Sing Hallelujah to the Lord

Album: Praise II (1976)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Sing Hallelujah to the Lord" is a meditative song of praise for the Easter season. Its five words are repeated over four stanzas in a minor key, which is unusual for a Christian praise song. However, the key works well, giving the tune an air of meditative solemnity.
  • "Sing Hallelujah" was composed in 1974 by Indiana-born Linda Stassen. The hymn's tune came to her while she was taking a shower. Stassen then took the song idea to a workshop at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, where she completed the harmonies as an assignment for a music composition class.
  • The hymn was recorded by Calvary Chapel's musical group The Maranatha Singers in 1976. It quickly spread among American churches, becoming a staple for prayer and praise services.
  • The simplicity of the words and the beauty of "Sing Hallelujah" have made it popular worldwide. It can now be found in many hymnals and has has been translated into numerous languages.
  • In Hong Kong a protest movement began in 2019 against proposed legislation that would allow suspects to be tried in mainland Chinese courts. Under Hong Kong's Public Order Ordinance, religious gatherings are exempt from the definition of a "gathering" or "assembly" and are therefore more difficult to police. Armed with this knowledge, the protesters began singing religious songs as they protested against the extradition bill.

    On June 9, 2019, a group of Christian protesters repeatedly sung the simple melody of "Sing Hallelujah to the Lord" as they held a public prayer meeting through the night. The song quickly went viral and was taken up as the unofficial anthem of the anti-extradition protests for both Christians and non-Christians.

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