What does this lyric mean?!! HELP!!!?

Question

Maybe there is a god above

But all I've ever learned from love

Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you

And it's not a cry that you hear at night

It's not somebody who's seen the light

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Answer 1

Leonard Cohen is writing as a man hurt by what he thought was "love", a non or dis-believer in a higher power (which is why his Hallelujah is half-hearted, "broken").

Someone "who has seen the light" wouldn't be in a relationship based on one-upping (or outdrawing) the other. Love is "supposed" to be "purer", "unconditional" -- and a higher love is certainly meant to be those things.

Answer 2

I couldn't answer better than this response from songmeanings.net:

"I think the Rufus is drawing a parallel between himself and King David of the Bible. David played his harp and it was soothing to King Saul and pleased the Lord. Notice how the arpeggios mimic the soft plucking of harp strings. Later in David's adult life, after he became King, he succumbed to temptation observing Bathsheba (The wife of Uriah, one of David's Generals) bathing on the roof. He sent for her, they slept together, she got pregnant and David secretly had her husband killed during a battle. This action brought calamity upon the house of David. So in a sense this event did break the throne by breaking David. The idea of cutting hair is not so much linked to Sampson as it is a reference to a Nazarite (of which Sampson was one) who take a vow not to cut their hair. In My opinion this is a song about broken relationships and broken vows. How all of us are tempted to break the “vows” of relationships. Through the heartache of these tragedies we gain perspective on life. In the third and fourth verse introspection seems to be in the forefront of the lyrics. Wainwright is openly g*y and perhaps he’s seen more than his share of heartache. Love is not a victory march; it’s filled with agony and heartbreak as well as magic and fulfillment. Real love is painful, it’s not a cry in the night, nor is it all bright lights. At times it can be a cold and broken hallelujah – but it’s still a hallelujah."

Answer 3

Throughout the full song, the singer is losing his faith, because of his lost love:

Maybe there is a god above - he's questioning his faith.

But all I've ever learned from love- he's loved before

Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you - hes been at the receiving end of a breakup, and dealt with it.

And it's not a cry that you hear at night- he's not going to cry over it.

It's not somebody who's seen the light - he's reiterating his loss in faith- and stating that he's never had true love.

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah - He proclaimed his love, but it has been broken.

EDIT: I didn't think about the religious meaning.  I guess this is a modern day interpretation.