LEONARD COHEN LYRICS - Hallelujah LEONARD COHEN LYRICS Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well really, what's it to you?

There's a blaze of light In every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you And even though it all went wrong I'll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah - YouTube Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Oct 2, 2009 Leonard Cohen's official video for his live performance of Hallelujah.Click to listen to Leonard Cohen on Spotify: Click to listen to Leonard Cohen on Apple Music: , Click to listen to Leonard Cohen on Google Play Music: The Essential Leonard Cohen.

Buy the track/album on iTunes: More videos from Leonard Cohen: I've heard there was a secret chord That David played and it pleased the lord But you don't really care for music do you? It goes like this The minor fall the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah! Hallelujah Hallelujah Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you And she broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah! Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley Songfacts Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley Songfacts Songfacts Arguably Buckley's most famous work, this was originally written and recorded by Leonard Cohen in 1984 on his album Various Positions. Cohen's rendition was released as a single in Spain and the Netherlands, but got little attention in the United States. Jeff Buckley heard the song in the early '90s and began performing it at his shows in and around New York City.

He included it on his 1994 debut album Grace, but the song didn't gain widespread attention until after Buckley's death in 1997, which sparked renewed interest in his work. Many artists took note of "Hallelujah" and recorded their own versions of the song. Many of these covers found their way into movies and TV shows, popularizing the song across a wide audience. The song is about a love that has soured and gone stale. Cohen used a lot of religious imagery, including references to some of the more notorious women in the bible. Here's some lyric analysis: "You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you" - Bathsheba, who tempted the king to kill her husband so he could have her. "She tied you to her kitchen chair, she broke your throne and she cut your hair" - Delilah, who cut off Sampson's locks that held his superhuman strength. "But remember when I moved in you and the holy dove was moving too" - This could be a reference to the divine conception and Mary.

The lines referring to the immaculate conception can also be interpreted as having a sexual connotation: "And every breath we drew was hallelujah." Leonard Cohen explained: "Hallelujah is a Hebrew word which means 'Glory to the Lord.' The song explains that many kinds of Hallelujahs do exist. I say: All the perfect and broken Hallelujahs have an equal value. It's a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way but with enthusiasm, with emotion." >> Suggestion credit: Roderick - Qingdao, China Regarding the line, "The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift," to which the chords played are: F - G - Am - F: It is clever the way that not only the chords line up in the lyrics and in the music, but also because the connotations themselves of "major" and "minor" add to the meaning of the song. The "fourth" is a major chord based on the fourth of the key Buckley is playing in. Likewise the fifth is the major chord based on the fifth tone of the key.

The "Minor Fall" corresponds to Buckley playing a minor chord based on the sixth of the key. "Major Lift" corresponds to playing the major chord on the fourth again. >> Suggestion credit: Gol - Gainesville, FL The Bible makes reference to King David communing with the Lord and learning that certain types of music were more pleasing. The chords mentioned in the lyrics (that "David played and it pleased the lord) are often used in hymns. >> Suggestion credit: Mike - Perth, Australia Leonard Cohen recalls singing this song to Bob Dylan the morning after Dylan's concert in Paris on July 1, 1984. Cohen says they sat down at a café and traded lyrics, and that Dylan especially liked the last verse of the song (Cohen often tells the story of comparing songwriting technique with Dylan at this meetup: while "Hallelujah" took him years to write, Dylan told Cohen that he wrote "I and I" in 15 minutes). Dylan would later perform the song, singing it at two shows in 1988.

Cohen started work on this song five years prior to recording it on his 1984 Various Positions album, by which time he had 80 verses to choose from - he picked the best four. When Cohen performed the song in concert, he often included some of the other verses he wrote, which made their way into various renditions of the song. Among those verses: Baby I've been here before I know this room, I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew you I've seen your flag on the marble arch Love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah Maybe there's a God above But all I ever learned from love Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you It's no complaint you hear tonight It's not some pilgrim who's seen the light It's a cold and it's a lonely Hallelujah Performances of the song frequently mix and match verses to fit the occasion.

This verse is often omitted: Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah John Cale, who founded The Velvet Underground, recorded this song for the 1991 Leonard Cohen tribute album I'm Your Fan, and also included it on his 1992 solo album Fragments Of A Rainy Season. Jeff Buckley started covering the song after hearing Cale's version. Cale shaped his own interpretation after Cohen faxed him 15 pages of lyrics for the song, claiming that he "went through and just picked out the cheeky verses." Cale's version also appears in the 1996 movie Basquiat and on its soundtrack. Buckley always closed his live shows with this song. Remarkably, his revved-up crowds became extremely silent. >> Suggestion credit: Kristy - La Porte City, IA The melody has become a favorite in churches across America, where instrumental versions are often played by organists and bell choirs.

