Hallelujah

I was on the iTunes store yesterday and noticed that the number one song was Hallelujah, which seemed curious until I did a little research and discovered someone on American Idol sang the song last week. I couldn't help but think of the people who were discovering the Jeff Buckley version for the first time. Were they like me and listened to it over and over, pouring over the melodies and the words, wondering what was on his mind when he recorded it and wondering what else he could have given to the world had he lived longer. And did they wonder about Leonard Cohen and what was in his mind as he wrote the lyrics and how on earth he found the haunting melody? Did they search iTunes to find all the other versions of the song, and find that some, like the kd lang version approach the power of the Buckley version but nothing is it's equal? What did they think about the the versions by John Cale, and Rufus Wainwright?

I've spent hours trying to figure out exactly what Leonard Cohen was thinking when he wrote the song, could he have known the endless number of times this song would be played? Could Jeff Buckley have known when he stepped up to the mic to record the song the gift he was leaving behind?

I love the entire song, but there is one line I can't stop thinking about:

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

How much more frequent and fervent are my prayers when I am feel cold and broken. Why is it so much harder to praise god when things are going well in my life. No one wants to hear grumbling and unhappiness all of the time, how could Heavenly Father be any different, wouldn't he appreciate a shout out when things are great?

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