Hallelujah
Each year my wife buys a daily Jeopardy calendar and after breakfast, we read the question of the day. On Easter morning this year, we read, “A little birdie told us there’s a 2009 documentary all about these marshmallow Easter treats.” Peeps is the answer. While we both knew that, we both felt a bit cheated. The highest holy day of the Christian faith had been reduced to marshmallow candy. I should know better than to be disappointed. Our secular culture has already reduced the day to bunnies, chicks, and baskets of chocolate.
In a similar vein, I’ve never liked the Leonard Cohen version of Hallelujah, with lyrics such as,
“Well, maybe there's a God above
As for me all I've ever learned from love
Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
But it's not a crime that you're here tonight
It's not some pilgrim who claims to have seen the Light
No, it's a cold and it's a very broken Hallelujah”
The Hebrew phrase Hallelujah literally means “praise God” and is considered by Christians to be a joyful declaration of praise. That is not what Cohen’s song is about.
However, the point of this website is finding alternatives. Recently, a relative sent me a link to a Christian rendition of the Cohen song. This version is performed by ten-year-old Cassandra Star Armstrong and her nineteen-year-old sister, Callahan, both from Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada. In their music video, they stand facing each other. The light of a single candle illuminates them. This rendition follows the melodic pattern of Cohen's version, but the lyrics tell the biblical story of Holy Week.
Callahan explained that she and her sister recorded the song “as a gift to their grandparents, while their Nana battles illness and the family remains separated for the holiday.
“My Nana is such a religious person and she hasn't gone to church because of COVID and this really made her feel the Lord's presence again …”
Yes, this beautiful, praise-filled, version of Hallelujah does that for me too.
Update!
April 24, 2021
Even before this post was published Youtube blocked the video. However, the video remained available on GodTube, a Christian alternative to Youtube. I hope it remains available.