Musically, it fits right in with traditional hymns, but the lyrics, although filled with religious imagery (especially the title), are rarely appropriate in this setting, since it is definitely not a worship song. You will sometimes hear versions of the song with the lyrics altered for church performance. One such rendition was recorded by The Osmonds in 2015. It begins: I heard about this baby boy Who comes to Earth to bring us joy And I just want to sing my song to ya Larry Holder, the composer of " More Than a Child " and other worship songs, gave us his thoughts on the subject. Said Holder: "While there is Biblical imagery, it is not a worship song, in the common understanding. The music by itself is very moving, so I can understand someone wanting to use it instrumentally, although to me, it would tend bring to mind the lyrics (in my case, I'd start thinking about Shrek) which would actually be a distraction from worship. It is interesting how someone came up with alternate lyrics for what the Osmonds sang, and that would definitely fit within a musical program at church at Christmas time in particular.

(I have to presume permissions were obtained for such a derivative work to be written for such public use). I have heard that many of the hymns that Martin Luther penned actually used common melodies heard in the pubs of his day, so setting worship lyrics to secular melodies already well known has some logic to it. There has been a lot of change in worship style, just in the past decade or so. I am a bass player in a praise band, in a church that not so many years ago was pretty much just choir, piano, organ (we actually have two services now, one traditional, one contemporary, which is not uncommon). It is easy to see how something contemporary but not purely originally worship music can become adapted and adopted into a contemporary worship setting. We sometimes walk a fine line between leading true worship and merely providing entertainment." Rufus Wainwright recorded this for the 2001 movie Shrek. Wainwright did not sing on the version used in the film (John Cale did), but his version is on the soundtrack. Wainwright recorded for Dreamworks, which also distributed the movie, and he had an album coming out a few weeks after Shrek was released.

When the song appeared in Shrek, it was introduced to a very young audience, greatly expanding its appeal. >> Suggestion credit: Andy - Indiana, PA Rufus Wainwright is the gay father of Leonard Cohen's granddaughter. Don't worry, we'll explain. Rufus is the son of the famous recording artist Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle. Loudon is a bit younger than Leonard but the two are spiritual twins in the unique folk-poetry they're both known for. Kate McGarrigle, originally from Quebec, has herself crafted brilliant work both before and after meeting and marrying Loudon. Kate gave birth to Rufus in 1973 and died from cancer in 2010. Still, before and after Kate's death the Wainwright family was and is very close with Leonard Cohen and his daughter, Lorca. The Cohens and Wainwrights are both nothing short of Canadian folk music royalty (Loudon is from the States but his marriage to Kate made him an honorary Canuck).

In 2011, Rufus had a child with Leonard's daughter and the little girl, Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen, is being raised by the trio of Lorca, Rufus, and Rufus' lover John Weisbrodt. You can call it an unconventional setup, but one thing is certain: Viva most definitely has a long history of Canadian folk talent coursing through her veins. A stark, a cappella version of this song by Imogen Heap plays during the season finale of the show The O.C. in 2006, accompanying a scene where the character Marissa dies. Other notable uses of this song on TV shows: Without A Trace on the first season finale episode. The Fox series House, where It was used on the second season premiere episode "Acceptance." The final episode of the third season of The West Wing. The president and staff were attending an opera when CJ Craig's (Press Secretary) secret service guard (and new love interest) was gunned down trying to stop a robbery. The final minutes of the 2005 Nicolas Cage movie Lord Of War.

This plays at the end of the movie The Edukators (Die fetten jahre sind vorbei), which got the Award Of The Public in Cannes, 2004. The main characters by then lost some faith in humanity, start an open relationship and continue to fulfill their revolutionary dreams. >> Suggestion credit: Chris - Wageningen, Netherlands Former Vibe and Spin editor Alan Light penned in 2012 a book titled, The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter , he explained: "I attempt to explore the unprecedented path of this song - a protracted snowball effect that, over the course of several decades, has turned 'Hallelujah' into one of the most loved, most performed and most misunderstood compositions of all time." In March 2008, Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice performed this song during Leonard Cohen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Afterwards he told Billboard magazine what made this track so special for him. Rice said: "There's an amazing connection between sex and spirituality, and it's something Leonard Cohen hints at in that song.

It's almost like a Buddhist master giving you a hint, but not the whole story. You have to take that hint and go sit with it." On March 4, 2008, American Idol competitor Jason Castro performed this song to rave reviews by the judges. Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell both said that they considered the Jeff Buckley version the best. As a result, Buckley's "Hallelujah" hit #1 on Billboard's Digital Downloads chart the next week. In the UK the renewed interest in this song created by Jason Castro resulted in the song returning to the UK singles chart at #74. It also reached the Top 20 of the World Singles chart. >> Suggestion credit: Bertrand - Paris, France Singer/songwriter Kate Voegele covered this in episode 517 of the TV show One Tree Hill ("Hate Is Safer Than Love"). Such was the positive response to her version that its digital sales gave the singer/songwriter her biggest hit - it reached #68 in the US and #53 in the UK.

