“The Secret Chord“
from the EP The Secret Chord
2008
iTunes
In 1984 Leonard Cohen was sitting in a hotel room in New York, banging his head on the floor in desperate frustration, struggling through verse after verse (a rumored eighty or so) for his now-famous song “Hallelujah.” Those verses were filled with numerous Biblical references, including one of a “secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord.”
This, as it turned out, alluded to 1 Samuel 16:23, but not entirely. Under any translation there was no secret chord, just David’s soothing harp playing for King Saul’s demon-less sanity. A looser interpretation of Cohen’s words might suggest that the secret chord is not literally a musical chord but rather an action or event, specifically David’s worship and acceptance of God’s will which then freed Saul of the evil spirit. Perhaps that was the secret chord all along.
The Sand Band have another translation, however:
“My fingers have worn down to the bone, in search of the secret chord,” laments singer David McDonnell over a swath of spacey organs and christmas bells. He continues, “He says ‘come on in if you know me, and come on in if you don’t'” most assuredly referring to God’s open arms. We’re getting Biblical, now, as the chorus hits: “And we will be judged on the things that we have done / and who will be here when the music has begun?” It’s beginning to seem as if McDonnell’s “secret chord” is the same as Cohen’s, that is carrying out God’s will, or for McDonnell, the active pursuit of God’s love. His hands are worn to the bone not necessarily from guitar (or harp) playing but from the ultimate sacrifice, or any service to God, no matter how trying or physically detrimental.
The payoff comes at the end, although not exactly how Cohen had intended. “So if you think evil has found you, stretch out your hand to the Lord / And if the notes He plays wrap around you, you have heard the secret chord.” For Cohen the secret chord was an adherence to God, unending, selfless worship. But for McDonnell, the secret chord is the payoff. Perhaps in Heaven, perhaps elsewhere, but through worship and sacrifice, succumbing to God’s will, the Lord will show you His love and His acceptance: the secret chord.
The Sand Band’s debut EP is out now, from Happy Parts Recordings.