Kilmore Quay … ‘The Wexford Carol’ is often associated with the Kilmore Carols from Kilmore, Co Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
‘The Wexford Carol’ is said to date from the 12th century. It is one of the oldest Irish carols and is also one of the oldest surviving Christmas carols in the European tradition. Many musicians and listeners find this carol is unique and believe it has a distinctly Irish character.
The carol is thought to have originated in County Wexford, but there are many traditions about this poem and song. For many years it was said that only men should sing it, although since it gained a new popularity from the 1990s on, many popular female artists have also recorded it since it gained a new popularity from the 1990s onward.
The Wexford Carol found new attention in the early 20th century due to the work of Dr William Henry Grattan Flood (1857-1928), who was the organist and musical director at Saint Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, and the author of The History of the Diocese of Ferns (1916). According to Revd Joseph Ranson, in a paper in The Past (1949), this carol was discovered by Grattan Flood in County Wexford. He transcribed the carol from a local singer, and it was published in 1928, the year of his death, as No. 14 in the Oxford Book of Carols, edited by Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The carol was quickly included in collections of carols and Christmas poems around the world. It is sometimes known as the ‘Enniscorthy Carol,’ and was recorded under that title by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, on a Christmas recording in 1997. It is also known by its first verse, ‘Good people all this Christmas time.’
The New Oxford Book Of Carols, in a detailed footnote, says: Grattan-Flood ‘lived in Enniscorthy from 1895 until his death, and […] took down the words and tune from a local singer; after revising the text, he sent the carol to the editors of The Oxford Book of Carols, who printed it as the ‘Wexford Carol’.’ However, the note continues with more detail showing the text to be English in origin, and verses 1, 2, 4, are 5 are from William Henry Shawcross’s Old Castleton Christmas Carols. Certainly, the Irish-language version seems to be a translation from English, as it is unlikely that any carol was written in Irish in English-speaking County Wexford.
The Wexford Carol is often associated with the Kilmore Carols from Kilmore, Co. Wexford, and it is often attributed to Bishop Luke Waddinge of Ferns and his collection of carols, first published in Ghent in 1684 and discussed by Ciarán Mac Murcaidh in the previous article. Waddinge’s little book had the lengthy title: A small garland of pious and godly songs composed by a devout man, for the solace of his friends and neighbours in their afflictions. The sweet and the sower, the nettle and the flower, the thorne and the rose, this garland compose.
Luke Waddinge (not to be confused with his kinsman, the seventeenth-century Franciscan theologian from Waterford of the same name), whose family came from Ballycogley Castle, Co. Wexford, was the Catholic bishop of Ferns (1683-92), and lived in Wexford town while holding that office. His book contains some religious ‘posies’ or poems written for the disinherited gentry of County Wexford as well as eleven Christmas songs, two of which are sung to this day in Kilmore.
A similar carol is found in Revd William Devereux’s A New Garland Containing Songs for Christmas (1728). Father William Devereux (1696-1771), from Tacumshane, was Parish Priest of Drinagh, near Wexford, in 1730-71, and wrote several carols.
The Wexford Carol is sometimes confused too with ‘The Sussex Carol,’ also referred to by its first line: ‘On Christmas night all Christians sing.’ It is said the words of this carol were first published by Bishop Luke Waddinge in A small garland (1684), but it is not clear whether he wrote the song or that he was recording an earlier composition. Edward Darling and Donald Davison, in their Companion to Church Hymnal, say the words are from a traditional English source, that they were adapted by Luke Waddinge, and that they were reintroduced to English use through later editions of Waddinge’s carols, published in London in the early 18th century, subsequently undergoing considerable modification.
Both the text and the tune to which it is now sung were discovered and written down quite independently by Cecil Sharp in Buckland, Gloucestershire, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, who heard it being sung by a Harriet Verrall of Monk’s Gate, near Horsham, Sussex – hence its name, ‘The Sussex Carol.’ Vaughan Williams published the tune to which it is generally sung today in 1919. Several years earlier, he included the carol in his Fantasia on Christmas carols, first performed at the Three Carols Festival in Hereford Cathedral in 1912.