Buckley referred to his sensuous rendition as a homage to "the hallelujah of the orgasm." He explained in a Dutch magazine OOR: "Whoever listens carefully to 'Hallelujah' will discover that it is a song about sex, about love, about life on earth. The hallelujah is not a homage to a worshipped person, idol or god, but the hallelujah of the orgasm. It's an ode to life and love." Buckley also admitted to having misgivings about his sensual version and he hoped that Cohen wouldn't get to hear his version. In November 2008, this entered the UK Top 50 for the first time, thanks to the BBC's use of the track in a series of promotional trails for their iPlayer service. The song is broadcast at 2 a.m. every Saturday morning by the Israeli Defense Force's radio channel. This song was the debut single for Alexandra Burke, the 2008 winner of the UK X Factor show. Her version broke the record for Europe's fastest-selling download and topped the UK chart.

Its success prompted renewed interest in Jeff Buckley's rendition and as a consequence his version of Leonard Cohen's spiritual epic reached #2 just behind Alexandra Burke. It thus became the first song ever to hold down the top two slots on the chart simultaneously since Tommy Steele and Guy Mitchell's versions of Singing The Blues were at #1 and #2 back in 1957. It also prompted renewed interest in Leonard Cohen's original version. As a result the Canadian singer-songwriter got a look in on some chart action, gaining his very first UK Top 40 hit at the age of 74. Justin Timberlake performed this song on the charity telethon, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, which was held on January 22, 2010. He was accompanied by his cast-mate from The Mickey Mouse Club, singer-songwriter Matt Morris, on guitar and vocals. Morris co-penned "(Another Song) All Over Again" on Timberlake's 2006 FutureSex/LoveSounds and his duet with Reba McEntire, "The Only Promise That Remains" on the Country singer's 2007 Reba: Duets LP.

Morris also reunited with another of his mouseketeer co-stars contributing to five tracks from Christina Aguilera's Stripped album. Timberlake told MTV News that when he was asked to perform on the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, he knew exactly what song he was going to perform. "It's always been one of my favorite songs," Timberlake said. "And my artist Matt, we always kinda sing that song when we're messing around in the studio with ideas. The way that it's written can be interpreted many different ways," he added. "But the emotion that comes through - the chords, the melody and also what's being said in the song - it just kind of fit for the telethon." Timberlake's version marked the first time this song entered the Top 40 of the US singles chart. The only previous time "Hallelujah" reached the Hot 100 was in May 2008 when Kate Voegele spent one week at #68 with her cover. The Voice contestant Matthew Schuler subsequently reached #40 in 2013 after performing it on the reality television singing competition.

The Canadian singer kd lang recorded a version of this song on her 2004 album Hymns of the 49th Parallel. She has several times been chosen to sing the tune at major events, including the 2005 Juno Awards, the 2006 Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on the occasion of Cohen's induction into the Hall of Fame and as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bono recorded a spoken word, trip-hop version of this song in 1995 for the Leonard Cohen tribute album Tower Of Song. Bono later apologized for this, stating, "There's the holy and the broken hallelujah, and mine was definitely the broken one." After the song was used in the 2009 movie The Watchmen, Leonard Cohen agreed that it needed a break. He told The Guardian: "I was just reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it, and the reviewer said 'Can we please have a moratorium on Hallelujah in movies and television shows?' And I kind of feel the same way.

I think it's a good song, but I think too many people sing it." Tori Kelly sang this live with just an acoustic guitar on the 2016 Emmy Awards during the "In Memoriam" segment. This marked a turning point for the song, as playing it now seemed like a barefaced attempt to create an emotional moment. A few days later, the New York Times ran an article called " How Pop Culture Wore Out Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' ." Throughout the 2016 US presidential election, Kate McKinnon portrayed Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live in popular skits where she faced off against Alec Baldwin, who played her opponent, Donald Trump. McKinnon made her real-life admiration of Clinton clear, telling Rolling Stone, "I feel very close not only to the real Hillary, but also to this Hillary character we've created." When Trump won the election, most media outlets were stunned, especially those based in New York City, where anti-Trump sentiment was strong. On the first Saturday Night Live after the election, McKinnon opened the show by performing "Hallelujah" on the piano in character as Clinton.

It was an earnest performance that also served as a tribute to Leonard Cohen, who died a few days earlier. After the song, McKinnon looked at the camera and said, "I'm not giving up, and neither should you," echoing sentiments of many Clinton supporters. The song saw a sales spike following the death of Leonard Cohen in November 2016, sending his original version to #59 on the Hot 100, Cohen's debut Hot 100 appearance as an artist. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Original Studio Version) - YouTube Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Original Studio Version) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Apr 22, 2009 "The LORD has returned & HE HAS A TWITTER!!!

