There are times when certain songs and corresponding memories evoke such overwhelming emotions that words cannot adequately describe them.
Hallelujah has that effect on me. This song unleashes a surge of conflicting feelings and multitudinous levels of meaning, which are more easily absorbed than defined. Every breath of Hallelujah assumes its own special identity: love, spirituality, loss, anguish, hope, peace, human failings, emotional fragility, resurgence.
Hallelujah was written by Canadian musician and writer Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) and has been performed a multitude of times by a wide variety of singers/musicians.
My two favorite renditions are by K.D. Lang and Jeff Buckley. I love both versions, so it's difficult to choose one over the other.
I always get teary-eyed when I hear K.D.Lang sing Hallelujah. She interprets it with such genuine heart-wrenching emotion that it blows me away, leaves me breathless.
Jeff Buckley (1966-1997) was an earthy performer with an incredible voice and an impressive vocal range. His rendition of Hallelujah (from the original studio cut) is superb. He sometimes had the voice of an angel and it's tragic that he didn't live long enough to fully develop it.
Buckley drowned at the age of thirty, while swimming in the Wolf River Harbor in Memphis, Tennessee.
Hallelujah inspires me for many deeply personal reasons, too intricate to fully explain. It ignites memories of my private losses and loves, my many tribulations and occasional triumphs.
Here's Buckley's unedited studio cut version.
P.S.
BTW
The two videos on this post aren't mine. I "lifted" them from YouTube.
Thank you for rehashing, its beautiful. I was just thinking of you when I was on my computer last night. Good luck with your problems, have a few of my own these days.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you decided to re-run this post, Jon! I'd heard this done by K.D. Lang, but not ill-fated Buckley. After watching his video, I couldn't decide if I was more mesmerized by his voice or the accompanying imagery!
ReplyDeleteYour first two paragraphs are so powerful. The phrase, "more easily absorbed than defined" perfectly describes what I've often struggled to express … to no avail.
Hallelujah rouses emotions deep witin me too. i like both of these renditions. there is light at the end of the tunnel. it's getting to it thats the problem.
ReplyDeleteThere's something about that song that touches people deeply. It's beyond the words and even the music. Hard to explain. It seems to take people on a personal journey. Even though Buckley's rendition is good KD Lang's has been my favorite for years and hers is still top of my list right above Leonard's. That woman sings from her toes! The fact she was singing this to Leonard and bowed into his chest brought tears to my eyes. Hang in there, Jon.
ReplyDeleteJon, thanks for posting a favorite song by two excellent performers. I'm familiar with much of K.D. Lang's work but heard little of Jeff Buckley. His father's songs were staple listening in my teens and twenties --both were masters of dramatic presentation and had fine voices.
ReplyDeleteHi, cat from Alberta here … got here via Geo … and me think me will stay a while as you have a really nice place here … Thanks for featuring the one and only Ms Velvet Voice k.d.lang … smiles … Love, cat.
ReplyDelete