The Sussex Carol often features in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in the Chapel of the King’s College, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve and broadcast around the world by the BBC. A version of the ‘Sussex Carol’ also appears in the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, 2004) as Hymn No 176.
The Wexford Carol
Good people all, this Christmas-time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done,
In sending His beloved Son.
With Mary holy we should pray
To God with love this Christmas Day:
In Bethlehem upon that morn
There was a blessed Messiah born.
The night before that happy tide
The noble Virgin and her guide
Were long time seeking up and down
To find a lodging in the town.
But mark how all things came to pass;
From every door repelled alas!
As long foretold, their refuge all
Was but an humble ox’s stall.
There were three wise men from afar
Directed by a glorious star,
And on they wandered night and day
Until they came where Jesus lay,
And when they came unto that place
Where our beloved Messiah was,
They humbly cast them at his feet,
With gifts of gold and incense sweet.
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep;
To whom God’s angels did appear,
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
“Prepare and go,” the angels said,
“To Bethlehem, be not afraid;
For there you’ll find, this happy morn,
A princely Babe, sweet Jesus born.”
With thankful heart and joyful mind,
The shepherds went the Babe to find,
And as God’s angel had foretold,
They did our Saviour Christ behold.
Within a manger He was laid,
And by his side the Virgin Maid,
As long foretold, there was a blessed Messiah born.
The Sussex Carol, by Ralph Vaughan Williams:
On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring.
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King’s birth.
Then why should men on earth be so sad,
Since our Redeemer made us glad,
When from our sin he set us free,
All for to gain our liberty?
When sin departs before His grace,
Then life and health come in its place.
Angels and men with joy may sing
All for to see the new-born King.
All out of darkness we have light,
Which made the angels sing this night:
“Glory to God and peace to men,
Now and for evermore, Amen!”
Sources and Further Reading:
Edward Darling, Donald Davison (eds), Companion to Church Hymnal (Dublin, 2005).
Hugh Keyte, Andrew Parrott (eds), The New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford, 1992).
‘The ‘Wexford Carol’ and the mystery surrounding some old and popular Christmas carols’ is published in Christmas and the Irish: a miscellany, ed Salvador Ryan (Dublin: Wordwell Books, 2023, 403 pp, €25, ISBN: 978-1-913934-93-4), pp 72-77, with the photograph of Kilmore Quay on p 71.
The list of contributors includes this note on p 400:
Patrick Comerford is an Anlican priest living in retirement near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. He is a former adjunct assistant professor in Trinity College Dublin
‘Christmas and the Irish: a miscellany’ was launched in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, on 30 November 2023
17 December 2023
Daily prayers in Advent with
Leonard Cohen and USPG:
(15) 17 December 2023
‘And even though it all went wrong / I’ll stand right here before the Lord of song’ (Leonard Cohen) … street art outside Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are in the countdown to Christmas in the Church, with just eight days to go to Christmas Day. Today is the Third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday (17 December 2023), bringing us two-thirds of the way through what is a very short Advent this year.
This Sunday is known traditionally as Gaudete Sunday, and the readings for Gaudete Sunday deal with rejoicing in the Lord – Christian joy – and the mission of Saint John the Baptist. Despite the otherwise sombre readings of the season of Advent, which has as a secondary theme the need for penitence, the readings on the third Sunday emphasise the joyous anticipation of Christ’s coming.
Later this morning I plan to be at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, and later this evening (6 pm) I hope to be part of the choir in the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in All Saints’ Church, Calverton.
But, before the day begins, I am taking some time for prayer, reflection and reading this morning.