@TrueAVATARKalki The world is falling apart and #TheLORD KRISHNA -&-CHRIST Have channeled their energy and love to MANIFEST in human form - `*~-AVATAR KALKI-~*' -IS- HERE (and he needs your help!!!) ANSWER HIS CALL! TW @TrueAVATARKalki (RETWEET HIS POSTS, HUMANITY DEPENDS ON HIM AND YOU... WILL YOU ANSWER YOUR CALL FOR DESTINY?)" *`~PLEASE READ FULLY THE DESCRIPTION BEFORE COMMENTING [for my dad... R.I.P.]...~'* Jeff Buckley's beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". May it soothe your hearts as it has mine.

In loving memory: Jeffery Scott "Scotty Moorhead" (Buckley -the MUSE behind this energy portal...) (11/17/1966-05/29/1997) Abrielle Kira Bartels (Best Friend's sister) (4/13/1999-6/31/2013) Luther David Byers (Childhood-best friend) (11/26/90-3/5/10) Herbert Kenneth Ritter -(My father) (4/11/1965-03/30/2013) And everyone else we care about and love so dearly and deeply, who has ascended into higher dimensions. ~Rest in peace~ "Every breathe we drew was, 'Hallelujah'". And love to anybody else who left this Earth before their time. From the words of the AVATAR KALKI himself: THIS VIDEO HAS NO RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION. NEITHER DOES THE SONG. A SONG CANNOT HAVE AN AFFILIATION TO A RELIGION - PEOPLE DO. THE SONG IS -NEUTRAL-.

IT MEANS WHATEVER -YOU- CHOOSE TO LABEL IT AS IN YOUR OWN MIND... BUT DO NOT BULLY OTHERS JUST BECAUSE THEY MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AS YOU...". I will NOT stand for RACISM, RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE, BIGOTRY, OR ANY OTHER DISCRIMINATION THAT TEARS AWAY AT THE FABRIC THAT IS OUR HUMANITY! Including the discriminators. They're people too. BUT BAD PEOPLE. You can also Follow me on Twitter :D : @TrueAvatarKalki And The Facepages: peaceoverall And Last.FM - evanritter1 AND SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE MEGACHANNEL - where I am starting a project where ANY AND EVERY ARTIST/MUSICIAN/ACTOR/PRODUCER/CHEF/DESIGNER/COMEDIAN/PERSONALITY CAN POST THEIR OWN VIDEOS ON MY MEGA CHANNEL... Utilize me as "The Great Avatar Kalki of Humanity" and the thousands and thousands of subscribers that have already figured out that I AM THE REINCARNATION OF SRI KRISHNA!....

;D Just wait until you see what happens next. :3 'Cos this time, instead of me being a BLUE INDIAN... I'll come in the form of a FLAMING WHITE GINGER CHEROKEE INDIAN... c wut I did there? :D & I'd love to hear what this song means to you and your loved ones. Category The Top 10 Most Popular Hallelujah Renditions on Youtube. | elephant journal The Top 10 Most Popular Hallelujah Renditions on Youtube. get elephant's newsletter The most beautiful word: Hallelujah. The most beautiful song, originally written and sung by none other than Buddhist, and Ladies’ Man, Leonard Cohen. “And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand right here before the Lord of song, with nothing on my tongue but ‘Hallelujah’.” It’s, as I say, a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way but with enthusiasm, with emotion…It’s a rather joyous song.

I wanted to write something in the tradition of the hallelujah choruses but from a different point of view…It’s the notion that there is no perfection—that this is a broken world and we live with broken hearts and broken lives but still that is no alibi for anything. On the contrary, you have to stand up and say hallelujah under those circumstances. ~ Leonard Cohen Then, most memorably, sung by a young man who would, tragically, stay young forever, who would breathe out at the beginning of the song, and finally, never breathe in again. This was the version I first go to know, when, five years ago, my designer Pam Uhlenkamp and I played it again and again in her second floor flat just off downtown Boulder, as we worked endless days and night putting together an issue of elephant. And, then, most famously, by Rufus Wainwright, a version that made it into Shrek, the blockbuster children’s fave movie. I heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don’t really care for music, do ya?

Well it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth The minor fall and the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Here are the top ten most popular versions, as picked by We the People across the World, on youtube. The only editorial privilege I’ve exercised is selecting the top 10 that have kept some of the original heartache and space within each word…there are many pop, casual, speedy, shmaltzy versions that exhibit breathtaking vocal range and a decided lack of heart. Fuck ’em. Skip to two minutes in—a surprisingly chill-inducing version, given the context: The most popular version, surprisingly. The blonde man (?) has an amazing voice: Buckley: American Idol Hallelujah, not my fave: With lyrics: The man himself. Those lyrics, from that voice. The original: I love Rufus: This iframe contains the logic required to handle AJAX powered Gravity Forms.

