8:03 AM EST, March 5th, 2008
I haven't watched American Idol since season 1 (Source of the Oscar winning movie From Justin to Kelly) but based on the top search terms this morning there is no doubt what the most popular cover from last nights episode was. Jason Castro's (what is it about slightly effeminate young males that so intrigues American Idol fans) extremely abbreviated rendition of Jeff Buckley's rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah seems to have been last night's big hit. I myself really, really liked this song when I first heard it as part of the Shrek soundtrack. Because I so enjoyed it, I listened to the song again and again. And as I did so, I slowly came to realize that this slow and haunting song that evokes religious overtones is actually a little strange. The lyrics, which you completely miss by focusing on the beautiful chorus, describe a weird possibly abusive relationship between the protagonist and his object of desire. A sample -
Well Your faith was strong but you needed proofNeedless to say, these lyrics did not make cut for the American Idol version of the song. Below is the clip of the American Idol performance that is powering all of the search queries. At least until YouTube pulls it for copyright infringement. You can also download just about every version the Hallelujah song other than Jeff Buckley's here.
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
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