Throughout Advent this year, my reading and reflection each day includes a poem or song by Leonard Cohen. These Advent reflections are following this pattern:
1, A reflection on a poem or song by Leonard Cohen;
2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
‘She broke your throne, and she cut your hair’ (Leonard Cohen) … a window in the South Aisle in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, depicting Samson alongside Ruth and Samuel (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen: 15, ‘Hallelujah’:
The liturgical atmosphere on this Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, is one of rejoicing with joyous anticipation. So it seems appropriate again this morning to listen to Leonard Cohen’s song ‘Hallelujah’.
‘Hallelujah’ was originally released on Leonard Cohen’s album Various Positions in 1984. The song had little initial success, and found greater popular acclaim through a new version recorded by John Cale in 1991. Cale’s version inspired a 1994 recording by Jeff Buckley that in 2004 was ranked number by Rolling Stone at No 259 among ‘The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.’
The song achieved widespread popularity after Cale’s featured in the 2001 film Shrek. Many other arrangements have been performed in recordings and in concert, with more than 300 known versions. The song has been used in film and television soundtracks and televised talent contests.
Bob Dylan was among the first to perform this song in concert with in Montreal on 8 July 1988. Other notable singers who have covered ‘Hallelujah’ include Willie Nelson, Susan Boyle and Bono. Bono’s version, which is mostly spoken, was included in Tower of Song, an all-star tribute to Leonard Cohen in 1995.
In a CBC Radio interview in 2009, Cohen said he found the number of covers of his song ‘ironic and amusing,’ given his record label refused to release it when he first wrote it. He then claimed the song could benefit from a ‘moratorium’ in exposure: ‘I think too many people sing it.’ Later, in 2012, however, he said that ‘on second thought no, I’m very happy that it's being sung.’
‘Hallelujah’ experienced renewed interest after Leonard Cohen died in November 2016 and re-appeared on international singles charts, including entering the American Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
Leonard Cohen is said to have written from 80 to as many as 180 draft verses of ‘Hallelujah.’ He claimed to have written 150 draft verses, a claim supported by his notebooks with many revisions and additions. In a writing session in the Royalton Hotel in New York, he is said to have been reduced to sitting on the floor in his underwear, filling notebooks and banging his head on the floor.
Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, creators of the film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (2022), said Cohen took about five years to write the song, and reconfigured it numerous times for his performances and concerts.
Unlike some other songs that became anthems, ‘Hallelujah’ initially was on an album that was rejected by Columbia Records, that was largely ignored after an independent label released it, that was not widely covered until John Cale’s version in 1991, and did not reach the Billboard charts until Leonard Cohen died in 2016.
Reflecting on the song’s initial rejection, Leonard Cohen said that Columbia told him that ‘we know you are great, but don’t know if you are any good.’
Following his original studio-album version in 1984, Cohen performed the original song on his world tour in 1985, but live performances during his 1988 and 1993 tours almost invariably contained different sets of lyrics. Numerous singers mix lyrics from both versions, and occasionally make direct lyric changes.
‘Hallelujah’ in its original version is in 12/8 time, evoking both early rock and roll and gospel music. Written in the key of C major, the chord progression of C, F, G, A minor, F matches those referenced in the song’s famous first verse.
Leonard Cohen was 50 when he first recorded the song. He described it as ‘rather joyous’ and said that it came from ‘a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way, but with enthusiasm, with emotion.’ He later said ‘there is a religious hallelujah, but there are many other ones. When one looks at the world, there’s only one thing to say, and it’s Hallelujah.’
He said: ‘This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that's what I mean by Hallelujah.’
Enuma Okoro, the Financial Times arts and culture columnist, has noted that the word Hallelujah is composed of two Hebrew words that mean ‘praise God’, adding that Cohen said people have been ‘singing it for thousands of years to affirm our little journey.’
The journalist Larry Sloman, who interviewed Cohen often, described the song as one part biblical, one part the woman that Cohen slept with last night, citing an unidentified critic saying that Cohen was most interested in ‘holiness and horniness’.
The original version of ‘Hallelujah’ on Various Positions (1984) contains allusions to several biblical stories, including the stories of Samson and Delilah in the Book of Judges (‘she cut your hair’) and King David and Bathsheba (‘you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you’).