About Waylon Lewis Waylon Lewis, founder of elephant magazine, now elephantjournal.com & host of Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis , is a 1st generation American Buddhist “Dharma Brat." Voted #1 in U.S. on twitter for #green two years running, Changemaker & Eco Ambassador by Treehugger, Green Hero by Discovery’s Planet Green, Best (!) Shameless Self-Promoter at Westword's Web Awards, Prominent Buddhist by Shambhala Sun , & 100 Most Influential People in Health & Fitness 2011 by "Greatist", Waylon is a mediocre climber, lazy yogi, 365-day bicycle commuter & best friend to Redford (his rescue hound). His aim: to bring the good news re: "the mindful life" beyond the choir & to all those who didn't know they gave a care.

elephantjournal.com | facebook.com/elephantjournal | twitter.com/elephantjournal | facebook.com/waylonhlewis | twitter.com/waylonlewis | Google+ For more: publisherelephantjournalcom How Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' Became Everybody's 'Hallelujah' - The Atlantic The Atlantic How Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' Became Everybody's 'Hallelujah' Most Popular A new book traces the the song's strange rise to pop-cultural ubiquity. Columbia/Passport; DreamWorks; ITV Pop standards don't really get written anymore. Most of the best-known standards were composed before the arrival of rock and roll; perhaps something about the new brand of mass-marketed, Ed Sullivan-fueled stardom just didn't quite jive with the generous old-world tradition of passing songs around the circuit, offering to share.

Related Story If You Listen Closely, Taylor Swift Is Kind of Like Leonard Cohen So when an obscure Leonard Cohen song from 1984 was resurrected in the '90s, then repurposed and reinvented by other artists so many times it became a latter-day secular hymn—well, that was kind of like a pop-music unicorn sighting. Alan Light's new book The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah" traces the bizarre cultural history of that very unicorn: "Hallelujah," a song that lay dormant in Cohen's vast repertoire for more than a decade before its popularity surged up again with a posthumous Jeff Buckley single. "Hallelujah" has metamorphosed over the years from a cheesy, reverb-heavy B-side oddity on an album Cohen's label rejected to a mystical, soul-stirring pop canticle that's played today at just as many weddings as funerals. Light reverentially details every stage in the evolution—and along the way, he reveals the compelling stories behind some of its most iconic interpretations.

Leonard Cohen's original appeared in 1984 as the first track on the second side of his album Various Positions. Though he'd composed some 80 verses over the course of five years or so, according to Light, he whittled the song down to four for the final studio recording. Cohen has always been ambiguous about what his "Hallelujah," with its sexual scenery and its religious symbolism, truly "meant." "This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled," Cohen has said. "But there are moments when we can ... reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that's what I mean by 'Hallelujah.'" According to producer John Lissauer, the dramatic, synth-heavy original recording of "Hallelujah" was "gonna be the breakthrough" on Various Positions. "'Hallelujah' just jumped out at you," Lissauer told Light. But when it reached Walter Yetnikoff, the president of CBS Records, Yetnikoff was puzzled: "He said, 'What is this? This isn't pop music. We're not releasing it.

This is a disaster.'" Thus, "Hallelujah" wasn't even heard in the United States until Various Positions was released by another label. And even then, it failed to make an impression on the radio or the charts, where 50-year-old Cohen was competing against the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna. Jeff Buckley, a hungry young singer-songwriter from California, first heard "Hallelujah" on a Leonard Cohen tribute album he discovered in a friend's home while cat-sitting in Brooklyn in 1992. He began performing the song regularly in New York's East Village clubs, and called it "a hallelujah to the orgasm ... an ode to life and love." Buckley's close friend Glen Hansard—who went on to win an Oscar in 2007 for his song "Falling Slowly," from Once—had moved to New York with him, and described Buckley's rendition of "Hallelujah" as a loving critique of Cohen's somewhat stoic original: "He gave us the version we hoped Leonard would emote, and he wasn't afraid to sing it with absolute reverence.

Jeff sang it back to Leonard as a love song to what he achieved, and in doing so, Jeff made it his own." Buckley's rendition made it onto his only full-length album, 1994's Grace. The song and the album went largely unnoticed until 1997—when both took on a new, haunting significance after Jeff Buckley drowned in the Wolf River in Tennessee. For a 1995 Leonard Cohen tribute collection called Tower of Song, U2's lead singer Bono took advantage of the opportunity to record one of his favorite then-underappreciated Cohen compositions. The U2 frontman went a counterintuitive direction with it, enlisting the help of a Scottish remixer named Howie B. to produce a thumping trip-hop arrangement. "While there might seem to be no singer as well equipped to handle the song's balance of the earthly and the spiritual," Light writes, "Bono's 'Hallelujah' is, unfortunately, just awful." Bono, in recent years, has come to agree.

