Please watch this rendition of Hallelujah (From 'Shrek'/Leonard Cohen)

a reply to: ChesterJohn

Just was reminded and ruminating about this thread and the song.
I made a new convo over in "Skunkworks", but just was reminded of this thread.......

You should review the new thread, I think......www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

I wasn't trying to float one in your soup. I just made a observation of the lyrics and what they teach. Martin Luther said that song was the way to teach the common people the word of God.

Actually I like the song but for me it just doesn't teach the truth about King David.

David is said to be a man after God's own heart.

Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the [son] of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
1Sam 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

Now that is a great truth and something to aim for. But it never said his music pleased God or that God liked his music in any way. I think it was more about David's spirit of reverent love for God. For God is love

1Jo 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

a reply to: ChesterJohn

And I'm making an observation that your literalism and scriptural verbatim fetish is ill-conceived.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

not at all for David wrote many times in his writings preserved for us in the Bible, "Praise the LORD" which is the literal translation of the Hebrew word Hallelujah.

As a matter of fact he began ten of his Psalms with it.

when it is used again it is in Revelation 19

I love my Bible as much as I love my God and Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

a reply to: ChesterJohn

I'm happy for you.

So stop having a problem with the lyrics to the song. Easy peasy jeezy kreezy lemon breezy.

Just stop your fretting.

Well I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord


but you don't really care for music, do you?



Really? Chet? Can you just admit that it would be okay to agree with me? For once?

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

I said I liked the song, the music and the way if is sung, it is very nice. I even hum it from time to time.

a reply to: ChesterJohn

Cool. Glad you do.

Love this rendition

a reply to: teapot

Beautiful....
thanks for posting it!

This song and its various performances contained herein have been occupying my mind for days. I keep thinking about it.....all the different takes....

the sets, the accompaniment, the costumes, the lighting, etc etc

Art.

It is the popular performance art that we all crave. Each take was different.


And the song is about how painful love is. About how it breaks you and how to shoot at someone who outdrew you....
not a cry you can hear at night.....

it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah....

we all want love.


Anyway. Thanks for playing.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

I’m going to break down the entire song lyrics and show what they mean…in my opinion of course…

First of the all the word “hallelujah”, is an expression of worshiping or rejoicing at/with God…

The Spirit of the Father is within ALL of us.

The song is about someone searching for that truth within themselves…finding it…and then reflecting on those who don’t have that truth…

Well I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord

The “secret chord” is talking about that secret truth of finding God within…

David knows that “secret chord”, which is why he pleases the Lord…

But you don't really care for music, do you?

The next verse is aimed at the audience who isn’t aware of the truth within themselves, hence the “you don't really care for music, do you”

Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift

This next verse is attempting to explain to the audience who isn’t aware of the truth, how it works, or how it goes etc…

The “Minor fall” is a reference to the Spiritual fall in the Garden where we lost our knowledge of God within ourselves.

The “Major lift” part is to do with the Spirit rising up within the individual, leading them back to the truth within and back to the tree of life…

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

The baffled King part, means the King doesn’t quite get the “secret chord” but he’s trying to play it anyway, i.e. he plays his own Hallelujah…

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof

The next part of the song is about someone's searching for that truth; That truth comes in the form of a woman bathing on a roof.

Wisdom is often represented as a Woman, and Wisdom comes in the form of the Holy Spirit, which in turn comes through the spiritual waters, from on high (roof)…”on high” meaning from God…

Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

The beauty of the Truth overthrows everything in a persons life when it enters in…

The truth ties you too things and breaks down things which before you put up on a pedestal; placed high in your life… hence “broke your throne”…

The cut your hair aspect, I think is to do with making a person more beautiful, which is what happens to a person inside, when they receive the truth…

The last about “from your lips she drew” etc…is that the truth now teaches you that “secret chord”…

But baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor

These next verses are about what that truth teaches you…that you’ve lived before etc…

You know, I used to live alone before I knew ya

This part is about how the truth wasn’t in you before and therefore you lived alone etc… but now that you have the truth, you no longer walk/live alone…because you now walk with God…

And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

This part is about how that truth and love that you’ve found, is not a victory march in an of itself…because there’s others who don’t know that “secret chord”, which is why the victory can be a cold and broken Hallelujah…

