foomsbah (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Idiots! John Cale has forgotten more music than all of those others. Also, God wouldn't let David touch the Ark of the Covenant, because he had killed so many people.

foomsbah (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Idiots! John Cale has forgotten more music than all of those others.

4plainlimbs (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

i didnt like it at first, but to be completely honest, it's a good cover, the emotion comes out pretty well a minute in the song, a couple bits annoy me, but the tempo is at the same speed as rufus wainwright which i think is probably one of the best covers of this song so, 4/5

sreembit (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

what soulless way of sing..

oldladymaz (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

If you want to hear a version that will blow you away, listen to "k.d. lang sings Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah from oneandonlyck.

sheila13669 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I've gone through all the versions of this song and no one is as good as Jason Castro. This one just made me giggle...whoa!

gilboagilboa (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

The words refer simultaneously to both religious experience and erotic love - the two levels are completely intertwined. David was a great warrior king, a man who was driven by erotic love to do terrible things - but who was also the quintessential religious poet, the author of Psalms (Read Samuel I&II). Cohen tries to show how these are all paradoxically interconnected - erotic passion gives rise to "hallelujah" ("Praise the Lord!), the word most closely identified with Psalms.

cbyam1300 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I think there are more versions of this song than any other on youtube, which surely shows what a great & important song it is.. this perhaps the most stark & dramatic version & does the most justice to the original. Captivating.

PurpleKittenTasha (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Hey dread, the rhyme with hallelujah, I think, is an important part of the song. If you focus on the lyrics there is a kind of weary and cynical outlook mixed in with the spirituality and beauty, that is reflectd in the casual 'ya'. I also feel that it affects the rhythm and meter, the poetical nature of the lyric. That is as important to me as the beauty of the melody.

esterisko (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I see where you coming from, KaraBear789..that's OK I think. How many times have you seen him? First time I saw him I had similar impression, but after 10-15 times this feeling disappeared. I guess it is the effect John Cale has on easily impressionable people, like us:)) After 'digging' in his music I've found him to be very inspiring musician. If you like his music this feeling will go away eventually