"Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

News about Leonard Cohen and his work, press, radio & TV programs etc.
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bridger15
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"Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by bridger15 »

http://busycatholic.blogspot.com/2010/1 ... cally.html
Sunday, November 7, 2010

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct

Image

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah can be a guilty pleasure. It's beautiful, poetic, and rich with Biblical symbology, yet the lyrics are ambiguous to say the least. Which is why Kelly Mooney, a singer/songwriter/musician from Charlottetown, wasn't sure about singing it at Easter Mass when her parish priest asked her to.

Instead, she decided to adapt the song's lyrics to the Easter story. Then, she bravely asked Cohen's publishers for permission to perform the revised version. They granted her request, and she's now preparing a CD that will include the piece.

Here is the world video premiere of the revised song, sung by Mooney and accompanied by the Chorale Voce dell' Anima led by Monette Gould June 1, 2010, at the Monument Lefebvre in Memramcook, N.B.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guhr0Vh2hE0
Kelley Mooney tells a lovely backgeound story about this at the beginning of the video.

---Arlene
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
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Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
danslenoir
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by danslenoir »

Eurgh, the cover is nice enough but the bastardized lyrics are not, and actually make me feel quite uncomfortable.

Leonard Cohen's lyrics may be often spiritual and sometimes contain religious imagery, but I don't like his music being used to promote a particular religion.
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neo
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by neo »

It's time to stop that song being covered by anyone. This version misses the point completely. :cry:
What sad religions they want us to believe.
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Puddingdale
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by Puddingdale »

Goodbye poetry, welcome nursery rhymes...

Just my tuppence: Singing the ORIGINAL version in church as Mooney was asked to by an unknowing clergyman, THAT would have been something! And it surely would have given the congregation something to gossip about for years to come :lol:
MEB
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by MEB »

My 7 year old came home from school last week and told me they were learning Hallelujah to sing as part of their Christmas play. He made me laugh when he said with a tone of disbelief "and the teacher is changing the words to make it all about god, why does everything have to be all about god" :D
Toronto June 6th 2008, Vienna Sept. 24 & 25 2008, NYC May 16th & 17th 2009, Dublin July 23rd 2009, Belfast July 26th 2009...
jdhayes
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by jdhayes »

If your seven year old keeps that up, we have a budding LC on our hands. Can he sing?
2xDublin 2008, 2xDublin 2009, Berlin, Beacon Theatre 2009, Cardiff, Birmingham, 2xSligo 2010, 3 x Dublin 2012
"You held on to me like I was a crucifix, as we went kneeling through the dark"
MEB
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by MEB »

jdhayes wrote:If your seven year old keeps that up, we have a budding LC on our hands. Can he sing?
:D Maybe it's time for some lessons.
Toronto June 6th 2008, Vienna Sept. 24 & 25 2008, NYC May 16th & 17th 2009, Dublin July 23rd 2009, Belfast July 26th 2009...
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musicmania
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by musicmania »

I'm not going to put myself under the torture of yet another cover :roll: As for the opening line of the article...... The greatest song on earth is not a guilty pleasure. People tend to not liking guilty pleasures well everyone who knows me knows I love this song! Nothing to feel guilty about :!:

@Neo I have a group on FB calling for no more covers of this song ;-)
2009 Dublin 2010 Lissadell Katowice LV x2 2012 Ghent x2 Dublin x4 Montreal x2 Toronto x2 2013 New York x2 Brussels Dublin x2

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"I did my best, it wasn't much"
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Violet
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by Violet »

bridger15 wrote:http://busycatholic.blogspot.com/2010/1 ... cally.html
Sunday, November 7, 2010

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct

Image

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah can be a guilty pleasure. It's beautiful, poetic, and rich with Biblical symbology, yet the lyrics are ambiguous to say the least. Which is why Kelly Mooney, a singer/songwriter/musician from Charlottetown, wasn't sure about singing it at Easter Mass when her parish priest asked her to.

