Have you ever noticed how, in the first verse of Hallelujah, the music mirrors exactly what the lyrics are saying? A verse that is not just describing the power of music in a few simple words, but also the music we are hearing right at this moment. The general and the particular.
It goes like this, the fourth the fifth
(each number accompanied by the F and G major chords on the IV and V degree in the major key)
the minor fall
(the A minor chord on the VI)
and the major lift
(back to the F major chord on the IV)
Some poets are able to touch our hearts and some make us think, and the best of them do both.
Goodbye, Leonard Cohen.
Sign up for the a100ql newsletter where I share news, thoughts, essays and materials related to the blog once or twice per month.
And they do this from my youth up to my “advanced” age ( like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon,Joan Baez….who celebrated her 75th birthday this year) …… and yes, I realized few years ago, what great lyrics there are in this song including the chords. There was a small tear in my heart last week.