Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen was a poet as well as a musician. The former title influenced "Hallelujah": his most famous vision of transcendence. It took him 5 years to write this heartbreaking song. It didn't achieve much renown upon it's initial release, but became increasingly popular over the years and was covered by many other artists, such as Jeff Buckley and the famous acapella group, Pentatonix. 

"Hallelujah" is a song of jubilation that considers, with sincerity, God's deceptions. Cohen said that he wanted to stay with the people who see the Kingdom of the Lord for what It is, that is to say, both sacred as well as damned. Even in the face of this damnation, the people still have the courage to praise the kingdom for what it is in its totality. The lyrics include a number of biblical references. The first verse opens quoting David, The King of Israel, who could calm the evil spirit of Saul with his harp. The following verse refers to another episode where David sees Betsabea, Uriah D'Ittita's wife, as she bathes on the terrace of her palace. After the two have a brief affair, Betsabea realizes she's pregnant with David's child. The story ends with the death of Uriah, who is killed by the jealous David.

The following verse recalls Samson's love for Dalila. Through cunning seduction and manipulation, Dalila convinces him to reveal the secret of his incredible strength, which is of course, his hair. She reveals this information to the Philippians, who cut off Samson's hairs, resulting in a tragic end for both Samson as well as herself. 

I see only darkness before me. 

There are two roads in front of me. The left one means high level but low benefit, and the right one means the opposite. <--- (Try this one again- I'm not sure what it means.) I have no idea which one is right. Maybe both of them are right or maybe both of them are wrong. I don't expect anyone to know the answer. Your future can only be decided by yourself. No matter what choice you make, you'll have to face the future alone. Some people call this destiny, others call it luck. Anyway, you have to take that step today, and once you do, you'll never be able to come back. What a cruel thing that is! I'm afraid of my unknown future, I see only darkness before me...

 I intuited the surgery went wrong.

After the surgery, the doctor said strange things. It sounded like he was trying to rationalize his mistake. He didn't need to keep repeating himself. Presumably, it was his guilty conscious that convinced him to rationalize himself, and say it over and over like a monologue. But I instantly intuited the surgery went wrong.