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

These next verses build on the previous verses in regards to that cold and broken Hallelujah…and it’s reflecting on those who can’t see that light and truth…

Those who can’t see the light, play the “broken chord” instead of playing that “secret chord”…

If you’ve been drawn to this song and can’t stop thinking about it. Then it’s probably because your spirit is reaching out to you, to learn that “secret chord”…

But you don’t really care for music do YOU…lol


Peace be with you BuzzyWiggs


- JC

a reply to: Joecroft

Awesome until you got to "kitchen chair"

Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

The beauty of the Truth overthrows everything in a persons life when it enters in…

The truth ties you too things and breaks down things which before you put up on a pedestal; placed high in your life… hence “broke your throne”…

The cut your hair aspect, I think is to do with making a person more beautiful, which is what happens to a person inside, when they receive the truth…

The last about “from your lips she drew” etc…is that the truth now teaches you that “secret chord”…

ahhh... so now you're editing.......

anyway. In my opinion, the song is about the pain of pledging allegiance to anyone's "god".

No. It is clearly about rejecting every single one of the 'available options'.......
and how that is an action more suited to us being stranded in a desert than it is about "who is right."


So --- no.

You totally miss the point of the song. But that does not surprise me.
Subtlety, you know.......takes a certain ear or eye to understand irony like that.


THANKS, though! Awesome convo!!!



So...no.

It is about causing pain on purpose. It is about loving in vain......and succumbing to carnal lust. Really? You don't see why it's a "cold and it's a lonely 'hallelujah

Those who can’t see the light, play the “broken cord” instead of playing that “secret cord”…

If you’ve been drawn to this song and can’t stop thinking about it. Then it’s probably because your spirit is reaching out to you, to learn that “secret cord”…

But you don’t really care for music do YOU…lol


Peace be with you BuzzyWiggs

First of all, it's "C H O R D" ---- chord. A musical formula. Three notes played together..... a minor fall and a major lift -------- that is about Music. It is not about 'cords' or falling down. It is about music.


And because you do not understand that, it means that you don't really care for music, do you?

Because you don't get it at all.

Not. At. All. dot com.

No.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
First of all, it's "C H O R D" ---- chord. A musical formula. Three notes played together..... a minor all and a major lift -------- that is about Music. It is not about 'cords' or falling down. It is about music.

Oops yeah “cord” was a typo error…

I’ve amended it to “Chord”…

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
Awesome until you got to "kitchen chair"

Awesome great thanks…

But wait, you’re throwing out the whole idea because of the (One) “kitchen chair” LOL…

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
It is about causing pain on purpose. It is about loving in vain......

It is about loving, I’ll give you that , but remember the whole song also has a spiritual and religious undertone element to it as well…

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
Because you don't get it at all.

Not. At. All. dot com.

No.

Remember there’s a lot of abstract aspects to the song; I’m just sharing with you my thoughts. Which I would assume is what your OP was looking, you know…thoughts, ideas and opinions, about what the song might mean…


- JC


ETA - I only edited the word "Chord" to the correct spelling...nothing else...

a reply to: Joecroft

I'm not throwing out the whole idea, not at all.

I'm just going to insist that my understanding of it is about the ugliness of worshipping anything outside of oneself. It is about pain, about broken hearts, and broken thrones, and the equivalent of how the Catholic Church indoctrinates and inducts young women as novices.

It is horrible.


Watch "Dangerous Beauty", if you would. Or if not, check out the book "An Honest Courtesan" by Veronica Franco from your local library.

This song is about manipulation and taking advantage of people who are enchanted by the subject.......

but do not understand reality.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
I'm not throwing out the whole idea, not at all.

Hallelujah lol

Btw - I’m not saying that these things are “matter of fact”, because we are dealing with some heavy abstract ideas…so I’m not saying that I’m definitely 100% correct or that you’re wrong etc…but my view does resonate with me very strongly, if that make sense…

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
I'm just going to insist that my understanding of it is about the ugliness of worshipping anything outside of oneself.

Yeah, I can see that side to it as well…but the Father is within, so worshiping anything outside of oneself will of course be considered ugly in a spiritual sense…

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
It is about pain, about broken hearts, and broken thrones, and the equivalent of how the Catholic Church indoctrinates and inducts young women as novices.