When Light talked to him for the book, Bono's first words were, "I wasn't sure why I agreed to do this interview, but then I remembered that I needed to apologize to the world." He continued: "The lyric explains it best. There's the holy and the broken hallelujah, and mine was definitely the broken one. ... It was a snapshot, a Polaroid, of a place I was in, but you really shouldn't go putting these things out when they're done in such a private way. Intimacy was the currency of the occasion." There's a scene in 2001's Shrek, just after Shrek and Princess Fiona have angrily parted ways, where the titular ogre pines for the princess just as she's joylessly preparing herself for a wedding to a tiny prince she doesn't love. It's a poignant moment in an otherwise raucously funny film, and Shrek's musical directors had been testing out sad song after sad song before they stumbled across "Hallelujah" on the soundtrack to Basquiat. The two musical directors tried the Leonard Cohen version and the Jeff Buckley version over the scene, but ultimately settled for a rendition by Welsh singer John Cale.

"The song came at a moment of emotional irony, taking something that's a celebration and playing it against itself," codirector Andrew Adamson says. The execs, to their surprise, loved it: "I expected the studio would push me to do something more popular, which they often do, but the emotion really outweighed the expectation." For label-loyalty reasons, the soundtrack to Shrek included not the John Cale version, but a straightforward piano-accompanied version by Canadian musician Rufus Wainwright, modeled after Cale's. "Wainwright laughed as he recounted how his own jealousy had prevented him from paying much attention to Buckley in the '90s," Light writes. But after Buckley's death, Wainwright recalls, "I was alone and probably on something. I put his version of the song on, and it was this kind of cosmic communion.

It kind of hit me how great he was, and how fabulous the song is, and how foolish I had been for being so petty." It was on the strength of Wainwright's and Cale's renditions that "Hallelujah" truly became a phenomenon—six-year-old kids, as Adamson puts it, were suddenly singing "Hallelujah," and adults came to know it as the song from Shrek. In the following years, "Hallelujah" found explosive popularity on television and in movies . Imogen Heap's rendition, recorded for the third-season finale of The O.C. in 2006, became part of O.C. lore as the song that played over Marissa's death. But it almost didn't happen at all. Heap initially felt there was too much pressure in performing what was fast becoming such a famous and beloved song. "I had actually just sent an e-mail to the show saying I was sorry, but I wouldn't be able to give this the time it requires," Heap recalls in Holy or the Broken.

"I was in the shower and feeling a bit sad about it, and I started singing it and thought, 'Why don't I just do it this way—do it a cappella, with no music or production, as if I were singing in the shower?' So I got out and I sent them another e-mail back." Regina Spektor was one of the first high-profile artists to repurpose "Hallelujah" for a religious setting. In 2005, the 25-year-old Spektor performed a simple rendition with piano and cello at a concert for the Jewish Heritage Festival. "Cohen writes a lot with biblical symbolism at the forefront of his mind," she told Light. "Having gone to yeshiva and studied those stories, I know that all the biblical things are so unique lyrically, and he uses them so freely, but you don't have to know the stories to appreciate the song." The "contemplative" rendition by k.d. lang, Cohen's fellow Canadian, ranks among Cohen's favorites.

According to Light: [Cohen's] companion/collaborator Anjani Thomas said that after hearing lang perform 'Hallelujah' at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006, "We looked at each other and said, 'Well, I think we can lay that song to rest now! It's really been done to its ultimate, blissful state of perfection." Alexandra Burke, a 2008 finalist on Britain's The X Factor, might win the prize for the most controversial rendition of the Cohen classic. Known for her soul power more than her subtlety, she was initially dismayed at the news that she'd been assigned the song for the final competition. "I thought, 'Cor, I've lost already,'" Burke told Light. Burke then called her mom, who advised her to listen to the song and then call back. "I grew up listening to Motown and soul records, and I realized there were all these different versions of 'Hallelujah,' but there wasn't a soulful one. ...

I called my mum back and told her I was going to Whitney-fy it, really make it soulful, and she burst into tears on the phone." Backlash, of course, ensued. But with the release of "Hallelujah" as a single, Burke became the first British female solo artist to sell a million copies. In 2010, as Light puts it, "the 'Hallelujah' brand was thriving." So when MTV produced a "Hope for Haiti Now" benefit concert for victims of a January earthquake, Justin Timberlake and his friend and collaborator Matt Morris knew it could be the perfect song for the occasion—with a few small tweaks. Timberlake altered some of the chord constructions to create a sound that was more uplifting than melancholy and deleted some of Cohen's original sexual imagery. "'Remember when I moved in you,' that's just way too intimate for something like this," Timberlake told Light. "But 'maybe there's a God above,' that seemed universally appropriate for what was happening." Critics were caught off-guard by the poignancy in Timberlake's rendition. "It was more ragged and more powerful than anything you might expect from the former NSync-er," Light writes.

