and religion - especially but not exclusively Christianity - are closely linked. Both have to do with relationships, and both have to do with love. So there's plenty of artistic material that has layered meanings that are both sexual and religious.

Hallelujah is hardly the only Leonard Cohen songs that deals with sex and religion; it's one of his regular themes. But Cohen is not doing anything new in linking sex and religion. Exhibit A:

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini

Thank you for the link in this post. Can I listen to the song, by L. Cohen, in a religious context? To paraphrase Cohen, he said that one can "make what you like of the word Hallelujah". To me it's spine tingling - I prefer Jeff Buckley's version.

endacl

“Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do ya
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah”

Hmmmmmmm.......

Peregrinus

cnoc wrote: »

Thank you for the link in this post. Can I listen to the song, by L. Cohen, in a religious context?

Well, yes, you can. What's to stop you?

But this is very much a personal matter. Some people would find the sexual dimension of the song problematic or challenging, and for this this might detract from it a vehicle for religious or spiritual meanings. So I completely get why some people wouldn't listen to the song in a religious context, or at any rate in some religious contexts.

smacl

Peregrinus wrote: »

Hallelujah is hardly the only Leonard Cohen songs that deals with sex and religion; it's one of his regular themes.

Indeed. The original cover for New Skins for Old Ceremony shows this as does the name of the album itself. He wasn't alone, plenty of examples of this in modern pop culture.

Nick Park

Of course Christians can adapt secular songs to suit their purposes, as they have been doing for 2000 years. A special school in Northern Ireland did this with Cohen's song very effectively: http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/10-year-old-irish-autism-girl-sings-hallelujah

riffmongous

endacl wrote: »

“Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do ya
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah”

Hmmmmmmm.......

I do not remember noticing that verse before -_-

smacl

riffmongous wrote: »

I do not remember noticing that verse before -_-

I've seen Cohen sing this live on a couple of occasions and the song seems to have evolved over time. If you're a fan, the following post might be interesting. The version on Various Positions didn't have this verse whereas it was included in Cohen Live (1994).