It is horrible.

But to me, I think it’s possible that we could both be right, because the Catholic Church is corrupt in my opinion, and doesn’t teach the real spiritual truth about the Father/God being within and so forth. In other words, it keeps people playing that “broken Chord” but just under the false guise of Religion.

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
Watch "Dangerous Beauty", if you would. Or if not, check out the book "An Honest Courtesan" by Veronica Franco from your local library.

Hmmm I don’t recall the movie off the top of my head…what’s the connection…?

Originally posted by BuzzyWigs
This song is about manipulation and taking advantage of people who are enchanted by the subject.......

but do not understand reality.

Well, parts of the song towards the end do talk about manipulation, but they also go on to state that those manipulations are not the actions of someone who has seen the light…


- JC

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Hey, I’ve just realised there is an extra verse in the version from your OP…Which pretty much helps to nail my own perspective on it….

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you

This seems to be talking about a time when the person had that spiritual connection to God, but lately it has dried up…

I say God because of the “let me know what’s going on below” aspect…With God obviously being above and us being below…

And remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was hallelujah

This verse is then reminiscing about that time when the person did have that spiritual connection and walked/moved in God…The Holy dove being a dead give away…

The phrase “every breath we drew”, was their time together…the persons and Gods…

It think my interpretation in the verses with the chair is slightly off

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

This was the hardest part of the song to decipher to be honest

But re-thinking it a little, I think the word “drew”, might be inferring that the Hallelujah is being forced; in which case it’s not the “secret chord” that’s being played in this particular verse.

Which means it’s about faith, but that faith has led them to follow something that is false…

So bearing that in mind I think this particular verse is probably talking about false religion or about going after other desires, that are not the true light and truth etc…

But I stand by the rest of my interpretation, because the verses do speak of the true light towards the end, which is in turn connected to finding that “secret chord”, which IMO is about finding Gods real truth and the real light…


Peace


- JC

Hi Buzzy!

Just stepped over here from that "What happens after?" thread, where I posted the Jeff Buckley version in opposition to the Messiah "Hallelujah Chorus" as to what I will be feeling when the election is over...

I think there are a lot of people who are raw and vulnerable and there is a great deal of metaphor in the happenings of the election that can be felt on so many levels -- a lot of it is unconscious.

It is the ripping open of suppressed wounds in a multitude of ways, and the desperate clinging to one thing or another like they are life rafts in a risen sea, as the world churns forward...

These are days when the future path of humankind hangs in the balance, with differing visions battling out the fate of the planet. Each side thinks they are right and good and Holy Warriors on the stage of life.

It shall be seen then, what this future brings. I am struck again and again like a bell, that the one true thing we can do is hold vigil within ourselves, one that speaks Love and Light and that will not go quietly into that good night, nor give in to the noxious fumes of fanned fear, nor the scythes of terror - we, we humans, are better than that, in the end.

Or at least we can be. So I use the language of poetry to whirl dervish-like, half-mad, drunk on the moon of possibility, the wine of the heart, and call out from that struck-bell tone that it tolls for all of us, and it is not "death" but Life that spreads out from the sounding core. (Do you feel it?) And from that sound, action is born, bringing to others our best selves, our hope-filled hands, our bit of grace we can shed to the world. Then again, I'm a bit of a dreamer. But I choose to create good dreams.



- AB

Leonard Cohen dead at 82


Leonard Cohen - the songwriter, has died. Today.
82 years old.

"We have lost one of music's most revered and prolific visionaries," said a post on the artist's official Facebook page.
No further details were released, but the announcement comes a month after the artist told the New Yorker: "I am ready to die. I hope it's not too uncomfortable. That's about it for me."
A highly-respected artist known for his poetic and lyrical music, Cohen wrote a number of popular songs including the often-covered "Hallelujah."

Let's go again, guys:



Melodramatic doesnt even begin to describe how bizarre this entire thing is right now.

just. wow.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

You guys notice that SNL played this song last night in their cold open?


We are all sad.
I've been saying all this same stuff for a couple of weeks. I hope a few of you have noticed that I was on that page all along.