Hallelujah, Easter Version by Kelley Mooney
Hallelujah, Easter Version by Kelley Mooney –
How Did It Come About?
This is an updated version of an earlier post. In the meantime, the video went viral on GodVine.com and recorded over 5 million YouTube views.
Kelley Mooney by Brian Cormier
The first time I heard the song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen was when K D Lang sang it at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
I had never even heard of the song or of K D Lang but I was mesmerized, especially by the haunting melody! So was the Olympic audience and, probably, the worldwide audience.
But as I learned the lyrics I was very disappointed at the incomplete and distorted view it gave of Jesus Christ and the title of the song which means “Praise the Lord” to Christians.
More recently, I learned that there are two “legal” modified sets of lyrics set to the same haunting melody.
One is a Christmas adaptation which I intend to share next Christmas season.
The other is by Canadian Kelley Mooney.
Kelley wrote new lyrics (with permission) and they are keyed to Easter.
She has recorded a CD entitled Tomorrow with this song prominently featured.
There are several versions of Kelley Mooney singing the Easter Version of Hallelujah on YouTube. My personal favorite was the original one. It was the first public performance of the song and included a youth choir.
Note: I recently noticed a post of the original public performance with a youth choir. I’m not sure of its status but here is the link to the YouTube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWwl3DS2dh4/
Etc.
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Hallelujah, Easter Version by Kelley Mooney
And do come back often. There are a lot of inspiring and some challenging stories and important information here.
Thanks. I appreciate it. – Dick S
Hi,
Do you have an accompaniment track available? If you don’t I want to have one made. Is there a procedure?
Jim
Hi, Jim. I do not have any track or sheet music but if you Google kelley mooney hallelujah sheet music you will see several sources of sheet music, accompaniment tracks and other information. Glad you are moved by this music as I am.
Is there a way to get the Kelley Mooney arrangement of Hallelujah for use by our church choir? Thank you!
Barbara
Hi, Barbara. If you Google kelley mooney hallelujah sheet music you will see several sources of sheet music, accompaniment tracks and other information. Glad you are moved by this music as I am.
Beautifully done, but I’m confused as to why you think the original lyrics gave an “incomplete and distorted view” of Christ. Jesus isn’t mentioned there, perhaps due to the Old Testament focus, naming King David and alluding to Samson and Delilah. The title “Hallelujah” meaning “praise the lord” can refer to Jehovah, the father alone, not necessarily His son. Leonard Cohen was born Jewish and became Buddhist, so it’s unlikely his intent was to evoke Christianity. How wonderfully giving of his estate to allow this woman to create and perform Easter lyrics for such a beloved tune. A peaceful and pleasant Passover and Easter to all!
Here are the original lyrics for anyone who wants to know:
“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen
I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
Well, it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled King composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well, 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 her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Baby, I’ve been here before
I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
But love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well, there was a time when you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show that to me, do you?
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Well, maybe there’s a god above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
It’s not a cry that you hear at night
It’s not somebody who’s seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Songwriters: LEONARD COHEN
© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
For non-commercial use only.
Data from: LyricFind
Thanks, Lynn C, for your thoughtful comment. There are two elements as to why I said I was disappointed at the incomplete and distorted view of Jesus Christ it presents.
First, the context of the blog post is Easter and the story of a Catholic priest asking Kelley Mooney to sing the original lyrics in an Easter mass. I don’t see in those original lyrics any view of Jesus Christ as the risen Savior of the believing sinners of the world. Conversely, the modified lyrics by Mooney do make that kind of presentation and in those lyrics Christians (in or outside of church) can easily find a meaningful worship song, captured both by the haunting melody and the spoken words.
Second, I understand that Leonard Cohen had a long Jewish and shorter Buddhist life experience. He apparently wrote about 80 verses to Hallelujah over a period of years before settling on the final four verses. So I sense that the tensions in the lyrics between secular and sensual and spiritual elements were part of his own life.
I Googled “Hallelujah” and on the first page the following two links discuss the song, its lasting appeal after a rocky start and some of the questions about its “messages”. Take a look Lynn C.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-book-excerpt-leonard-cohen-writes-hallelujah-in-the-holy-or-the-broken-20121203
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/books/the-holy-or-the-broken-by-alan-light.html