Muhlenkamp 1

Leah Muhlenkamp

Professor Leonard

English 1201-507

20 February 2022

“Hallelujah”

Throughout both music videos the word hallelujah is repeated over and over. This word,

originating from the Hebrew word alleluia, means praise the Lord. The lyrics from both songs

have multiple biblical references that prove the claim. The claim being portrayed through the

songs is that through hard things in your life like heartbreak and disappointment, you are not the

only one who has gone through it and you should praise the Lord anyway. “Hallelujah” by Jeff

Buckley and “Hallelujah” by Pentatonix share the same lyrics and a similar theme, but through

their different styles they attract a different audience. The Jeff Buckley version would appeal to

those more interested in a romantic song about love and heartbreak as indicated through the

burning candles and one on one feeling, while the Pentatonix version would appeal to someone

looking for an emotional, calming, and hopeful feel of the song.

“Hallelujah” takes listeners through a range of emotions including pain, sadness,

suffering, joy, and celebration. It tells the story of these emotions. For this reason it has become a

popular funeral song. This song is not just to be played as a funeral song though. It reassures the

listener that there is hope, and comforts them though whatever may be happening in their life.

Buckley was expressing his own emotions when singing “Hallelujah”. Jeff Buckley showed

signs of depression in his life and some people believe that his mysterious drowning accident

could have been a suicidal action.

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Even though both versions of “Hallelujah” share the same lyrics and therefore share a

very similar theme, the music videos present two very different styles, making the audience

differ between the two. The styles are dramatically different as they were recorded in different

time periods and the artists had different ways of illustrating the song. The music styles play a

role in the audience. The Jeff Buckley version simply uses a guitar as the instrument and

Pentatonix does not use any instruments, instead they use their own voices and sounds that they

make. The absence of instruments would make the Pentatonix cover attract people who enjoy

acappella music. The setting of the music videos also plays a major role in the style of the music

videos. The set of Jeff’s video is a dark room. There is a use of directional lighting on Jeff and

the guitar that make it dramatic and romantic. The simple burning candles that the camera turns

to every so often throughout the video also helps create the mood of the song and video. Since

this version gives a feeling of romance it would appeal to an audience looking for more of a love

song. The Pentatonix cover is set in an open area of nature that shows the beautiful mountains

across the background. This setting gives a feeling of peace and hope, captivating an audience

that is looking for that comforting feeling. Since these two music videos were released at

different times and their style matched the time, older people might like Jeff Buckley’s version,

and the Pentatonix version might appeal more to a younger audience since it is more

contemporary.

Although the versions have a different audience, they both use emotion to appeal to their

audience whoever they may be. Therefore both versions use the appeal of pathos. The song

brings a spectrum of emotions from heartache and suffering to hope and celebration. The lyrics

themselves carry strong emotion. For example the lyrics, “Well baby, I've been here before, I've

seen this room and I've walked this floor” is telling the listener that they are not alone.
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This comforts the listener and gives them hope. These few words are powerful to someone who

is struggling and feels alone. The emotions of this song pull the listener in and make them feel

connected to the song. The setting of the music videos also provide emotion. Where and how the

video is shot aids in the emotional appeal. As mentioned before, Jeff Buckley’s version gives

romantic emotion and the Pentatonix version gives comforting emotion.

Both versions of “Hallelujah” are very similar in theme and lyrics, but the audience

differs due to the different styles of the music videos. The style of the music videos fit the style

of the time that they were made. Pentatonix took an original song and made it new again. Since

the different styles of the song attract different people, the overall song can appeal to a wide

variety of people, and touch a lot of people through its emotion filled message that no matter

what is causing you heartache there is hope, you are not alone, and you should praise the Lord.
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Works Cited

Buckley, Jeff. “Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Official Video).” Youtube, uploaded by Jeff

Buckley Music, 25 October 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4.

Pentatonix. “Pentatonix - Hallelujah (Official Video).” Youtube, uploaded by Pentatonix,

21 October 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRP8d7hhpoQ.