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Irish Priest Goes Viral With 'Hallelujah' Wedding Video

04/11/2014
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(Radio.com) Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" has been covered at least a thousand times at this point, but you're guaranteed to have never heard it like this. A YouTube video surfaced Monday (April 7) featuring footage of a wedding between Chris and Leah O'Kane in Ireland.

The ceremony seems fairly standard, except for one detail: the priest presiding over the wedding, Reverend Ray Kelly, gave the couple a surprise, singing the oft-covered Cohen classic with more than a few little differences and flourishes.

Rather than starting off with the usual refrain of "Now I've heard there was a secret chord / That David played and it pleased the Lord," Kelly begins with his own greeting to the attendees: "We join together here today / To help two people on their way / As Leah and Chris start their life together."

Kelly, a parish priest from Oldcastle, north of Dublin, tries to hold back a grin throughout the entire performance, which is sung quite beautifully. Only the sorta-chorus of the song, during which the singer merely repeats the word "hallelujah," is the same lyrically; otherwise, the words are self-penned. Interestingly, stylistically it has more in common with the Jeff Buckley cover of the tune than Cohen's gospel original.

By the end, after a long ovation, Kelly heaves a tired "OK" and proceeds with the ceremony. The video has been viewed over 3 million times since its release. Watch it here.

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Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

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