Singer and stellar songwriter, Joni Michell is another one. Allmusic said, "When the
dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female record-
ing artist of the late 20th century and Rolling Stone called her ‘one of the greatest song-
writers ever.’ Mitchell's lyrics have been noted for their developed poetics, addressing so-
cial and environmental ideals alongside individual feelings of romantic longing, confu-
sion, disillusion and joy.” Joni knows what she wants to say and says it with grace, style
and elegance.
With your title decided, some questions need to be answered to develop the lyrics.
Since songs are essentially sonic stories, it’s much like writing a book or at least a de-
tailed article. So the typical reporter rules apply–who, what, when, where and why.
With Cohen’s Hallelujah, the who, it seems, is actually several Biblical characters–
David and Samson, along with Batsheva, who David saw bathing on the roof and, appar-
ently, Samson’s Delilah, from the “cut your hair” reference. But, there’s another person
to whom Cohen is talking. The person who doesn’t care for music.
The “what” seems to be the imperfection of Man. David screwed up. Samsonscrewed up. We all screw up. The “where and when” is, for the most part Biblical times,
yet also modern times since Cohen is speaking to another person, presumably a lover.
The “why” is “Hallelujah.” It’s the cornerstone of the song. Hallelujah means an excla-
mation of praise to God. So, it seems to me that the song is about Man’s failing and his
praise to God for helping out here and there.
Another classic is Joni Mitchell’s The Circle Game, a great, albeit somewhat tearful
tune. The “who” is the child. It might be a boy or girl, but I prefer a boy since I used to