"It was the broken hallelujah in full force." Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen's lyrics with modern versions and explanations Hallelujah 'Hallelujah' was the UK Christmas number one for X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke in 2008. Amazingly, the number two song on the same charts was Jeff Buckley's version of the same song. The original, written and released in 1984, also made it into the same Top 40 chart for the week beginning 15th December 2008. So, where do the three versions come from and what do they mean? Here are the versions (click on each for lyrics): Alexandra Burke , Hallelujah - 2008 Cohen's original song contained 4 verses (shown here in black). In 1988, he sang a different song, with 3 new verses (shown here in red) and the same concluding verse. Buckley's song takes 2 verses from the 1984 version and three from the 1988 version.

Burke sang a shorter version than Buckley, taking 2 verses from the 1984 original and one from the 1988 version. There has been much speculation about '15 verses' of Cohen's song, based on a comment made by John Cale. It looks like this involves seeing each verse as two verses (they could be seen this way by simply splittling them in half), which gives 14 verses. The mystical 15th could merely reflect a slight change in lyrics of one verse, or may simply have been a mistake by Cale. What does it mean? 'Hallelujah' is a Hebrew word meaning 'Praise the Lord'. Here, Lord refers to the Tetrgrammaton, the four-letter name of God: Yahweh or Jehovah, although observant Jews will not say this name aloud. Cohen is Jewish, and in the original version of the song he included several Biblical references: "Now I've heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord" David in 1 Samuel 16:23 "You saw her bathing on the roof.

Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you." David in 2 Samuel 11:2 "She broke your throne, and she cut your hair" Samson in Book of Judges It is very much a religious song. Rufus Wainwright said "The melody is almost liturgical and conjures up religious feelings. It's purifying." Cohen's second version of the song leaves out the Biblical references. Most commentators see this as a more secular song, identifying with the way in which lovers worship one another. It is important to understand this in a religious context. Many Christians, particularly in the Anglican Church (the Church of England or the Episcopal Church) include a variation of the following in their wedding vows: "With my body, I thee worship" The continued popularity of this song shows that it still strikes a chord with people of all ages. We may get the impression that sex has become casual or hedonistic, but in truth, for most of us, sex involves us at a spiritual level. When we have sex, we are acknowledging something divine, sacred or holy in each other. For Christians, Jews and Muslims, God's first command was to find a partner, have sex and start a family.

For many, sex should never be totally separated from procreation, and the question 'Should I have sex with him/her?' should really read 'Do I want to make a family with him/her?'. To me, this song reflects the reality that as humans we are drawn into relationships, whether with God or one another. The deeper these relationships go, the more they have the capacity to enrich our lives, or to hurt us profoundly. However, as Cohen sings to end both versions of his song: "Even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the Lord of Song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah." Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah (1984, Various Positions) Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you?

It goes like this The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Chorus Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Chorus You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well really, what's it to you? There's a blaze of light In every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah Chorus I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you And even though I'll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Chorus Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah (1988, released on Cohen Live, 1994) Baby, I've been here before. I know this room, I've walked this floor. I used to live alone before I knew ya.

Yeah I've seen your flag on the marble arch, But listen, love is not some kind of victory march, No it's a cold and it's a very broken Hallelujah. Chorus There was a time you let me know What's really going on below, Ah but now you never show it to me, do ya? Yeah but I remember, yeah when I moved in you, And the holy dove, she was moving too, Yes every single breath that we drew was Hallelujah. Chorus Maybe there's a god above, As for me, all I've ever seemed to learn from love Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew ya. Yeah but it's not a complaint that you hear tonight, It's not the laughter of someone who claims to have seen the light No it's a cold and it's a very lonely Hallelujah. Chorus I did my best, it wasn't much. I couldn't feel, so I learned to touch. I've told the truth, I didn't come all this way to fool ya.

Yeah even tough it all went wrong I'll stand right here before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Chorus Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah (1994, rereleased posthumously and reaching #1 in March 2008) Well I heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do ya?

Well it goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall and the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Chorus Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to her kitchen chair And she broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Chorus Well baby I've been here before I've seen this room and I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew ya I've seen your flag on the marble arch Love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah Chorus Well there was a time when you let me know What's really going on below But now you never show that to me do you? And remember when I moved in you?

And the holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was Hallelujah Chorus Well maybe there's a god above But all I've ever learned from love Was how to shoot somebody who'd out drew ya 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 Chorus Alexandra Burke , Hallelujah (2008, a single released as winner of the fifth series of The X Factor) Well I heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the lord But you don’t really care for music, do ya?

