#30: Faith has conquered fear...on my way here!

[Ansamcw]

Could someone here please explain Hallelujah to me? Somewhere along the way, when people were discussing their lists of "songs I want to hear Clay sing", this song kept popping up over and over again. I had never heard of it, so started clicking on the links that were provided, of many different artists singing this song. None of them did anything for me at all. Am I all alone on this one? Am I missing something important in the lyrics? I really don't get the attraction, but I'm open to other's interpretations, and why this song seems to resonate with so many.

Its just personal taste I guess. Or people are hoping for low voice clay...

I love Hallelujah...but I love how clay sings WAMLAW...Amazing grace not so much for me.

Tonight was Andrew Lloyd Webber night on AI and no one did good IMO...I kept wondering how Clay would do with Music of the Night for example.

[ldyjocelyn]

laljeterfan, first of all, I'm sure you're not alone with your feelings. There are several on this board who would much rather have WAMLAW.

For me, personally -- well, I've said before that I'm not a lyric person, so my fascination with the song Hallelujah is not from the lyrics (although I do like the first verse, talking about the actual construction of the song, "the fourth, the fifth, the minor chord, the major lift"). IMO, though, the melody of the song is simply beautiful. I also think it is very much a SINGER'S song -- in many ways deceptively simple, and yet incredibly hard to sing. JMO.

BTW, I don't think us Hallelujah lovers have much hope *sob*. Karma4Clay at the CH wrote:

I hate to bring bad news (to some) but I think maybe we can stop dreaming about Clay singing Hallelujah. I got my message late and voted late. My results update was at 7:08 pm:

WAMLAW 46%

Hallelujah 36%

Amazing Grace 16%

Congrats CG and happy birthday lurkerfriend!

[KAndre]

Lord, I can't stand Piers Anthony (there's only so much punning I can take!) I vaguely remember "Being A Green Mother" but if they did Amazing Grace at a wedding I would have definitely rolled my eyes! Now, I do eventually want a copy of it (done right, I'll lay you odds I could get my entire family crying. Sometimes that's fun.).

But also with laljeterfan - just don't get Hallelujah - but man lot's of people sang the thing!

[footloose]

is the voting over yet? perhaps Hallelujah fans can still save the song...

(I know nuthin' about it but I'm not crazy about WAMLAW and Amazing Grace, and H sounds like a challenging song from what i heard so if i could, i would've voted for it too)

[merrieeee]

If my boyfriend would have texted me like he promised I would have voted! But no...he threw me over for other hussys with faster fingers.

[muskifest]

Okay...so I saw this on CH and it CMSU! Considering the earlier conversation we had here about the Reality TV review..Here's some info on the...er....critic...who wrote the review.

was curious about the author Jennifer_Brown so I did a search for her on that site. lots of articles on TV shows but NOT ONE MUSIC review.

I found a bio on another site and there is no mention of a job as a music critic/reviewer.

Quote:

Bio: Jennifer brown: Well I guess to begin I am a writer with one book published and a few poems, blah, blah blah... Currently I'm working on a lot more that I hope to finish soon. I'm going to school to get a computer science degree, but I will probably change my major when I take more classes. I did work for Directv in Tulsa, which if you like to hear people complain to you all day and tell you everything is your fault you would like the job. Well the money was great anyway and that’s why you have a hold button! I'm sarcastic and am not a morning person but love the color of the sky in the morning, hum go figure. I love my cat, Luci and anime. (I'm a total dork when it comes to anime. I could talk about anime for like hours) I love stuff from Japan - history culture and the language ect.- I can't cook but hey I try. I am part Cherokee, I know I know I'm so pale, but anyway my Cherokee name my grandmother gave me is butterfly (kamama). I love most music but am in to techno and I like to go to movies. Though I am home a lot typing on my pc, sleeping or watching anime I like to talk to people when I do go out. I am not dating anyone but am open, what ever happens happens. So that’s me in a nut shell.

Like...omigod! Like....totally, right?.

[laljeterfan]

Okay...so I saw this on CH and it CMSU! Considering the earlier conversation we had here about the Reality TV review..Here's some info on the...er....critic...who wrote the review.

was curious about the author Jennifer_Brown so I did a search for her on that site. lots of articles on TV shows but NOT ONE MUSIC review.

I found a bio on another site and there is no mention of a job as a music critic/reviewer.

Quote:

Bio: Jennifer brown: Well I guess to begin I am a writer with one book published and a few poems, blah, blah blah... Currently I'm working on a lot more that I hope to finish soon.

Like...omigod! Like....totally, right?.

Wow- that's kind of frightening......

Thanks for the feedback on Hallelujah, everyone. I guess I just don't "get" the lyrics.

[annabear]

Oooooooh, CG ~ you're gonna have FUN! We were on the left end of the the center orchestra on Fri. and got a lot of Sir Robin time on the stage. I think I was fairly well behaved until the the very end when Patsy, Robin & Bedevere were over on that side doing their little dance.... One Mr. Clay Aiken went into a full-out hip thrust & a sound something like a high pitched "AHAHHH!" involuntarily came out of my gaping mouth....