Leonard Cohen’s lyrical poetry and his view that ‘many different Hallelujahs exist’ is reflected in wide-ranging covers with very different intents or tones, allowing the song to be ‘melancholic, fragile, uplifting [or] joyous’ depending on the performer.
The Canadian singer k.d. lang said in an interview shortly after Cohen’s death that she considered the song to be about ‘the struggle between having human desire and searching for spiritual wisdom. It’s being caught between those two places.’
The song was the subject of thebook The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah (2012). The author Alan Light said Cohen’s ‘approach to language and craft feel unlike the work of anybody else. They sound rooted in poetry and literature because he studied as a poet and a novelist first.’
The book was inspired the 2022 documentary film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song. The film’s co-creator said Leonard Cohen ‘addressed the deepest of our human concerns about longing for connection and longing for some sort of hope, transcendence and acknowledgment of the difficulties of life.’
‘Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord / That David played, and it pleased the Lord’ (Leonard Cohen) … David depicted with Rizpah and Solomon in the Peel window in the south aisle in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah:
Now 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 falls, the major lifts
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 her
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
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
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well people I’ve been here before
I know this room and I’ve walked this floor
You see I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
But listen love, love is not some kind of victory march, no
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And I remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove she was moving too
And every single breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Now I’ve done my best, I know it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come here just to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand right here before the Lord of song
With nothing, nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist … an icon in the Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
John 1: 6-8, 19-28 (NRSVA):
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21 And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ 22 Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 23 He said,
‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord”,’
as the prophet Isaiah said.
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ 26 John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Christ the Good Shepherd, with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist on each side … a stained-glass window in Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 17 December 2023):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Joy of Advent.’ This theme is introduced today:
On the third week of Advent, we reflect on the joy of Jesus’ coming and the access to God this brings.
Read Philippians 4: 4-5
This verse is often used for this week of Advent, as it encourages us to ‘rejoice’ for ‘indeed the Lord is near.’ In other words, this week celebrates the joy of Christ’s coming to earth. It reminds us that despite the struggles of this year, the presence of Jesus reassures us.
Depending on the translation, joy appears more than 100 times in the Bible. This is a biblical joy – it goes far beyond momentary happiness. So much in life today is often based on instant gratification – getting the latest piece of technology as a Christmas present, raising a toast with family and friends or that warm glow we get singing Christmas carols. However, biblical joy is an extreme happiness that cannot be deterred by present circumstances. A great example of this is the eager anticipation and joy of the shepherds as they ran to meet Jesus. This type of joy comes from God alone and is often experienced when a Christian truly understands the beauty of Jesus and his gift of salvation and eternal life.
The opportunity to reflect on joy at Advent is important. Despite the darkness that we often feel when we look outwards to the world, we can have light.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (17 December 2023, Advent III, Gaudete Sunday) invites us to pray in these words:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
(Psalm 27: 1).
The Advent Wreath in Lichfield Cathedral … the third pink or rose candle is lit this morning on Gaudete Sunday and recalls Saint John the Baptist (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The Collect:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit
that when your Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
‘Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord / That David played, and it pleased the Lord’ (Leonard Cohen) … King David depicted in the East Window by Nathaniel Westlake (1888) in Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Leonard Cohen, ‘Hallelujah’, Live in London
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Patrick Comerford
We are in the countdown to Christmas in the Church, with just eight days to go to Christmas Day. Today is the Third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday (17 December 2023), bringing us two-thirds of the way through what is a very short Advent this year.
This Sunday is known traditionally as Gaudete Sunday, and the readings for Gaudete Sunday deal with rejoicing in the Lord – Christian joy – and the mission of Saint John the Baptist. Despite the otherwise sombre readings of the season of Advent, which has as a secondary theme the need for penitence, the readings on the third Sunday emphasise the joyous anticipation of Christ’s coming.
Later this morning I plan to be at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, and later this evening (6 pm) I hope to be part of the choir in the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in All Saints’ Church, Calverton.
