A Night With Il Divo

(our first attempt to download pictures from Steve's Blackberry)

Last night Steve treated me to a night of Il Divo for an early birthday present. If you are not familiar with Il Divo, Simon Cowell (yes from American Idol) had an idea of putting together four men who could sing classical music but not opera. He searched for two years before putting together an international group: Spanish opera and zarzuela baritone, Carlos Marín, a French pop singer, Sébastien Izambard, and two classically trained tenors, Swiss Urs Bühler and American David Miller.

Each of them have amazing voices on their own, but put them together and they are just bone chilling. Even though 90% of the concert was not in English, I still really enjoyed it. But here is the problem. Since it wasn't in English I had no idea what they were singing. My favorite song was one called Hallelujah. Listen to it and then read the rest of the post.


I thought it was so beautiful and had to research today to see what the lyrics actually said imagine my surprise when I put them into a translation service and discovered this:

A soldier home today returned
and a sick boy he was cured
and today there is not I work
in the forest of the rain
The deserted was saved because
of a good deed and today nobody repudiates it
Hallelujah
[Chorus:] Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah
An atheist that managed to believe
and a hungry one today has to eat
and today they donated to a church a fortune
That the quick war will be finished
That in the world to the end will reign the peace
That there will not be any misery
Hallelujah
[Chorus:] Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Because the norm be the love
and govern not the corruption but the good thing
and the best of the pure soul
Because God protect us of a badly final one
Because a day we can learn
Because to put an end to so much fury
Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Because a day we can learn
Because to put an end to so much fury Hallelujah

Have to say though I was glad they changed the lyrics from the orginal ones of Leonard Cohen.

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and 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

Baby I have 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

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Lesson learned? Just because the lyrics have the words Hallelujah, doesn't mean it is a religious song.

For their encore they did come out and do an amazing rendition of Amazing Grace. And yes, it was in English.