It’s interesting how inspiration works. Cohen wrote that by writing a whole bunch of poems that fit the measure over the course of several years. Then he picked the best ones for the song.
Conversely, Gun’s and Roses Sweet Child of Mine was thrown together in like an hour. Slash was just fucking around with a riff and they went with it. The “where do we go?” at the end was literally the band not knowing how to finish it off and asking where they should go.
Either way can create fantastic results.
Or the sex scene in Watchmen …
Tbh, I think the only problem with its use in watchmen is that they didn’t use the Jeff Buckley version. The song Hallelujah is an intersection of faith, sex, and the human experience, so lyrically the song fits the movie’s theme. I just think Cohen’s version lacks any sex appeal…so people tend to just focus on the religious overtones of the lyrics.
I think if they used Buckley’s instead of This no one would have batted an eye.
I had no idea there was any sex in the song at all. I just hear hallelujah and my religious trauma kicks in.
Yeah… Cohen’s version kinda just sounds like you’re going to church with a beatnik choir.
Buckley’s version is just perfect to me. The pain, the longing.in his voice. What a great artist he was.
Cohen’s fans are fanatically devoted to him, and if they found Hallelujah’s use in Watchmen blasphemous, it was for his sake, not God’s.
Actually pretty damn close to a perfect song, period, IMO. YMMV. Jeff Buckley’s cover is awesome too.
Or to complain about DPS Warrior itemization in the World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King.
Damn I’ve somehow missed this, thanks for linking this greatness
