Now that I'm thinking about vids...
I remember watching the movie "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" in 1972, and becoming obsessed with the song that plays over that movie's haunting ending: Leonard Cohen's "The Stranger Song".
So there, at the start of the disco era, I haunted garage sales and used record stores until I amassed a small collection of Leonard Cohen albums (about as anti-disco as you can get). I remember using lines from his songs as titles for stories I was writing at the time.
Flash forward to the recent past. I'm at a convention vid show, watching a "Stargate Atlantis" vid. I don't recognize the singer. But I'm captivated by the song, and its dark mixture of sexual and religious imagery.
Then I heard that same song used over the closing sequences in episodes of "Cold Case" and "House".
Now I have to find it. Thanks to google, I track it down - and what do I find? It's called "Hallelujah", and guess what, it was written by Leonard Cohen, who practically trademarked songs dealing in dark mixtures of sexual and religious imagery.
Now - even though they've already used the song in canon on "House" - wouldn't it be cool to use it again as a "House" vid?
(And no, I cannot take up another hobby...)
Lyrics beneath cut. Oh, and here's an interesting discussion of the song itself:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=931
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, hallelujah, 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, hallelujah, 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, hallelujah, 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, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
So there, at the start of the disco era, I haunted garage sales and used record stores until I amassed a small collection of Leonard Cohen albums (about as anti-disco as you can get). I remember using lines from his songs as titles for stories I was writing at the time.
Flash forward to the recent past. I'm at a convention vid show, watching a "Stargate Atlantis" vid. I don't recognize the singer. But I'm captivated by the song, and its dark mixture of sexual and religious imagery.
Then I heard that same song used over the closing sequences in episodes of "Cold Case" and "House".
Now I have to find it. Thanks to google, I track it down - and what do I find? It's called "Hallelujah", and guess what, it was written by Leonard Cohen, who practically trademarked songs dealing in dark mixtures of sexual and religious imagery.
Now - even though they've already used the song in canon on "House" - wouldn't it be cool to use it again as a "House" vid?
(And no, I cannot take up another hobby...)
Lyrics beneath cut. Oh, and here's an interesting discussion of the song itself:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=931
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, hallelujah, 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, hallelujah, 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, hallelujah, 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, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Leonard Cohen appears to be someone who is very well respected in the music industry, but not known all that well elsewhere. I have a CD which came out a few years ago which has a ton of artists (Peter Gabriel, Trisha Yearwood, Sting, The Chieftains, Tori Amos, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Don Henley, Bono, Jann Arden, Aaron Neville, Suzanne Vega and Martin Gore) covering his songs.
Info here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000001EZK/sr=8-1/qid=1146971852/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9338228-6016740?%5Fencoding=UTF8
I love Leonard's work - quirky, dark and twisted as it can be. Of course, that's part of the appeal...!
I also do seem to have a thing for Jewish guys named Leonard... :-)
And, wow, that song - made me want to know more about Lenard Cohen, that's certain.
Leonard Cohen is a fascinating lyricist. His voice is definitely not to everyone's taste - it's very rough and unmusical, but has its own dark power. His songs, however, are quite often covered by other artists. I've heard covers of "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright and Bono, to name just two.