SOLVED: Leonard Cohen's Secret Chord from 'Hallelujah'
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 10 июл 2024
- Leonard Cohen released 'Hallelujah' in 1984, a song which he took 5 years to write, and for which he wrote over 150 verses. In the first verse he mentions a 'secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord'. Many people have asked... what WAS that chord? I think I might have the answer.
Hey all - just in response to one or two comments - this is not a religious video, I am an unapologetic atheist.
It's simply being presented from the perspective of Leonard Cohen, a Jewish man with a spirituality that drew from many different sources.
Just so no-one gets the wrong end of the stick.
JH
Reminds me of the hypothetical sephiroth in some Kabalistic traditions (Da'ath).
@@Tophergr8 What a coincidence, I was thinking the exact same thing, as I'm sure were many others....👍
Religious or not, this video, and this explanation, gave me the chills. In a good way! Thank you
Start believing
Powerful
What a beautiful work you done here! This song always makes me cry. Always...
The first time I heard it was a Catholic version, with different lyrics, in an Irish Church.
Then I went searching for the original Cohen's lyrics. It's such a beautiful message!😢 It's about love. It's about forgiveness. It's about us. And it's about me and that magic night with her, in 1989, July the 17.
I'm alone now. Just me, my guitar, and my memories. I'm 70 now.
Thanks a lot for this posting, mr. atheist.
A year younger than thee Brother, in 505- please read my comment above and let me know how you feel about it, if you will please. 💐
You're never alone.
You may be by yourself, but you're never alone.
And their love is always with you. ♥️
Thank you for sharing this touching bit of your story.
I am also 70 and alone.l have loved this song forever and it always touches my heart.
I've tried cracking the meaning of the secret chord passively for years. I never sat down and REALLY thought about it like this. Best answer I've ever heard by miles. My hat's off to you. Thank you!
I feel this symbolism reaches far beyond one person’s affair, David’s or Leonard Cohen’s which is why it’s able to move so many to tears even without knowing these specifics. Great video.
Very good comment on a good video!💙✨
I started thinking that I wasn't going to be convinced by where you were going, but ended up completely sold.
Cohen was an open and avowed atheist who repeatedly reminded fans and reporters he was so nihilistic he couldn't even tolerate being a Buddhist (he joined a convent if Buddhist monks) despite that they too were atheist.
I've learned so much from this analysis, factually, musically and spiritually. Many thanks!
Very welcome :)
@tadc wrote: "I've learned so much from this analysis, factually, musically and spiritually. Many thanks!"
Ditto!
Beautiful explanation to a beautiful trail of breadcrumbs. Leonard Cohen was a craftsman. His work was blessed with Hallelujah.
❤Yessssss Indeed & I love the way he explained it. Love the song so soooooo much!😊
The secret chord is Gsus.
I'll see myself out.
You might’ve been answering a different question. I’ve heard that answer before.😂😂😂
7 sus4, the money chord in Hey Jude, and Without You.
Hail luc jah( God )..the 4th the 5th is the 4th Epoch ( were in that now) is the rescue Epoch .the minor fall is now ..then comes the 5th Epoch the major lift .. the song is dedicated to the God of song whom the angels sing to 24/7 .each Epoch is 4.1 Billion years long...
Geezuss🤦
@@jono1457-qd9ft also somehow descended from the tryst between David and Bathsheba? … Asking for a friend
This is an excellent study of this beautiful song. I absolutely loved it when Cohen first released it. Choen showed his love for his childhood faith and biblical knowledge when he wrote this song, as well as his love for his mystery woman.
Wow, that was wonderful. The cord of three. Though the E maj chord works too, since it is also known as the heaven chord.
Thank you for this enjoyable discussion It amuses me that this song with such depth of meaning has become a happy singalong song with people just focusing on the repeated Hallelujah
This leaves open the question, "What actually is true love."
The kind of love expressed here is, I hold, not actually love. Love is not a feeling or an emotion. The object of love is not to make me feel good.
Love - actual, true love - is a decision to make a commitment, come what may.
This take on "love" is why we see so much disunity in society today, so many marriages ending in divorce, so many single people who cannot find "love."
True love transcends emotions and feelings. To be "in love" means to have made a conscious decision to commit to a relationship and to endure the bad as well as the good. David's hee-bee-jee-bies when we saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof and then gave into his lust was not love. One only need look at the disastrous consequences of that relationship to understand this. True love creates stability, consistency and a solid foundation. David's weakness in the face of lust nearly cost him his kingdom. It was only by God's grace that he didn't lose it.
No, the song is not about love and how any love is good. It is about the destructive power of lust and one man's justification of it.
love in Hebrew is ahava. It comes from the root hav which means give/bring. True love is giving to the other.
It would be wonderful if people understood this. It’s not the narcissistic pursuit of self satisfaction.
If it wasn't love, it wouldn't have wrecked Cohen the way it did. The point of the song is "this broke me, yet I regret nothing". This, incidentally, may have contributed to the fact that it took him 5 years of banging his head against the floor before it was finished
@charlesmartin1972 Many people forget that there are different kinds of love..... all true....
In Greek, there are 4 words for love.....
The love Cohen describes in the song is Eros and the destructive forces of only answering to the call of Eros.... with no regard to the other kinds of love.
Most important to Agape..... the love that makes us stay, endure the rough times, and stay true to the one we love....
Eros is deceiving when not balanced with Philia, Agape, and Storge.
@charlesmartin1972 Many people forget that there are different kinds of love..... all true....
In Greek, there are 4 words for love.....
The love Cohen describes in the song is Eros and the destructive forces of only answering to the call of Eros.... with no regard to the other kinds of love.
Most important to Agape..... the love that makes us stay, endure the rough times, and stay true to the one we love....
Eros is deceiving when not balanced with Philia, Agape, and Storge.
What a provocative reinterpretation of the David-Bathsheba story! From David's broken and contrite heart over engaging in a forbidden love affair, he found redemption in sacred music!
The deeper sin though, was David later sending her husband to a battle and in a position where he knew he would be killed; which he was.
The fall was minor and the lift was major. Music and life.
*Mr. Hargreaves, THANK YOU! Your interpretation of this phenomenal song has brought **_THIS_** "old woman" to tears, but they're purelly tears of joy.*
*I met my Beloved Husband about one month before he turned 26 years of age, and we were married within 3 months. He will turn 81 on Saturday, and I **_STILL_** ABSOLUTELY ADORE HIM, even after nearly FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF JOYOUS MARRIAGE! The song of "HALLELUJAH" hit my brain exactly like your interpretation, LONG BEFORE I ran into your interpretation, which is SPOT ON, MR. HARGREAVES! Been there, & fully understand your meanings. A "cord of three," such a wonderful thought-image!*
💖👍👵💋🧓👍💖
Happy birthday to your beloved. I met my husband (my 3rd, his 2nd) and we were married within six months of meeting. This year is 31 wonderful honeymoon years. We're in our very late 60s now, having met in our mid 30s. We hope we can make it to our 50th, when we'll both be in our 80s. Your story is such a wonderful one and it makes me smile because we have that same love. ((hugs))
Excellent video! I had never thought that there might be something more literal to the first verses before. But I believe you missed something that might be important: Cohen, while not mixing metaphors, mixed his biblical characters. I've always found it interesting that, with no warning, he switches mid verse (2) from the story of David and Bathsheba to Samson and Delilah. It was Samson whose secret of his strength was in his long hair, which had never been cut (due to the Nazarite vow his mother took in gratitude to God for opening her womb after many years without children). And it was Delilah who seduced him in order to get him to reveal this secret. Two men, blessed by God, betraying their LORD with tragic consequences.
Anyway, perhaps you could dig further into this and discover why Cohen mixed two of the most notable and important characters into a seemingly single person.
That's a fascinating question. I wonder if Cohen was addressing the song as if to both men, or perhaps to be the subset of men who fall passionately in love that leaves them deeply vulnerable.
The first two minutes of this video makes me think about Leonard performing Hallelujah late in life. Being so happy that the song captured the world.
I enjoyed this video very much. There is depth in much of Leonard Cohen’s work. A true poet.
David and Bathsheba's 1st Son died... after that, came Solomon, who built The 1st Temple in Jerusalem. Leonard Cohen was a Master Songwriter!
🤣🤣
Religion poisons everything. Look at the history of it on the world.
Pish
Leonard Cohen was Jewish so he would be very familiar with the OT
@@lechatbotte. very familiar! Just like Bob Dylan.
Fantastic video. An absolutely beautiful journey through this mysterious song. 💚
Canadas most precious poet...
Cohen 😎👍👍
Never tried playing Hallelujah backwards...
But am now thinking about it😉👍
@richardlynch5632 Let us know if it says "Paul is dead."
@@napadave58
😂👍
Turn me on dedmnn
@@napadave58 ...or "cranberry sauce." 😏
Brilliant! One of the greatest songs ever written.
Had to go and play Cohen’s version to confirm that the “major lift” chord is, indeed, just a return to the IV chord in his version. I’ve always instinctively played a major II chord (specifically a D7, relative to Cohen’s key of C) at that point, and am frankly disappointed to learn it isn’t in the original.
Not only does it work much better musically, in my opinion, but it makes the word-painting cleverer. The idea of a “major lift” is much better evoked by turning one of the minor chords of the key (the ii chord) into its major cousin - literally “lifting” it into Major - than it is by simply returning to a diatonic major chord that we’ve already heard in the sequence (and has already had its turn in the word-painting scheme as “the fourth”). “The fourth”, “the fifth”, “the minor fall” and “the major lift”, also just work better as descriptions of four different chords, in my opinion.
There is so much to search for in Cohen's work.
Your take on this is witty... and probably right.
Good work ! Thank you for sharing this.
This is something I've always pondered on as a songwriter and I thank you for your bit by bit explaination and your revealation of King David's secret chord. Leonard Cohen is sadly missed.
I've performed this song thousands of times but never understood it properly until now. Thank you so much for this enlightening explanation
Your analysis of "Hallelujah" has made one of my favorite songs even more beautiful. I am one of the few who fell in love with this song when it was released. "Various Positions" is a brilliant album. Not the least of it the beautiful selfie that Leonard chose for the cover. Thank you for your insight.
To be honest, I was the one who bought his album back then in Germany. As a teenager of 15, I heard "Hallelujah" in some music program on German TV back in 1984 and new, I had to buy the whole album whick I then gave to my mother as a Christmas present, because years before I had fallen in love with Cohen after finding his "Greatest Hits" among her records. But guess what, she didn't like it. And gave it back to me, because anyway it was a trick. I had a Christmas present for her, but had borrowed the record from her since then.
So this song has been with me for over four decades now. And though I sensed the personal biographical connection of Cohen with the David story, I never got into it as deeply as you did. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing insight on the song, which feels completely accurate to me.
And well, you may see yourself as an "unapologetic atheist". What I sense from your interpretation though, is that your heart is that of an agnostic mystic. 🙏💖
This song is truly intriguing. The first time I heard it I had a connection, unexplained, yet deeply felt. Leonard Coen put more time and thought into this song than most albums composed. Because of its length it was not popular when it was first released. However if you consider the artists that have released it only one comes into play that earned his praise and that was and is KD Lang. Her interpretation and delivery of the song brought tears to his eyes. And to this day of all her songs this one still receives a standing ovation after the silence of the crowd during her delivery.
Pentatonix did a beautful Hallelujah.
The first time I heard it was in a Disney movie… Which I thought was ridiculous, in a child’s movie, it made no sense.
Utterly wonderful description, so full of meaning, love and life as a struggle against the animal impulse, to the the higher Spiritual access to God. Wonderfully explained, and full of beauty. Thank God for Leonard Cohen.
When I die, my musician soul will stand before Leonard Cohen, with nothing on my lips but Hallelujah.
That will not be D.C you see but the Judge of all.
Many versions of this song pronounce "Do ya", as "Do you". That always bugs me. It misses the whole point of the rhyming of '...do ya' with '...lujah'.
The splendid cynicism of Cohen's mentioning a Lord-pleasing chord, only to tell the listener 'But you don't really care for music, do ya?" is, for me, a great example of his brilliance as a wordsmith. I didn't 'get' Cohen at first, but listening to his album, "New Skin For The Old Ceremony" was a revelation. I suddenly resonated to the secret chord of his sense of humor. He became, and remains, my all-time favorite lyricist. And he was blessed with the gift of a golden voice.
_"New Skin For The Old Ceremony"_ looks to me like a "backward"/ a rebours word play... in a sense (can't find the right expression for it now) on "old wineskins" from Jesus' response to Pharisees (who were reprimanding Him on not adhering to fasting):
_No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined_
(Matthew 5:36-37; also in Matthew 8 and Mark 2)
Or maybe just an ironic remark on something being done totally backwards, can't say, but that "wineskins" jumped immediately into my mind when I saw this phrase.
That is an amazing and beautiful analysis! I’m grateful. LC was a master songwriter. Song, in the hands of a master, is the highest form of poetry. Cohen has written a great number of masterpieces. He could go deep, and there lies considerable pain, but there lie also truth and beauty, and that is what he brought to us with his songs.
David had to be called out on his sins, admit he did sin, then received God's forgiveness and blessing.
Yours is, by far, the best analysis of this song I have ever seen in RUclips. Completely shadows bigger channels that try to reduce it to a rebellious song about god and religion, as if Cohen was some kind of dumb teenager. Thank you.
Loved Leonard Cohen (and the Buckley version). Grateful to have seen him upfront in next to last tour.
Outstanding analysis! Even as an ardent Cohen fan with a fair amount of scriptural familiarity, I never would have connected all these themes. Thank you for increasing my appreciation for this beloved song tenfold!
James, you is blowing my mind with alarming regularity. Fantastic work Sir!
Glad to hear it :) much appreciated
But it was meant to be ‘sacred chord’ - he said so in a BBC interview from years ago. I tried and tried to find it again after seeing this video, but it doesn’t appear to be online.
This is interesting. From what I'm reading in the comments, David was punished for his affair. If we add your comment, it all makes sense: Having found a "Sacred" _chord/cord_ that _"pleased the Lord"_ would be, in this rendition by Cohen, the reason why he was eventually forgiven. Also, _"the baffled king composing..."_ - Can't be omitted. Why? Well, he was "baffled" because he _thought_ God was there in that moment of true love, so he remained confused as to why he was considered to have sinned, and thus was his condition while, welp... while he ran into/discovered/played that _chord_ that pleased the Lord, earning him forgiveness, and because he was forgiven, "May God be praised" (IE, _Hallelujah)._
I've always seen the ideas of religious ecstasy in this song but this video really gave me a lot of new ideas around it to chew on. Very interesting and very much appreciated! Great work
Wow. Impressive analysis of a song that now impresses me even more. Thanks for this.
You make a very compelling argument, particularly in light of Cohen's fundamental identity as a poet above all else.
Brilliant! I love that song and now it means even more. There have been moments of my own in the cord three and I say of them even now - Hallelujah.
James, that's deep. And your research is wonderful. I just had a 2 hour debate/argument with your Dad about his beliefs. This video is so much more rewarding😀
Hahaha it’s very much not worth getting into it with my Dad when it comes to religion. It’s like trying to debate with an automated phone system. You’ll just get the same answers over and over no matter what you say!
@@JamesHargreavesGuitar 😀Thanks James. I'm glad you're not offended. He said he hates science dogma. I said, so do I, but religious dogma isn't the way forward.
@@jono1457-qd9ftscience dogma is an oxymoron.
If it's a dogma, in other words if you are forbidden to criticise it, forbidden to examine it, forbidden to test it, forbidden to openly and widely share your findings - it is absolutely not science.
Sounds like his dad is more clued up than you 2, here's some dogma, science says the moons light is reflected sunlight, and if you measure the temperature change in moonlight vs moonshade there is no difference. So try measure it yourself with a thermometer and then tell me who's the fool 😂
This is one of the best presentations on songwriting and music (and biblical scripture!) I have seen. Thank you for not only helping me understand Leonard Cohen's song so much better, but for opening up a door on intimacy that truly moved me. I'm Jewish, but I had not known something that a friend taught me many years ago: in Jewish thought, when any two people speak earnestly together, it is said that God joins them. The person who told this to me was one of my dearest friends, and we used to speak for hours in our 20s, even though it was "long distance" and we couldn't really afford that. We felt like we were saving each other's lives. And when she told this to me, I found it reassuring and quite moving.
Thank you for reminding us all that sexual intimacy is powerful and beautiful - at least that it can be - and that it can be a gift from God. Why do atheists and agnostics so often do this better than the so-called religious folk?
With gratitude 🙏
Great work. I was ready to move on, but you just kept digging. I love Leonard and I think you are right about a deeper meaning. Thanks.
Very nice commentary that dovetails nicely into other pieces and interviews I’ve read but with some new points all your own. Congratulations! Beautifully done!
I like how you put so much effort into this. It is fascinating.
Beautiful I love Hallelujah. Its always been my favorite song. I truly enjoyed your narrative of this beautiful masterpiece.
Thank you!
i just realized the intro to jeff buckley's version of this is very similar to noel's "you know we can't go back." oasis nerds ftw!
I’m a jazz BossaNova .. any tune, by ear piano player & love dancing. I’m fond of listening to classical instruments fantastic players! 🙏👏
FANTASTIC....this video is VERY special. Thank you so much for this clarity!
The song embodies co Cohens complex embittered and awe-filled wrestling with holiness- the holiness within loss, of love, of faith, of personal powers.
Cohen is saying that only despair leads one to surrender, and only surrender leads to the holy.
He also accepts in many of his lyrics the driving impulse for an artist to not just encounter holiness but capture it within the limitations of their chosen “craft”
“There’s a burning flame in Every word, it doesn’t matter Which you heard, a holy or a broken hallelujah …”
“….And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.”
That’s the line that crowns all the others.
Cohen rarely writes about human love and outrage without entwining it with God.
His “You” is always a double entendre.
I despair when his spiritual verses in Hallelujah are excised for popular consumption reducing its genius down to yet another pop love complaint, and respect the artists who perform it intact.
For an artist to continue they sometimes have to believe the subtler powers beneath the surface of a piece is received via a kind of osmosis that sidesteps the easy and obvious.
But I suppose in that tender, defiant song there’s something for everyone. That’s why it is a universal.
_"Cohen's complex embittered and awe-filled wrestling with holiness - the holiness within loss, of love, of faith"_ - reminds me of
_Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control_
...
_When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned_
(Sisters of Mercy)
I love your breakdown of this. Hallelujah!
Incredible analysis. Thank you, you've given me a lot to think about regarding this song.
I love this song Hallelujah it gives me goosebumps when I hear it playing it always feel like its speaking to my soul but I always thought Delila tied Samson to the chair and cut his hair that's why I always wondered what was the song really about u have done a good job sir explaining it like this ❤
I think that is another reference hidden within, because Samson also had an “affair” with someone who he shouldn’t have and it lead to his downfall, but in the end reconciliation with God occurred and he also found redemption just like David. There’s also another Biblical reference that could be made-when King Saul was in the depths of insanity, David played a secret cord that southed and brought peace to King Saul. 🤔🤔
David's cord of three with Uriah also should be considered...
Very interesting indeed. I remembered being awed by the song when it first came out to the chagrin of my friends. And now with this very plausible analysis I’m even more intrigued. One of the best songs ever written…5yrs omg
Excellent video 👌
Yes, maybe the best song ever written, along with, do not laugh, "He stopped loving her today, similar theme I believe. Equally IMHO the best song ever written.
Excellent presentation. This song is seriously, one of the greatest!
Interesting take. I never looked at it quite so literally.
My interpretation was that the “secret chord” was a personal spiritual relationship, whether with a literal god or just a metaphor for being in tune with one’s self on a spiritual level, but the woman in the song didn’t care about that and however it ended it broke him and he can’t figure out how to get it back (so he’s baffled).
That verse contains an allusion to Samson as well as David. Same deal with both men, their relationships with god were damaged by a woman in some way.
I never considered the minor fall and the major lift as metaphors for what happened between them. I really like that and think that’s spot on.
I was always struck though by the “two versions” we’ll call it. The original is more uplifting to me, more hopeful. “I’ll stand before the lord of song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah”. He’s going to keep going and keep trying. But the ending verse that Cohen put in the live version which Jeff Buckley sings is not hopeful. “It’s not a cry you hear at night, it’s not somebody who’s seen the light, it’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah”. He’s a broken man and he’s not found his way back.
I never imagined you'd do an analysis dealing with Leonard Cohen. More surprises like this please. And if you can figure out the meaning of the lyrics of Townes Van Zandt's 'Pancho And Lefty' ( which was a mystery to Townes himself) you'll blow a lot of minds.
Way over analyzed and no real answer to either song! Period
@@garvdarb Thinkin' is hard. So is learnin' something new eh?
@@michaelwilson2340 yip , love new stuff
@michaelwilson2340 yep it's down to the Socratic Paradox If you think you know then you don't know that you don't know that you don't know.by being totally unaware of your ignorance and it's depth
@@richardosborne2067I enjoy intellectual subjects. I've actually just finished sending someone a comment that the illustration on the cover of Guided By Voices album 'Vampire On Titus' was taken from an old drawing of 'The Vegetable Lamb Of Tartary'. Or the 'Planta Tartarica Barometz'. It's philosophy and history night tonight.
Although musically dumb, I feel attuned to something divine. Thank you.
That was one wild ride of an explanation. Amazing. Congrats!
Im not claiming to be an epic song writer, but i do believe I've been in the same mental slpace as leonard cohen. In that moment i wrote the best song I've ever written, i doubt i will ever top it, and it doesn't matter whether it's good or not to other people... after i wrote that one, i realised there were lots of truly beautiful songs that came from the minds of truly talented people and the common theme was mind ravaging heartbreak. Leonard was broken in a way i sincerely hope no one else has been, but alas many have...
And their songs rise and remain as beautiful, haunting testaments to that moment of bitter pain.
Now whenever i hear a beautiful song i rhetorically say to the author: "you poor bastard! Whatever did you go through to produce a song such as this?"
Brilliant take sir. I proposed to my wife at a Leonard Cohen concert.
Just discovered your channel and absolutely love the content. A novel and refreshing approach to fascinating subjects. Keep ‘em coming James 👍🎸
Good lord - exceptional analysis. Blown away by that.
That was an intelligent and cogent argument which I enjoyed listening to. Well done and thank-you.
"Hallelujah" is not a religious song, it's a song about a love affair that crashed and burned so spectacularly that it takes biblical metaphors to describe it.
Based on biblical facts!