Instead, she decided to adapt the song's lyrics to the Easter story. Then, she bravely asked Cohen's publishers for permission to perform the revised version. They granted her request, and she's now preparing a CD that will include the piece.

Here is the world video premiere of the revised song, sung by Mooney and accompanied by the Chorale Voce dell' Anima led by Monette Gould June 1, 2010, at the Monument Lefebvre in Memramcook, N.B.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guhr0Vh2hE0
Kelley Mooney tells a lovely backgeound story about this at the beginning of the video.

---Arlene
Hi Arlene.. (I'm keeping to the larger font, just for you.. only I feel like I'm writing in someone else's hand now).. (it's a long story)..

ANYWAY.. I am glad you started this thread.. I've often wondered about the covers of this song, as there is a certain kind of "sacredness" I find in how they seem to come off.. (not that I consider myself a cover expert, as regards this song). Actually, to tell you the truth, the only rendition of this song that makes any kind of sense to me at all is Leonard's. I don't know if the word I'm looking for is "ironic" or not, but something in how Leonard does the song gives meaning to its at times confounding seeming sophistication, whereas most versions seem to be taking their cue from what's normally conjured by the word "hallelujah," which is rather limiting, to say the least.

BUT NOW.. to have this come full circle, as it were.. to have the song cleaned up for liturgical purposes.. (I couldn't listen past the first line, truth be told).. I mean, yikes.. me no get it.. (me no like it very much).. (then again, I'm still missing crack and anal sex-- uh, the lyrics, I mean).. (I did mean the lyrics)..

v. x.. (I still get to use the smaller font for signing, don't I?)..

later edit: I should never re-read my old posts.. I'm always finding errors.
Last edited by Violet on Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Violet
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bridger15
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by bridger15 »

Hi Violet, Well done with the normal font. I am sure it only hurt for a little while. :D

The only reason I posted this was because LC's publisher granted permission for this version. I was not comfortable with it, so I put the blog title in quotes to convey it was the blog's opinion. It appeared on my sidebar widget just this morning, yet the June 2010 video, which has a children's chorus, has had already over 100,000 views. That may be contributing to the popularity of other organizations adapting it for their own use, especially with children.

---Arlene
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
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Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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Violet
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by Violet »

.. oh, yes, I understood you weren't condoning it or anything.. I think it's good you put it here though as it brings up this strange appeal this song has, even as it's not well understood.. or else -- I mean, why would you want to mess with it?..

.. yes, this woman did "explain" herself.. but.. still..
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hydriot
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by hydriot »

I forced myself to watch this, so as to be able to comment validly, but it was not a pleasant experience. What struck me was the banality of the lyrics.

Note that she said she got permission from Leonard's publishers. I don't think Leonard has any control over the song's use, because weren't the rights signed away thanks to Kelley Lynch?

It is hard to believe that Leonard would approve of such silliness.
“If you do have love it's a kind of wound, and if you don't have it it's worse.” - Leonard, July 1988
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Puddingdale
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by Puddingdale »

hydriot wrote: What struck me was the banality of the lyrics.
Exactly - the words would have been an achievement for a schoolchild maybe but not for an adult trying to bring across the Passion and Easter. I would even go as far to say that the original sung at an Easter mass would have been less disturbing to religious feelings than that. The original is heartfelt and true wheras those words seem so empty - I don't know if it makes sense to anyone else but the original lyrics seem more spiritual and closer to a prayer to me, even though they are "worldly" or rather because they are.
Well, many seem to like it though, if it has been watched so often.
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Violet
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by Violet »


.. well, they strike a "secret chord," if I may..


Oh, yeah: copy in normal font for the seeing impaired (only kidding Arlene).. (sort of):

.. well, they strike a "secret chord," if I may..
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bridger15
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Re: "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct"

Post by bridger15 »

Violet wrote:.. well, they strike a "secret chord," if I may..
@Violet. A secret chord for you.
http://blog.the-scientist.com/2010/11/05/secret-chord/

---Arlene
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
2012-Austinx2|Denver|Los Ang|Seattle|Portland

Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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