Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Lost Verses of "Hallelujah"

These are a verses to Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" that I had not heard before, as they are often left out of remixes or cover-versions of the song:

"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 blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken hallelujah.

I did my best but it wasn't much
I couldn't feel so I tried to touch
I 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"

As one who studies literature, I really resonate with the line, "There's a blaze of light in every word." And the last three lines of the second verse get me like few lyrics do. What else could you say standing before the Lord after failing at everything else? As to the line, "I couldn't feel so I tried to touch," I think Leonard might just be thinking like a dirty old man.

0 comments: