A Cold & Broken Hallelujah

In 1741, in Handel's Messiah, there was a chorus of Hallelujah. Centuries later, Leonard Cohen created a beautiful song anchored by his own chorus of Hallelujah, to which John Cale of The Velvet Underground added additional lyrics when he later covered the Cohen version. Years after that, Jeff Buckley entered the realm of the immortals with his powerful version of Hallelujah, based on the Cale cover's reworking. Numerous other artists throughout the years have reworked and recorded their own versions inspired by the beauty of it.

The song has been embraced in all its flowing, ever-changing versions. It impacts people from all age groups and walks of life. Hallelujah carries a powerful message unique to the person who hears it. One of those rare types of songs which transcends dissection and allows people to relate to it on a personal level applying it to their emotional core for reasons of faith, longing, hope, loss, or struggle. 

It is a graceful reminder of the human condition.

Survivors understand the idea of "a cold and broken Hallelujah." The longing which reaches out, the cry of loss, and the hope of faith in our lowest moments. A prayer for remembering and the deep-seeded tug of needing something beyond this lonely place.

Create within yourself a place to contemplate and remember. Find an outlet to give voice to the whispers that cry within. Embrace within yourself the hope which may mourn, but reaches out regardless. 

Sing your own version of Hallelujah. Become your own chorus. Heal the cold and the broken you carry with you. Our stories matter. Our individual songs endure.