I make into a hymn. Works for me :)
Have you seen or heard the Yiddish version?😮
No. Have you ?@@Crowfeather-v5o
@@PaulEastham Yea we do too at my church and I know many others do too. There are alternate verses (Besides the Million supposed ones the Leo wrote LOL). That lift our heart to the Lord when sung. I think Leonard would have liked them.
In 1973 Cohen was living at the Greek island of Hydra with Suzanne and their baby boy. The relationship with Suzanne had become a burder to him. He was depressed and had stopped writing. In his mind he had retired from music. ---- On October 6, 1973 when the Egypt/Syrian armies started the Yom Kippur war he decided to go to Israel. Somehow he met some musicians and along went to the Sinai front. They gave some impromptu concerts to the soldiers. There he wrote "lover lover lover". On the way back he stopped at Eritrea. I believe he had a short affair there but I am not sure if this is true. When he returned to Hydra he somehow reconnected with Suzanne. In some of his manuscripts he says that he found a new and wonderful Suzanne (or something in these line) --- It is after this experience at war that he returned to writing song sand he wrote the best and most meaningful songs like "Who By Water" (From the Yom Kipur prayers Un'Tanch Tofer) and"Hallelujah" . ----- The explanation of the secret Chord (or cord) is a very wise one and fits Cohen's life. (I am guessing the affair was the one in Eritrea or if this never happened maybe one that happened in Israel before returning to Suzanne)
Sounds like a selfish creep
He was a cereal womanizer. He ate them for breakfast
@@josephesposito3499sigh I can’t relate lol
Suzanne? ‘So long, Marianne’ suggests otherwise. Suzanne lived in Canada. An interview with her on a RUclips channel suggests that he made little or no effort to help her financially even though his song about her gained him considerable fame. There’s no hint of a love affair similar to the one between him and Marianne.
Hi James, I really liked your in-depth view and insights into this Leonard Cohen super hit and its possible meaning. Thank you. To coin a popular phrase, Amen!
I'd have enjoyed a conclusion that included a semi-tone bend of the G to G# in the harmony :)
Spot on. Tremendous insight and fine example of a gentle messenger walking amongst us. Leonard Cohen is amongst the greatest men to have spoken on this earth.
Thank you so much for this background. Thus song was the favourite of a very good friend, who has died, but is also present whenever I hear or sing this song. The secret chord explains a lot and makes it even more an authentic dedication to my friend.
Omnia vincit amor..
Halleluja
I really appreciate your taking the time to expand on this song, especially the 150 verses. That helps me to keep on polishing my songs, even though it seems to take so long. As far as your explanation of David and Bathsheba, your interpretation promotes what the Bible calls “Adultery”. God was so mad at David that He killed the child that David and Bathsheba had as a result of their lustful affair. God was very displeased with their affair.
That's my only problem with this video
That's brilliant....and so rings true. Thanks for all your hard work;. it is much appreciated. 💓
This analysis is nearly as fantastic as the song itself. Fantastic work and explanation!
great interpretation of the blessed song - thanks a bunch!
Thankyou. This is a lovely piece of work which touched my heart.
Brilliant and makes perfect sense ~ This is a WonderFull unravelling you have performed here James ~ Thank You~ Leonard Cohen 's song are indeed deep and MeaningFull in so many ways no surprise that they touch so many peoples Hearts ✨🌹✨💖
This is absolutely fascinating. Brilliant analysis and compelling argument in favour of your conclusions.
Wow, just wow. I fell in love with this song as I was working on my first novel. It is now a series, where the forbidden (literally) love between a woman (who happens to be a very innocent vampire) and an angel who has lost his wings and is turned by her to save his life (she thinks he's dying) starts sweetly, turns sour, and then they fight their way back. In this first book, the angel is talking about a concert he and other enforcer angels were at, hunting a rogue vampire (enforcers are the ones that track down and "tune" the vampires so they can be monitored, the rule in heaven is three chances, on the third you go to Hell and all vampires eventually go to hell. The performance is k.d. lang's 2005 Juno Awards rendition and he's so taken by the song, he forgets about doing the job. When the affair goes sour, he sings that song to try to feel better. This is throughout the series now, with various parts running through various events for both people.
