Not a bad takedown.
This is what I think of when someone mentions using this song in a political way.
Snl found a way to soothe the raw nerves of those who couldn’t believe trump won, and honour mr cohen.
That’s fantastic.
Another reason to think Kate McKinnon is one of the best performers of our time.
I disagree. And I’ll leave it at that since this is not the forum for me to say anything more on that subject.
Oh, hell, I can’t resist: ART IS NOT THE OPIATE OF THE MASSES!
Respectfully.
Hallelujah is a song about strength and survival. Cohen had a difficult life.
He was battered by life but not broken.
Yet he sums up with…
I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve 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
Interview with Leonard Cohen:
“This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled but there are moments when we can transcend the dualistic system and reconcile and embrace the whole mess and that’s what I mean by Hallelujah.”
Weeeeeell, you can look at that in two ways, depending on your mood: either it’s profound and all-encompassing, or transcendental BS. Which appliers to some other song lyrics as well, although none come to my addled mind right now.
Looking at the lyrics of Hallelujah, I just find them “lumpy.” Because I see, or at least I think I can see, the Biblical references and some other underlying themes, but I don’t think he ties it together well and it feels disconnected. At the end, I am left asking myself just what he was trying to say.
FWIW, I never really heard much of Leonard Cohen at the time that he was big - Sixties and Seventies, when everybody played “Suzanne.” I just have a neutral feeling about his work.
Of course, there is the old joke I heard in a folk club:
“I am now going to sing a poem by Leonard Cohen, set to one of his three tunes.”
For what it’s worth…
Jeez, people are allowed to dislike the song! There’s no need to infer the life experiences of other posters because they don’t like a song you do.
I agree.
Where did I say otherwise?
I inferred it from the way you responded to Aspidistra throughout the thread.
I responded to Aspidistra in post #13:
I think it’s a beautiful song about dysfunctional relationships. The imagery is very powerful. I don’t agree with its characterization of love. That is not what love is to me. But then, I’ve been with the same man my entire adult life.