6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Revelation 19
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah....
The man himself, Leonard Cohen, comes through even more powerfully than the performance, radiating streams of glory and integrity.
The closest anyone else has come to this purity of spirit is K.D. Lang, dressed in a black shapeless garb and singing the angels out of heaven.
I recollect that somewhere LC had the same appreciation for KDL's rendition; same heart, different entity, same blazing glory.
For kd lang's supreme version, just Google --
kd lang hallelujah cshf 2006
cshf for the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Posted by: Howard Nelson at June 1, 2014 7:24 PMI first heard Tim Buckley's son's (can't recall his name) version of this song and I really loved it. That was several years ago and I think that at this late date this tune is one of the most over played/covered pieces of music I have ever heard. Even in music, familiarity breeds contempt.
Posted by: Jack at June 1, 2014 8:35 PMI like it. Thx for sharing.
Posted by: DeAnn at June 5, 2014 8:37 AMThere's also an uptempo broadway show tune with the same name -- much more Ethel Merman than Cohen. I like them both. Compare and contrast. You have 60 seconds.
j.
Posted by: john smothers at June 9, 2014 9:56 PM
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