I had NO idea what Cohen did with the writing, and the way you explained it has me in tears. I see a hand in the writing I've done for several years (and still doing with these characters) and I'm now making notes on the next book. Thank you for that inspiration and the meaning of the song.
You did a great job here...I was a little resistant at first...but after listening to the entire video - I believe you're EXACTLY right - WOW !!!
Beautifully interpreted! Thank you for sharing your insights! ❤❤
Chord .. 3 notes .. or .. a love triangle ... a secret one. And God would have loved it as he shouted Hallelujah , repeatedly.
But there are 2 note chords, dyads. And also 4 and 5 and more note chords.
Both you and Leonard Cohen did a lot of work on this song! 👏👏👏
The legend of a "lost chord" goes way back. The Moody Blues referred to it in their LP "In Search Of The Lost Chord". I always thought that they were referring to a bible story, maybe about David, but I'm not sure where I got that idea. I think a full answer would need to include other literary and musical references such as the Moody Blues and further back.
I always heard it as "sacred chord" not "secret"
the song of the Levites in the Holy Temple was both secret and sacred.
Me too.
This was fascinating. Well done parsing out the song's meaning. ❤
I don't even care if Cohen wrote it like this. No way to ask him anymore. But this video essay is a work of art on its own and from now on this is my standard explanation of the song! Bravo!
Well that was fascinating! Excellently analysed I think! Great job. 👏👏👏
I think you have done a fabulous work here. May God Bless!
When I was a teen, I'm 68, and playing in a duet with a buddy, he told me back then that there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the LORD. Just puttin' in my 2 cents.
Cohen was a wordsmith and a Zen student? Master of Song and words. Such a one, multi dimensional song in word form? ..Clearly deeply felt and drew on other areas of his direct inner experiences of life . The "Silver" cord is another reference used in ref to astral travel and to do with frequency and energy. His gentle kindness and voice in the scales. Yin and Yang "what happens to the heart" a beautiful song, also a clue of his skill. The combination of two fields of energy fields entwined as one, at that highest point. As one in the moment and the words Hallelujah. The answer is indefinable, fathomless as two become one in union of love. This is not a religious comment and draws maybe on Leonards own cultivation of Zen life and personal inner experiences .... My gratitude to Leonard Cohen for the songs and his legacy...
What about the verse that goes, "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"?
Thanks for that. I have loved and felt moved by this mysterious song since its first arrival to my ears. I knew it was genius. Your interpretation was insightful.
Reply
That may well be the best song analysis I have ever heard!!
Beautiful ,deeply moving exigesus of Cohen’s beautiful, deeply moving song. Hallelujah!
Also the Scale E, F, G#, A, B, C, D, E is the Phrygian major third, prominent in Semitic music, both Jewish and Muslim evolving into Moorish/Flamenco and I think influencing European composers from Bach onwards.
It's my favourite scale and the chords you can build on it.
Listen to Cohen's speech when he received the Principe de Asturias Award in Spain in 2011. EPIC story. He divulges in that speech for the first time that all his songs are inspired by flamenco, and it's a tragic story.
As far as that scale influencing composers, yeah, including Rimsky-Korsakov.
That story is such a tease. I, too, sometimes find myself wondering about Cohen’s guitar teacher; who he was, why he was in Montréal, and why he took his own life. I also wonder how Cohen’s music might have been different if their lessons had continued.
@@helenleeyogini2679 I don't think that he took his own life.
@@Catlily5 I’m referring to Cohen’s guitar teacher. In Cohen’s speech, he said that at the teacher’s boarding house, someone told him the young man giving him the guitar lessons had killed himself.
I have this song on an iPod Shuffle and love when it comes along! I have wondered what the secret cord was but this seems to explain it. Thank you. : - )