But, before the day begins, I am taking some time for prayer, reflection and reading this morning.
Throughout Advent this year, my reading and reflection each day includes a poem or song by Leonard Cohen. These Advent reflections are following this pattern:
1, A reflection on a poem or song by Leonard Cohen;
2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
‘She broke your throne, and she cut your hair’ (Leonard Cohen) … a window in the South Aisle in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, depicting Samson alongside Ruth and Samuel (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen: 15, ‘Hallelujah’:
The liturgical atmosphere on this Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, is one of rejoicing with joyous anticipation. So it seems appropriate again this morning to listen to Leonard Cohen’s song ‘Hallelujah’.
‘Hallelujah’ was originally released on Leonard Cohen’s album Various Positions in 1984. The song had little initial success, and found greater popular acclaim through a new version recorded by John Cale in 1991. Cale’s version inspired a 1994 recording by Jeff Buckley that in 2004 was ranked number by Rolling Stone at No 259 among ‘The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.’
The song achieved widespread popularity after Cale’s featured in the 2001 film Shrek. Many other arrangements have been performed in recordings and in concert, with more than 300 known versions. The song has been used in film and television soundtracks and televised talent contests.
Bob Dylan was among the first to perform this song in concert with in Montreal on 8 July 1988. Other notable singers who have covered ‘Hallelujah’ include Willie Nelson, Susan Boyle and Bono. Bono’s version, which is mostly spoken, was included in Tower of Song, an all-star tribute to Leonard Cohen in 1995.
In a CBC Radio interview in 2009, Cohen said he found the number of covers of his song ‘ironic and amusing,’ given his record label refused to release it when he first wrote it. He then claimed the song could benefit from a ‘moratorium’ in exposure: ‘I think too many people sing it.’ Later, in 2012, however, he said that ‘on second thought no, I’m very happy that it's being sung.’
‘Hallelujah’ experienced renewed interest after Leonard Cohen died in November 2016 and re-appeared on international singles charts, including entering the American Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
Leonard Cohen is said to have written from 80 to as many as 180 draft verses of ‘Hallelujah.’ He claimed to have written 150 draft verses, a claim supported by his notebooks with many revisions and additions. In a writing session in the Royalton Hotel in New York, he is said to have been reduced to sitting on the floor in his underwear, filling notebooks and banging his head on the floor.
Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, creators of the film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (2022), said Cohen took about five years to write the song, and reconfigured it numerous times for his performances and concerts.
Unlike some other songs that became anthems, ‘Hallelujah’ initially was on an album that was rejected by Columbia Records, that was largely ignored after an independent label released it, that was not widely covered until John Cale’s version in 1991, and did not reach the Billboard charts until Leonard Cohen died in 2016.
Reflecting on the song’s initial rejection, Leonard Cohen said that Columbia told him that ‘we know you are great, but don’t know if you are any good.’
Following his original studio-album version in 1984, Cohen performed the original song on his world tour in 1985, but live performances during his 1988 and 1993 tours almost invariably contained different sets of lyrics. Numerous singers mix lyrics from both versions, and occasionally make direct lyric changes.
‘Hallelujah’ in its original version is in 12/8 time, evoking both early rock and roll and gospel music. Written in the key of C major, the chord progression of C, F, G, A minor, F matches those referenced in the song’s famous first verse.
Leonard Cohen was 50 when he first recorded the song. He described it as ‘rather joyous’ and said that it came from ‘a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way, but with enthusiasm, with emotion.’ He later said ‘there is a religious hallelujah, but there are many other ones. When one looks at the world, there’s only one thing to say, and it’s Hallelujah.’
He said: ‘This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that's what I mean by Hallelujah.’
Enuma Okoro, the Financial Times arts and culture columnist, has noted that the word Hallelujah is composed of two Hebrew words that mean ‘praise God’, adding that Cohen said people have been ‘singing it for thousands of years to affirm our little journey.’