Tonight was Andrew Lloyd Webber night on AI and no one did good IMO...I kept wondering how Clay would do with Music of the Night for example.

GAH!!

Ok, muski, now that's funny sh...stuff! What is she, like 17?!

[muskifest]

We were on the left end of the the center orchestra on Fri. and got a lot of Sir Robin time on the stage

Oh YESS! (tm Sir Robin)....I just scored a Row E Seat 1 ticket for May 3 matinee and I'm hoping he'll do some MOVES during the finale over thar!

I'm also hoping that at least for ONE of the closing weekend shows he'll SING the 'Amen' during his Brother Maynard role.

[cha cha trusty]

Could someone here please explain Hallelujah to me? Somewhere along the way, when people were discussing their lists of "songs I want to hear Clay sing", this song kept popping up over and over again. I had never heard of it, so started clicking on the links that were provided, of many different artists singing this song. None of them did anything for me at all. Am I all alone on this one? Am I missing something important in the lyrics? I really don't get the attraction, but I'm open to other's interpretations, and why this song seems to resonate with so many.

Thank you for asking!!! The first time I heard this song was when Jason sang it on AI. I listened to it a few more times - k.d.lang's version mostly.

I don't understand the lyrics AT ALL! Something about getting tied to a kitchen chair and then leaving? It makes no sense to me. Is there a backstory to this song or something??

HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYBODY!!

I meant to mention it earlier.

My daughter (one of the ones who tracked bears in Ecuador over the summer) now works in the city school system developing green programs for high school kids. She led a few Earth Day programs starting last Saturday (while I was in NY!) Today she did an Earth Day event at Whole Foods . The store was giving 5% of the sales made today to a fund to put solar panels on their High School. She organized the event and even got the local Congressman to come speak! Yaaay chachadotter!!

[annabear]

That's great, cha cha! I went shopping at Whole Foods today & made sure to take my reusable bags with me - one of them purchased last fall from the Striped Sock Sirens fundraiser.

[Claygasm]

Just saw this posted at the CH by Desertflower:

I wonder what this means.

FOX Tue, May 6, 8:00 PM American Idol VCR+: 8846341

This is from the TV Guide when you search for Clay Aiken.

Verra, verra interesting - except this is a performance night for the contestants......

Never mind. Someone tried searching for other past Idol contestants and the same listing came up, so how exciting can it be?

[Couch Tomato]

A critic is just one person's opinion. Anybody can write a blog and have it published. I don't see why we like to drag up the writer to belittle them when we don't like their opinion. Maybe that's not what happened here, I don't know. I could tell from the writing that the person wasn't a professional music critic or writer for that matter. I personally don't care about ANY music critic, whether they are well respected by others or just somebody whose hobby has given them an outlet. Clay has been beaten senseless by critics from day one. I've lost all respect for them. His tours have fared much better - although my favorite, JBT, got pummeled by critics. I know on some level the reviews are important but I really am not going to take what they say to heart, whether good or bad.

I picked Amazing Grace, well if I voted heee, because I just don't like WAMLAW and if I've heard Hallelujah I don't remember it. So I'd love to see what Clay could do with AG. I remember during stump the band I think it was me and Skate screaming out Amazing Grace. He chose Pussycat..hee that remains one of my all time favorite Clay moments.

3 more days and I'm on my way. I'm having so much fun playing with my itinerary...if anybody will be around NYC any time from April 26 - May 4 let me know..I've got some holes heee.

[ldyjocelyn]

cha cha, I'm trying to find a good source for this, but I always thought the second verse was the story of David and Bathsheba from the Bible. David saw Bathsheba bathing, and fell into "lust" with her. But most of the online Bibles I'm finding don't mention the haircut, and I don't think that's part of the story.

[00lsee]

Hallelujah...Hm. The first time I heard the song was in Shrek several years ago..and the scene it was in made the words and tone of the singer's voice just tear your heart out. I mean, hallelujah is a word associated with rejoicing, right? And Shrek was

because he hadn't told Fiona he loved her and she was about to marry someone else. *sniff*

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 fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Biblical King David...played the harp, said to be "a man after God's own heart"

The fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

All music composition terms

baffled king David

Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty

in the moonlight

overthrew you

She tied you

To a kitchen chair

She broke your throne,

she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Mixing two allusions...one, the legendary story of David and Bathsheba, where perhaps he thought he was strong in his faith, only to succumb to the married Bathsheba, bathing in the moonlight. The point was, she didn't "tie him to a chair", that is, force him to do what he did. He SENT for her, so he brought disaster on himself. According to the story, she did, in effect, "break his throne" because his affair with her signaled the beginning of the end of his reign, since their son, Absolom, led a rebellion against his father. He was a man who had everything going for him and threw it away recklessly for the sake of "love".

The other line alludes to Samson and Delilah, when he allowed himself to be beguiled into telling her the secret to his great strength. He fell asleep, she cut his hair, his strength left him, and he was subsequently imprisoned and blinded by his enemies.

Maybe I've been here before

I know this room, I've walked this floor

I used to live alone before I knew you

I've seen your flag on the marble arch

love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Again, imagery of royalty, with flags hung from the marble archways as the victorious army marched into the city. So, she may have "won", but at what cost?

