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Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Unique Singer, K.D. Lang Who Made Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah Famous and Leonard Cohen

 Nadene Goldfoot                                        

                                          
                                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE

In 2012, this well-known singer, Kathryn Dawn Lang (kd lang),  who made a great rendition of Hallelujah,  moved from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon.  Lang was born in EdmontonAlberta on November 2, 1961, the youngest child of Audrey Bebee and Adam Frederick Lang. She is of English, Irish, Scottish, GermanRussian-Jewish, Icelandic, and Sioux ancestry. When Lang was nine months old, her family moved to Consort, Alberta, where she grew up with two older sisters and one older brother in the Canadian prairies. Her father, a drugstore owner, left the family when she was twelve.

After secondary school, Lang attended Red Deer College, where she became fascinated with the life and music of Patsy Cline and decided to pursue a career as a professional singer. She moved to Edmonton, Alberta, after her graduation in 1982.

In 2016,Lang collaborated with Neko Case and Laura Veirs on the album project case/lang/veirs.  A mezzo-soprano, Lang has contributed songs to movie soundtracks and has collaborated with musicians such as Roy OrbisonTony BennettElton Johnthe KillersAnne MurrayAnn Wilson, and Jane Siberry

           David with harp singing for King Saul

She participated in the Leonard Cohen memorial celebration "Tower Of Song" in Quebec in November 2017, performing "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.  Lyrics of 2 stanzas:

     Leonard Cohen; b: September 21, 1934- a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Etc29mMOaLU (Leonard Cohen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q   *****

Now I've heard there was a secret chordThat David played, and it pleased the LordBut you don't really care for music, do you?It goes like this, the fourth, the fifthThe minor falls, the major liftsThe baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, HallelujahHallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proofYou saw her bathing on the roofHer beauty and the moonlight overthrew youShe tied you to a kitchen chairShe broke your throne, and she cut your hairAnd from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, HallelujahHallelujah, Hallelujah
The word "hallelujah" is an ancient Hebrew phrase that translates to "praise the Lord". It's made up of two parts: halel, which means "to praise," and yah/jah, which is a shortened form of the Hebrew name for God, YHWH. The phrase appears in the Bible's Book of Psalms 24 times, more than anywhere else. 
In Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah", the phrase "secret chord" is a reference to David, a musician from the Hebrew Bible. The song's lyrics include a description of a chord sequence, which includes a fourth chord and a fifth chord. Some say that the song is about the struggle between human desire and the search for spiritual wisdom. Others say that the song reflects Cohen's own struggles with faith, as well as the tests of faith that the Jewish people have faced. 
This secret chord is perhaps a metaphor for the divine inspiration bestowed on David that allowed him to write so many of the Psalms. That is why it was so pleasing to the Lord, because David was writing what God was showing him.
Resource:
Psalms in Tanakh (Bible)

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