Chris Upton: Move over Alex, Jeff and Len ... here's a new version of Hallelujah
Dec 23 2008 By Chris Upton
This heartfelt note of gloom is just right for cold Christmas.
Hallelujah!
In ‘84, when I wrote this song,
They said my career was going wrong,
Because the words meant absolutely nothing to you.
But twenty years have come and gone,
And now my song’s at Number 1,
And everywhere you go is Hallelujah.
Hallelujah...Hallelu...jah !
So what has changed ? The credit squeeze ?
The UK economy on its knees ?
The way you let those cunning bankers fool you.
The truth is clear, you must conclude,
My doleful words have caught the mood.
It’s a cold and it’s a lonely Hallelujah.
Hallelujah...Hallelu...jah !
In every shop across the nation,
On every single music station,
From the radio next to every water cooler,
My mournful words come ringing out,
Leaving not a shred of doubt
That the song in every heart is Hallelujah.
Hallelujah...Hallelu...jah !
It’s ironic, after Cliff and Bing,
That the Christmas hit they want to sing
Was written by a 60s’ Jewish crooner.
I’m hardly likely to complain,
When the royalties fall down like rain.
Instead, I’ll cry a heartfelt Hallelujah !
Hallelujah...Hallelu...jah !
Roll over Mud, move over, Slade,
McCartney, Wizzard, Wham, Live Aid,
You don’t hear them so much this Christmas, do you ?
Instead, some woman from ITV,
A dead guitarist, and then there’s me,
All belting out a song called Hallelujah.
Hallelujah...Hallelu...jah !
So let’s make the winter even bleaker,
And let it ring from every speaker,
While the cold December words are blowing through you.
Though the recession’s clearly here to last,
And unemployment’s rising fast,
Let’s all join hands and sing a Hallelujah !
Hallelujah...Hallelu...jah!
* Dr Chris Upton of Newman University College wishes all his readers a bearable Christmas.
