Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)

"Hallelujah" is a song written and recorded by Leonard Cohen. It was included on his 1984 album Various Positions.

Regarded by many as one of the most beautiful pieces of popular music ever written, the song deals with ambiguous topics and there is much debate over Cohen's intentions or messages. Religious themes and sexual lyrics imply that the track deals with the dynamic of a relationship by using a spiritual metaphor, and the tone is often described as depressive or sorrowful.

Cover artists

The most notable cover of the song is by American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, whose copy has eclipsed Cohen's original in popularity. Most subsequent covers have copied Buckley's version, which in turn follows former Velvet Underground member John Cale's 1991 recording.

Rufus Wainwright also covered the track, emphasizing the piano – and his version was included on the Shrek soundtrack in 2001, although it was John Cale's recording from the tribute album I'm Your Fan that inspired Wainwright's and was used in the film itself. (Wainwright apparently replaced him on the soundtrack because he is signed with Dreamworks SKG and Cale is not.) The Shrek theme music was also based on "Hallelujah."

Among the many other artists who have performed covers of this song are Bono, Clare Bowditch, Allison Crowe, Julie Felix, Anthony Michael Hall, and k.d. lang. Counting live performances, the list includes Gavin DeGraw, The Dresden Dolls, Bob Dylan, Damien Rice, Regina Spektor, Sub Rosa, and Kathryn Williams.

Movie and TV soundtracks

"Hallelujah" has been used in movies as diverse as Basquiat, The Edukators, A Lot Like Love, Shrek, and Lord of War, and TV series such as Holby City, House, The O.C., Scrubs, The West Wing, and Without a Trace.

Lyrics

With each different musical interpretation of Cohen's song, it is interesting to note how the lyrics have changed and evolved. However, it seems that these variations may be more due to selection than actual change. In a 2001 interview with The Observer, John Cale said:

After I saw [Cohen] perform at the Beacon I asked if I could have the lyrics to "Hallelujah". When I got home one night there were fax paper rolls everywhere because Leonard had insisted on supplying all 15 verses.

When Cohen recorded the song in 1984 and 1988, he probably made different selections from these verses. As for the latter version, it is not the first time he has performed song verses live that are not on any studio album.

The original recording from 1984 is noted for containing explicit Jewish references in the lyrics, alluding to David's harp-playing used to soothe King Saul (I Sam. 16:23), and his later affair with Bathsheba after watching her bathe from his roof. The line "she broke your throne and she cut your hair" is likely a reference to the source of Samson's strength from the Book of Judges. The third verse mentions "the name" (Tetragrammaton).

Ten years later, Cohen would release a substantially different version on the 1994 album Cohen Live (recorded in 1988), retaining only the final verse from Various Positions. At this point, the lyrics had become more explicitly sexual and indicated a yearning without the religious overtones, and the music was slighty reworked. Many cover artists tend to mix both versions (using the original melody), as well as occasionally adding their own touches (such as Wainwright for some reason singing "holy dark" instead of "holy dove"). Cale, and later Buckley, admittedly mixed the different lyrics, which gave the work a very different touch – the new combination of lyrics giving a mixture of religious, romantic, and existential tone to the song.

Chord progression

The chord progression of the verses is I–vi–I–vi / IV–V–I–V / I–IV,V–vi–IV / V–III–vi–vi. Part of it is described by the self-referential first verse about the "secret chord": "It goes like this (I), the fourth (IV), the fifth (V), the minor fall (vi) and the major lift (IV)". The chorus goes IV–vi–IV–I,V–I,V. The tonic is usually C.

External links

• 1984 lyrics (Various Positions), from The Leonard Cohen Files
• 1988 lyrics (Cohen Live), from The Leonard Cohen Files