Hallelujah Guitar Tab

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For those of you who dont know chords here are the tabs you'l need!
G  Em  D  C  Dm  Thats all you need. 
3  0   0  0  0   Good luck with the song i love this one! 
2  2   0  3  0   MsMuse101 oxo
0  2   0  2  0
0  0   2  0  2
3  2   3  1  3
3  2   2  0  3

Plucking the chords sounds great, if you've listened to the song you'l know how it goes!
intro:
 |G  Em|G  Em|

1st:
     G                 Em 
I've heard there was a secret chord
     G                   Em
That David played and it pleased the Lord
     c              d               G
But you don't really care for music do you?

   G                   C           D
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
    Em              C
The minor fall, the major lift
    D               Dm        Em
The baffled King composing Hallelujah

     c           Em
Hallelujah, hallelujah
     C        G-D-G
Hallelujah, hallelujah

2nd:
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you

She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah

3rd:
Maybe I've been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you

I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah

4th:
There was a time when you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?

And remember when I moved in you
The Holy Dark was moving too
And every breath we drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah

5th:
Maybe there's a God above
And all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you

And it's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
     C           Em
Hallelujah, hallelujah
     C         G-D-G
Hallelujah, hallelujah
     C           Em
Hallelujah, hallelujah
     C         G-D-G
Hallelujah, hallelujah

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Source: GuitarMasta.net
http://www.guitarmasta.net/r/rufus_wainwright/.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture kyle Professional	#1 by kyle mcdonough at Jul 28, 1970 at 9:20 PM EST
	THANK YOU pjkeefer. Rufus didn't write it, Jeff Buckley did a cover, but Lenerd Cohen originally wrote it. As far as it goes I think Rufus' version is the best. For me personally, even though its jsut one line and its not what the song is about the line 'Love is not a victory March its a call and its a broken Hallelujah". For me its a line of bitter realization. Bitterness, but not anger. Just the force of reality hits so hard... To me a lot of the song is like that. Not heartache, but that point where reality hits. You're better off for knowing really, but it scars with bitterness... To me, that's what I get out of it. But I know that's not what it s really about.

No Picture Dustin Wanna Be	#2 by Dustin Cogburn at Oct 31, 1971 at 4:53 AM EST
	Since I like short comments cuz they're quicker easier and quicker to read, this one will be. This is a beautiful, and well sung. I love it.

No Picture Angus Rhythm Player	#3 by Angus Young at Dec 30, 1972 at 8:34 AM EST
	phobos - if you think that the music and the lyrics are what make this a masterpiece, i urge you to check out other versions - jeff buckley, sheryl crow, leonard cohen...

No Picture Kyle Rhythm Player	#4 by Kyle Wait I Aint Telling You at May 3, 1974 at 8:42 AM EST
	great song...i loved it in shrek, then a friend played rufus' version and i was just like, wow. i downloaded it and have been listening to it ever since...i love his voice. But for good measure i am in the process of getting buckley's version...i'm sure it's good, but i really don't think it will beat rufus' version for me. Favorite part: "remember when i moved in you, the holy dark was moving too, and every breath we drew was hallelujiah" --so, so beautiful, the only better way to express that experience is by actually having it...and i'm not talking about just gettin some...it's rare that it comes out like it does in this song...amazing that buckley could put into three lines of lyric what many people go through their entire lives without actually feeling

No Picture Vezy Professional	#5 by Vezy at May 14, 1981 at 2:31 AM EST
	:)

No Picture Ace Average	#6 by Ace Of Spades at Apr 29, 1982 at 4:59 AM EST
	I agree w/ Cailin. I really like those lines as well. "Love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah " It's like-- even though love is this grand and marvelous, at the same time it can cause sadness and miserty. "broken Hallelujah"--what a paradox

No Picture MelissA Average	#7 by MelissA at Sep 7, 1982 at 2:29 PM EST
	i disagree with victory march - jeff buckley's version is so fucking beautiful, it hurts. this song itself is nearly that beautiful, but jeff buckley makes it... i was rather disgusted with the fact that rufus wainwright tried to cover this at all - i think he butchered it. but i admire him as a singer and songwriter in his own right. however, everyone should go listen to jeff buckley's version... (in my opinion.) the part of this song, though, that means the most to me is the last verse - "maybe there's a god above, but all i ever learned from love was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you..."

No Picture Josh Average	#8 by Josh Duncan at Mar 11, 1984 at 7:11 AM EST
	This song is about the story of Sampson in the Bible. It is both from 1st and 3rd person singing about Delilah. She totally screwed Sampson, and broke his heart. This song is so awesome.

No Picture Dean Rhythm Player	#9 by Dean M at Oct 8, 1984 at 5:37 PM EST
	agreed, this song is absolutely beautiful. the piano in it is really simplistic, but very soothing...but at the same time it can sound very passionate. i rather like the line "love is not a victory march". i wonder why in the world they picked it for Shrek. hm.

No Picture Fat Man Goz Lead Player	#10 by Fat Man Goz at Oct 10, 1987 at 11:44 PM EST
	this song gives me chills. i especially like the line "remember when i moved in you..." while most songs make sex sound cheap and empty, that line really captures the emotional connection that can occur.

No Picture Cory Wanna Be	#11 by Cory at Jun 29, 1992 at 5:32 AM EST
	i agree. this song is so pretty.

No Picture michiel Wanna Be	#12 by michiel adams at Sep 20, 1993 at 7:07 PM EST
	oops. delmarter already said that

No Picture batman Average	#13 by batman chum at Nov 6, 1996 at 12:56 AM EST
	yeah, i prefer rufus's version to jason wade's. somehow, rufus (refering to him like as if he's my best firned... ha!) has a richer voice and is sort of sultry.. buttery. he has a lullaby kind of voice.