There was a time you'd let me know

What's real and going on below

But now you never show it to me do you?

Remember when I moved in you?

The holy dark was moving too

And every breath we drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Ah, was it good for you, too?

Maybe there's a God above

And all I ever learned from love

Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you

It's not a cry you can 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

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Imagery of a duel, where you shoot at your opponent, but it's too late, you're already slain. The repeated "hallelujah" is the opposite of victorious, happy rejoicing. What could have been glorious and wonderful and a blessing has gone completely wrong. Yeah, pretty heavy stuff...but it was perfect for that scene in Shrek, in my opinion.

That's the best I can do to explain the imagery in the lyrics and the context, as I first heard it. Whatever meaning it had to the writer is left open to interpretation within the mind and heart of the listener.

And critics? Plbbttt...I will form my own opinions. Glad she liked his voice, at least. But after listening to some ballads on the radio in recent years, I don't think Clay's music is a worse fit for young people than those. And I'm constantly surprised at what my kids like. They really do have the most tender, romantic hearts sometimes. And songs I think will bore them have often touched them.

[annabear]

Hallelujah...Hm. The first time I heard the song was in Shrek several years ago..and the scene it was in made the words and tone of the singer's voice just tear your heart out. I mean, hallelujah is a word associated with rejoicing, right? And Shrek was

because he hadn't told Fiona he loved her and she was about to marry someone else. *sniff*

Yes! *sniff* Great interpretation of the song, 00lsee. And nice banner, too, with the big LOTL smooch in the middle!

[laljeterfan]

Thanks for the transcript of the song and your interpretations, OOlsee. I may not ever truly "get" the song, but at least I have some idea now of the where the lyrics are coming from. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Who is the singer in the Shrek clip?

[laughn]

00Isee nice job with the interpertation, though I know music, like any art, is subjective...

my favorite...

I would have picked this song for Clay, only because it has such depth. I think he could handle it and I guess I wanted to see him work with it. Hard choice really. One song quite popular at the moment, Halleljah, with many comparisons to be made to other performers, and the other, WAMLAW, with really only one performance to compare to, but that one is iconic.

I truly would have been happy with either of them...but not Amazing Grace. My favorite version of Amazing Grace is my daughter's, so even Clay wouldn't have gotten my vote for that.

[Claygasm]

Thanks for the transcript of the song and your interpretations, OOlsee. I may not ever truly "get" the song, but at least I have some idea now of the where the lyrics are coming from. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Who is the singer in the Shrek clip?

Rufus Wainwright.

But I prefer Jeff Buckley's version.

But I love Rufus' too.

And K.d. Lang's is wonderful too.

But I will always love Jeff Buckley's the best.

[Couch Tomato]

SHREK? why didn't ya'll say so earlier. I LOVE Shrek and now I know the song hee. I need to go vote for Hallelujah!!

ETA Shrek, the original is perfection... can watch over and over..the sequels? once was enough.

[00lsee]

I should add that not only do my kids opinions about music often surprise me, but so do the opinions of their MALE friends. I think, sometimes, teenage boys (who as a group tend to hide their sentimentality), give themselves permission to express vulnerability and tenderness with the right song. It gives those emotions an outlet, but at a safe distance, if that makes sense.

[laljeterfan]

Who is the singer in the Shrek clip?

Rufus Wainwright.

But I prefer Jeff Buckley's version.

But I love Rufus' too.

And K.d. Lang's is wonderful too.

But I will always love Jeff Buckley's the best.

Thanks!

[KAndre]

I'm trying to figure out if John Waters made a Clay reference on the Daily Show tonight...

Jon was talking the talent in "Crybaby the Musical" and saying no one's every heard of them. Waters said well, if you know Broadway you've heard of them. But if they make it good, then you bring in someone who lost American Idol. Jon reacted hysterically.

I listened to k.d.'s version - still don't like the song. It really just doesn't speak to me.

[Ansamcw]

Thanks for the transcript of the song and your interpretations, OOlsee. I may not ever truly "get" the song, but at least I have some idea now of the where the lyrics are coming from. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Who is the singer in the Shrek clip?

Rufus Wainwright.

But I prefer Jeff Buckley's version.

But I love Rufus' too.

And K.d. Lang's is wonderful too.

But I will always love Jeff Buckley's the best.

Jeff buckleys, thats the version they used in the OC. I got that from my girls library. yup beautiful...I have 4 versions on my ipod, KDs, Jeffs, Rufus and Jason C.

I would like to hear how Clay would interpret this song.

[Ansamcw]

I should add that not only do my kids opinions about music often surprise me, but so do the opinions of their MALE friends. I think, sometimes, teenage boys (who as a group tend to hide their sentimentality), give themselves permission to express vulnerability and tenderness with the right song. It gives those emotions an outlet, but at a safe distance, if that makes sense.

I am surprised by my kids tastes too. They are very eclectic. Right now my middle girl, taylor is constantly singing songs from Sweeney Todd. They like a lot of ballad, pop/rock, some country pop...but a lot of rock, alt rock and hip hop too.