Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I will tell you the time I once lived in Dublin.

I sit here in my bedroom at the house I grew up in. White Christmas lights softly illuminate the walls and border the British flag I have above my bed. My window faces in front of me, located behind the monitor of my computer. A star-light my boyfriend got for me hangs in the center of the window, guiding my mind and heart to a place of rest every night.

I am playing the song “Hallelujah,” with the voice of Jeff Buckley. Many artists have covered this song, but it holds a special place in my heart, and I find it best to tell this story on the night of St. Patty’s Day.

I lived in beautiful Dublin from the months of November 2008-January 2009. My room mate was the creator of a hit internet music website called Balcony TV, and we were always having bands come up into our penthouse apartment overlooking Dublin Castle on Dame Street. I worked at a small, trashy, but magnificent little bar/club called The Viperoom. The bar just received its liquor license back, and was determined to create a new reputation and bring back old and new customers.

It was located on Aston Quay {pronounced KEY}. The upstairs was very cozy, with a large mirror littered with red candles on the mantle. A strong, dark wooden bar with spickets for all different kinds of Draft beers lined the back wall. Downstairs was a “club” that sadly, I never saw become very club-like. Despite the recession just getting on a roll, the depression and lack of motivation for many Irishmen, there was one thing that sparkled about The Viperoom…

The performance stage.

It was small, only about the size for a piano, chair and microphone. I remember sitting outside in the freezing air that whips around Dublin like the ghosts of it’s past, and hearing the ivory keys of that old, rickety baby Grand begin to play the opening notes of “Hallelujah.” The sound that came from the piano and vocalist made people stop in their tracks on the sidewalk that lined the River Liffey just outside our bar. The song lifted a frown that had been placed on the people of Dublin, and filled them with warmth, and I could see an instant change as everyone poured in through the candle lit, intimate bar.

I thought to myself how proud I was for pioneering into this wonderful city and of all the interesting people I had met and helped me along the way. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone, and happy one week until I take off to Europe once again.