The journalist Larry Sloman, who interviewed Cohen often, described the song as one part biblical, one part the woman that Cohen slept with last night, citing an unidentified critic saying that Cohen was most interested in ‘holiness and horniness’.
The original version of ‘Hallelujah’ on Various Positions (1984) contains allusions to several biblical stories, including the stories of Samson and Delilah in the Book of Judges (‘she cut your hair’) and King David and Bathsheba (‘you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you’).
Leonard Cohen’s lyrical poetry and his view that ‘many different Hallelujahs exist’ is reflected in wide-ranging covers with very different intents or tones, allowing the song to be ‘melancholic, fragile, uplifting [or] joyous’ depending on the performer.
The Canadian singer k.d. lang said in an interview shortly after Cohen’s death that she considered the song to be about ‘the struggle between having human desire and searching for spiritual wisdom. It’s being caught between those two places.’
The song was the subject of thebook The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah (2012). The author Alan Light said Cohen’s ‘approach to language and craft feel unlike the work of anybody else. They sound rooted in poetry and literature because he studied as a poet and a novelist first.’
The book was inspired the 2022 documentary film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song. The film’s co-creator said Leonard Cohen ‘addressed the deepest of our human concerns about longing for connection and longing for some sort of hope, transcendence and acknowledgment of the difficulties of life.’
‘Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord / That David played, and it pleased the Lord’ (Leonard Cohen) … David depicted with Rizpah and Solomon in the Peel window in the south aisle in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah:
Now 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 falls, the major lifts
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 her
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
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
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well people I’ve been here before
I know this room and I’ve walked this floor
You see I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
But listen love, love is not some kind of victory march, no
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And I remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove she was moving too
And every single breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Now I’ve done my best, I know it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come here just to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand right here before the Lord of song
With nothing, nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist … an icon in the Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
John 1: 6-8, 19-28 (NRSVA):
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21 And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ 22 Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 23 He said,
‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord”,’
as the prophet Isaiah said.
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ 26 John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Christ the Good Shepherd, with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist on each side … a stained-glass window in Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 17 December 2023):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Joy of Advent.’ This theme is introduced today:
On the third week of Advent, we reflect on the joy of Jesus’ coming and the access to God this brings.
Read Philippians 4: 4-5
This verse is often used for this week of Advent, as it encourages us to ‘rejoice’ for ‘indeed the Lord is near.’ In other words, this week celebrates the joy of Christ’s coming to earth. It reminds us that despite the struggles of this year, the presence of Jesus reassures us.
Depending on the translation, joy appears more than 100 times in the Bible. This is a biblical joy – it goes far beyond momentary happiness. So much in life today is often based on instant gratification – getting the latest piece of technology as a Christmas present, raising a toast with family and friends or that warm glow we get singing Christmas carols. However, biblical joy is an extreme happiness that cannot be deterred by present circumstances. A great example of this is the eager anticipation and joy of the shepherds as they ran to meet Jesus. This type of joy comes from God alone and is often experienced when a Christian truly understands the beauty of Jesus and his gift of salvation and eternal life.
The opportunity to reflect on joy at Advent is important. Despite the darkness that we often feel when we look outwards to the world, we can have light.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (17 December 2023, Advent III, Gaudete Sunday) invites us to pray in these words:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
(Psalm 27: 1).
The Advent Wreath in Lichfield Cathedral … the third pink or rose candle is lit this morning on Gaudete Sunday and recalls Saint John the Baptist (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The Collect:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit
that when your Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
‘Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord / That David played, and it pleased the Lord’ (Leonard Cohen) … King David depicted in the East Window by Nathaniel Westlake (1888) in Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Leonard Cohen, ‘Hallelujah’, Live in London
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Labels:
Advent 2023,
Christ Church Cathedral,
Icons,
Leonard Cohen,
Lichfield,
Lichfield Cathedral,
Mission,
Music,
Poetry,
Prayer,
Saint John the Baptist,
Saint John's Gospel,
Stained Glass,
Tamworth,
USPG,
Wolverton
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)