Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright

I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

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, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe I've been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dark was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there's a god above
And all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Why this song is poetic:

There are many allusions to the Bible:

·         David playing the harp

o   “I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord”

·          David and Bathsheba

o    “Your faith was strong but you needed proof, you saw her bathing on the roof”

·          The story of Samson and Delilah in the mention of “she cut your hair”

o    After taking a nazirite vow not to cut his hair, Samson does and loses his powers bestowed by God

·         Both of these Bible stories end with the two men losing their power because of their actions

o   “She broke your throne”

Irony:

Hallelujah is usually a word used in joy and happiness, but in this song it is referred to as cold and broken. The Hallelujah has been taken away and been given a new meaning.

Imagery:

·         Auditory

o   “It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift”

§  This represents different notes in a musical scale

·         Visual

o   “You saw her bathing on the roof”

o   “She tied you to a kitchen chair”

Ambiguity:

·         The word “Hallelujah” is left to the listener to decide what it means to them

o   “It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah”

o   “And every breath we drew was hallelujah”