No Picture David Average	#14 by David Eldridge at Oct 29, 1997 at 8:25 PM EST
	beautiful.

No Picture devon Average	#15 by devon at Nov 2, 1997 at 6:46 PM EST
	I think this song is one that comes from a deep place in the artists' soul and has deep meaning both spiritually and personally. I think Dundada77 is close when they says it's about Sampson, but I think it more strongly speaks of David. In fact I think the Rufus is drawing a parallel between himself and King David of the Bible. David played his harp and it was soothing to King Saul and pleased the Lord. Notice how the arpeggios mimic the soft plucking of harp strings. Later in David's adult life, after he became King, he succumbed to temptation observing Bathsheba (The wife of Uriah, one of David's Generals)) bathing on the roof. He sent for her, they slept together, she got pregnant and David secretly had her husband killed during a battle. This action brought calamity upon the house of David. So in a sense this event did break the throne by breaking David. The idea of cutting hair is not so much linked to Sampson as it is a reference to a Nazarite (of which Sampson was one) who take a vow not to cut their hair. In My opinion this is a song about broken relationships and broken vows. How all of us are tempted to break the “vows” of relationships. Through the heartache of these tragedies we gain perspective on life. In the third and fourth verse introspection seems to be in the forefront of the lyrics. Wainwright is openly gay and perhaps he’s seen more than his share of heartache. Love is not a victory march; it’s filled with agony and heartbreak as well as magic and fulfillment. Real love is painful, it’s not a cry in the night, nor is it all bright lights. At times it can be a cold and broken hallelujah – but it’s still a hallelujah.

No Picture Charley Rhythm Player	#16 by Charley Hockin at Jun 25, 2000 at 7:27 AM EST
	Guys, Can we get this straight, RUFUS DID NOT WRITE THIS SONG! It's a cover. I know Jeff Buckley sang it, and there is a chance that someone wrote it before him. Rufus is doing a lot of covers on soundtracks like Across the Universe(I AM Sam) and He Ain't Heavy, he's my Brother(Zoolander). But he is a brilliant songwriter who studied opera. You should check out his two albums(a self-titled one and "Poses"). Rufus is not very obscure. He won a Juno(the canadian equivalent of a grammy-he is from canada, eh) and he was one of Rolling Stones best new artists when his first album came out. His songs have appeared in Moulan Rouge and Big Daddy as well. Delmarter is right on about the lyrics, it's about David, not Samson although it makes a breif reference to Samson. David, although he was a powerful King who slew Goliath, was felled by love(or desire) for Bathsheba. He was "a baffled King compsosing Hallelujah". Which is a great image-the lovestruck sing-songwriter writing songs about the woman he can't understand or even hope to understand.

No Picture Euroynmous Average	#17 by Euroynmous at Aug 26, 2000 at 6:39 AM EST
	For me this song is about the complexity of love, about how something so wonderful can make you feel so horrible. Cohen's uses the bible as a way of saying that love is an imaculate and wonderful thing. Something that is worth singing praise to, but to contradict that, the parts of the bible he chooses show the pain love can cause. It shows how when you are in love you have to confront feelings of insecurity and inferiority that haunt you. And as painful as that is, you deal with it because it's far more painful to be without the person you love.

No Picture R.I.P Dimebag D Professional	#18 by R.I.P Dimebag Darrell at Jan 23, 2001 at 7:53 PM EST
	i've been playing this song all day

No Picture alex Lead Player	#19 by alex beaulieu at Jul 7, 2003 at 4:57 AM EST
	i think this song is absolutely beautiful

No Picture isaac Average	#20 by isaac fritsch at Aug 9, 2003 at 5:50 AM EST
	just awesome. the music and the lyrics make this a masterpiece.

No Picture Tom Average	#21 by Tom Gregory at Jan 7, 2004 at 5:10 PM EST
	I do not have much knowledge of the biblical stories which others speak of.....i know that this song is incredibly deep and everytime i listen to it it too gives me the chills and sometimes brings a tear to my eye....moreso now b\c i can relate to the broken vows he speaks of....heartache and loss in a relationship he sounds very hurt i believe....maybe he cant love ever again....i know in our lives everyone feels like this especially after we experience that "hallelujah" when he recalls how he moved in you the holy dark moved in you too and every breath they drew was hallelujah...they couldnt be happier w\ who they were w\ and the love they shared but the song as i said before ends sad b\c its a cold and a broked hallelujah....many people have felt like this...i know i have

No Picture Batmanuel Badass	#22 by Batmanuel at Jan 18, 2004 at 4:30 AM EST
	Very brave of Rufus to cover this after Jeff Buckley did it, that's for certain.

No Picture michiel Wanna Be	#23 by michiel adams at Mar 29, 2004 at 12:28 PM EST
	Thanks to Delamarter for that plethora of Biblical information. It would be interesting for those of you who don't know much about Rufus Wainwright to research his actual inspirations for this song, and if in fact it was modeled through his spirituality or if he just thought that the idea would be good. I think that the song gives incredible insight to those who haven't experienced the heartache of a loss. I have been fortunate enough to find my soul mate early, and have never experienced that :o) This song is brilliantly composed to create the moods that Rufus is trying to portray. I love it. The popularity that it has from being heard in Shrek is great exposure for an artist as obscure as Rufus.

No Picture (DDD Bass Gu Rhythm Player	#24 by (DDD Bass Guitar/Backup Vocals) Jeff Fritts at Jul 23, 2004 at 3:22 PM EST
	it's also a leonard cohen cover. :)

No Picture Emdizzy foshizz Lead Player	#25 by Emdizzy foshizzy at Sep 6, 2005 at 9:01 AM EST
	I suck dick to this song, while i have both my thumbs up my ass. I recommend trying it at least twice a day.