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MP3 6.4 MB • 128 kbps • 6:57
Story behind the song
Arguably Buckley's most famous work, this was originally written and recorded by Leonard Cohen in 1984 on his album Various Positions. It was featured in several episodes of the Fox TV show The O.C. several years after Buckley drowned in the Mississippi River. (thanks, Andrew - Toronto, Canada)
The song is about love which has soured and gone stale. Cohen used a lot of religious imagery, including references to some of the more notorious women in the bible. Here's some lyrical analysis:
"You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you" - Bathsheba, who tempted the king to kill her husband so he could have her.
"She tied you to her kitchen chair, she broke your throne and she cut your hair" - Delilah, who cut off Sampson's locks that held his superhuman strength.
"But remember when I moved in you and the holy dove was moving too" - This could be a reference to the divine conception and Mary.
The lines referring to the immaculate conception can also be interpreted as having a sexual connotation: "And every breath we drew was hallelujah."
Cohen: "Hallelujah is a Hebrew word which means 'Glory to the Lord.' The song explains that many kinds of Hallelujahs do exist. I say: All the perfect and broken Hallelujahs have an equal value. It's a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way but with enthusiasm, with emotion." (thanks, Roderick - Qingdao, China)
Regarding the line, "The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift," to which the chords played are: F - G - Am - F:
It is clever the way that not only the chords line up in the lyrics and in the music, but also because the connotations themselves of "major" and "minor" add to the meaning of the song. The "fourth" is a major chord based on the fourth of the key Buckley is playing in. Likewise the fifth is the major chord based on the fifth tone of the key. The "Minor Fall" corresponds to Buckley playing a minor chord based on the sixth of the key. "Major Lift" corresponds to playing the major chord on the fourth again. (thanks, Gol - Gainesville, FL)
The Bible makes reference to King David communing with the Lord and learning that certain types of music were more pleasing. The chords mentioned in the lyrics (that "David played and it pleased the lord) are often used in hymns. (thanks, Mike - Perth, Australia)
Leonard Cohen sang this to Bob Dylan after his last concert in Paris. The morning after, they sat down at a cafe and traded lyrics. Bob especially liked the last verse.
Dylan himself has performed this live, and there are bootleg versions in circulation of his version of this song. (thanks, Daniel - Nova Scotia,Canada)
Buckley started covering this after he became inspired by John Cale's version off his 1992 album Fragments Of A Rainy Season. Cale shaped his own interpretation after Cohen faxed him 15 pages of lyrics for this song. He claimed that he "went through and just picked out the cheeky verses."
Buckley always closed his live shows with this song. Remarkably, his revved-up crowds became extremely silent. (thanks, Kristy - La Porte City, IA, for above 2)
Cohen started work on this song five years prior to recording it on his 1984 Various Positions album, by which time he had 80 verses to choose from.
Rufus Wainwright recorded this for the 2001 movie Shrek. Wainwright did not sing on the version used in the film (John Cale did), but his version is on the soundtrack. Wainwright records for Dreamworks, who also distributed the movie. Wainwright had an album coming out a few weeks after Shrek was released, so this was good promotion for it. (thanks, Andy - Indiana, PA)
Some notable uses of this song on TV shows:
Without A Trace on the first season finale episode.
The Fox series House, where It was used on the second season premiere episode "Acceptance."
The final episode of the third season of The West Wing. The president and staff were attending an opera when CJ Craig's (P
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