Last year the Pope, who is apparently the head of some large religious organization was in Sydney for World Youth Day. As I am not a member of his cult I took no interest in their festivities. A few days ago I heard that part of the celebrations involved the crowd singing along to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah in honor of this Pope chap as evidenced here.
I must admit I was somewhat taken aback. I am a longtime fan of Mr Cohen and even own the unpopular album *Various Positions * which his record company didn’t even release in the US. It has a number of good songs, *Dance Me To the End of Love *, Coming Back to You and of course Hallelujah. I used to play these for friends before other versions became more popular.
However as indicated by the title of the album, *Various Positions *, the song Hallelujah is about the act of sexual congress. It has no Jesusy component at all. For instance:
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
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?
A friend of mine claimed that he heard George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” on a Christian radio station. Somehow I think that was a case of just looking at the title, and not an attempt at interfaith with the Hare Krishnas.
It may not have “Jesusy components” but it is extremely rich in Old Testament imagery, MUCH of which is fairy erotic and sexual. Go to an Easter Vigil ceremony some time - there’s plenty of sexual imagery to dispel your silly notion that religious =/= sexual.
Also, after reading the link, I saw nothing in there that “part of the celebrations involved the crowd singing along to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah”. It mentions a rock concert after the ceremony.
:rolleyes:
You mean by explaining the purpose of the literal words of the lyrics you posted? If it’s casual conversation you want, maybe ease up on the preachy commentary next time.
John Cougar Mellencamp’s ‘Pink Houses’ has been used by several politicians (Reagan, McCain) who likely just heard ‘Ain’t that America?’ and thought it’d be perfect (or, rather, their campaign managers did). Despite Mellencamp being a pretty vocal democrat. Apparently he even asked McCain to stop using it.
Any wedding that features ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police. Even Sting has expressed confusion over using a song about stalking to celebrate love.
Most inappropriate use of a song? Well, when I was in high School, someone thought it was a good idea to play Warren Zevon’s Excitable Boy during the junior prom dance…
For those unaware, part of the lyrics go as follows:
I remember during the first Gulf War crowds of people who were in favor of charging in guns blazing held marches where they carried signs supporting the war while singing “Give Peace A Chance” by John Lennon.
I have to agree with Munch on the blatant religious imagery in Hallelujah (I personally prefer Jeff Buckley’s rendition of it and actually played it for a nun this morning who also likes the song).
As far as the question posed in the OP, I thought of my first Sunday at college. I knew that Mass was held in the student center at 4:00 pm on Sundays, so I went in search of it. I soon learned that Mass was upstairs. I found this out by looking quite lost and when someone asked me if I was looking for the church service I ended up at the non-denominational service held on the ground floor and singing along to Brown Eyed Girl. For some reason “making love in the green grass behind the stadium” wasn’t quite was I was used to having grown up in a rather traditional Catholic parish.
In college I saw a stripper select tunes on a jukebox in a mostly empty strip club and then dance to the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” Mm, a slow tune about alienation and death. Perhaps on other nights she would titillate to the entirety of Pink Floyd’s The Final Cut or some Nick Drake.
In retrospect, it was weird that she needed to select her songs on the jukebox.
Practically every time I hear some radio commercial that is supposed to have something to do with the Fourth of July (Come to our sale for Revolutionary Deals!) the background music is The British Grenadiers. Yeah, I don’t think so.
Were they singing the English version? My cousin was listening to the Spanish version of the song by Il Divo and told me the lyrics are all super pious. Not like the Cohen version at all. I don’t remember the exact stuff but it was like: a soldier returns home today, and infirm child is cured, an atheist now believes, someone donates a fortune to a church, and now everybody is singing hallelujah.
Looked it up and ran it through Google translator. Yeah, the Spanish lyrics are about hungry people eating, peace on Earth, pure souls, God protecting us from evil, yadda, yadda…
So, he sees her the way David saw Bathsheba, and she cut his hair like Delilah did Samson’s. Now they’re married and there’s no evidence the sex they’re having ever took place outside of a committed marriage open to fertility.
