I added a comment on someone else's blog a couple of days ago and so thought I'd make a more detailed contribution here on my own.
Of the two versions of the song currently sitting high in the charts I much prefer the one by Jeff Buckley; although I think that Alex, the winner of X-Factor, has made a good effort...even if it's overwrought and too upbeat.
On the other blog we were discussing what the lyrics actually mean; they are rather obscure. I proffered that the song is all about a police officer who's just been called to attend an armed siege and something has gone tragically wrong and he's now taking time out to contemplate things, using the story of Samson and Delilah from the bible as representative of the situation and his own life.
I imagine him considering how having a wife and children at home who he dearly loves makes him weaker, yet much more of a man, more human and humane...a much more well-rounded person. Having these family commitments moderates and modifies the officer's behaviour because he has other people he must think about; so he's sitting there moments after the siege has ended violently and questions his own abilities and actions. He's probably a religious man and is therefore maybe seeking redemption or absolution and wondering why God has placed him in such a bind...yet HALLELUJAH, he soon realises that he's just a man, and throughout his career and personal life he's always done his best and the world is a better place because of his efforts.
This is only my personal interpretation of the lyrics though, yet I can really relate to the song because I'm well aware of how precariously I'm connected to the rest of society - I have few family commitments and no professional ones at all.
Nonetheless, an excellent and appropriate song for the Christmas Number One.
