"Hallelujah"

The song hit me one day and I can't really tell you why. It just got stuck in my head from out of nowhere and in an effort to rediscover the lyrics that haunted the shadows of my memory, I searched it out. And I fell in love with the song. I've always connected with it for some strange reason, and I'm not the only one. One of the first nights in Binnenhaven, this was one of the songs we sang together, brought together into that strange condemned dump from all over the world. I didn't learn a lot in class there, but I learned a lot about family and what you'd be willing to do for a real friend and I still feel like it started with this song.

I remember belting it out solo in the dark on the walk home from the lonely pub out on the Aran Islands in Ireland too. Drunk on the happiness that just rained down around me and free to my own thoughts I could think of nothing I would've rathered done than sing "Hallelujah" to the stray poultry and the stars in the sky as I stumbled back to my hostel. The song always came to mind no matter what mood I was in, happy or sad, lonely or among the best of friends, triumphant or searching the depths of my soul.

Of course, this song wasn't always as popular as it is today. And the first time I heard it sung by its father I thought I had heard a shameful cover by a drunk off the street. But the more times I've listened to it it might even be better that way on some occasions. There is true pain in the way Cohen sings the song that more accurately reflects the agony that can be extracted from the lyrics even if he sacrifices the beauty of the poetry. Just like the song has so many different meanings to me, it seems to have found a multitude of interpretations worldwide. And we all know that Shrek was a big part of plunging this song into the limelight...



Well, last night at the student happy hour held at a friend's house I was in a pretty down mood. Our Heifer Fundraiser didn't go nearly as well as I'd hoped (more to come on that later) and I just wasn't really feeling as up and crazy as I'm known to be. Katie pulled out her guitar and this was one of the songs she played and it really struck me how much I've missed that song since I got a virus and had to clear my hard drive. Great song and I'm glad to have it back, circulating my mind.