Well it goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall and the major lift The baffled king composing hallelujah Chorus Well your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to her kitchen chair And she broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the hallelujah Chorus Well maybe there’s a god above But all I’ve ever learned from love Was how to shoot somebody who’d out drew ya 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 Chorus It was originally 80 verses long – and 19 other facts about Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah It was originally 80 verses long – and 19 other facts about Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah Leonard Cohen Credit: Rex Features David Cheal 11 November 2016 • 10:18am From its appearance in Shrek to the word's Hebrew etymology – here are 20 key facts about Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

Watch | Leonard Cohen's legacy 01:06 1. Hallelujah was first released in 1984 on Leonard Cohen's album, Various Positions 2. Cohen once told Bob Dylan that it took him two years to write the song 3. Dylan himself has sung it live, and there are bootleg versions in circulation of his performance. It has also been sung by Bono and Bon Jovi 4. More than 100 versions of the song have been recorded 5. The best known is by Jeff Buckley, whose unadorned version was on his 1994 Grace album 6. Cohen has recorded two versions – the second one appeared on a live album in 1988 – with very different endings; one upbeat, one dark 7. Buckley's version was used in the soundtrack to the American TV series, The OC 8. Other TV shows to have used the song include The West Wing, ER, Scrubs, and Holby City 9. The full version of the song has 15 verses 10. Cohen, a notorious perfectionist, is said to have originally written 80 verses 11.

Cohen earnt roughly £1 million in royalties from sales of singles by series five X Factor winner Alexandra Burke 12. Burke's version is the fastest selling download single in history 13. Former Velvet Underground member John Cale's version was used in the film Shrek 14. The Shrek soundtrack album featured a version by Rufus Wainwright, who also sang it in the Leonard Cohen tribute film, I'm Your Man 15. Cohen was once asked why the song is so popular. "It's got a good chorus," he replied 16. It has become a mainstay of live shows by Cohen's fellow Canadian singer-songwriter, kd lang 17. The English singer and songwriter Kathryn Williams once introduced her version of Hallelujah in a live show by saying, "I really, really, really want to shag Leonard Cohen." 18. The song is broadcast at 2am every Saturday night by the Israeli defence force's radio channel 19. Hallelujah is a Hebrew word, meaning "praise Yah" 20.

Cohen has said of the song's meaning: "It explains that many kinds of hallelujahs do exist, and all the perfect and broken hallelujahs have equal value." Premium 08 Dec 2016, 3:04pm Music latest 19 Dec 2016, 5:00pm About A Song: 'Hallelujah' : All Songs Considered : NPR All Songs Considered Twitter Instagram I was at the Newport Folk Festival a few weeks ago, and onstage was Brandi Carlile , a stunning presence with an incredible voice. (We'll get that concert online for you a bit later.) Her encore was "Hallelujah," the Leonard Cohen song made famous by Jeff Buckley and covered by many artists since. She belted it out, which was a far cry from Buckley's delicate version, but it was fairly jaw-dropping nonetheless. When it was done, someone said to me, "I love that song; what the hell is it about?" Have you ever heard a song a hundred times, sung it in your head and never given any thought to what it means?

Was Leonard Cohen writing about euphoria, elation, pain, suffering, exultation when he penned "Hallelujah"? Here are a few versions. What do you think this song is about? Leonard Cohen: Jeff Buckley: Rufus Wainwright: Here are the many verses I know of this song; Buckley and others leave a few of them off. Now, I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the lord But you don't really care for music, do you?

It goes like this The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Your faith was strong, but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Baby I have been here before I know this room, I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew you I've seen your flag on the marble arch Love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah There was a time you let me know What's really going on below But now you never show it to me, do you? But I remember when I moved in you The holy dove she was moving too And every breath we drew was Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well really, what's it to you?

There's a blaze of light in every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried (learned) to touch I've told the truth, I didn't come (all this way) to fool you And even though it all went wrong I'll stand (right here) before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Maybe there's a God above But all I've ever learned from love Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya And it's not a cry (complaint) that you hear at night It's not somebody who's seen the light It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah 25 Things You Might Not Know About "Hallelujah" Mike Lawrie / Getty Images Upon hearing “Various Positions”, CBS chief Walter Yetnikoff told the singer-songwriter: “What is this? This isn’t pop music. We’re not releasing it.

This is a disaster.” Many years later Cohen told the Canadian Broadcasting Company: “It wasn’t considered good enough for the American market. So there’s a certain mild sense of revenge that arose in my heart.” ID: 869409 3. Another label put out the album, but “Hallelujah” wasn’t even released as a single. People just kind of ignored it Rolling Stone’s review of the album didn’t even mention the song. ID: 869445 View this image › Chris Pizzello, File / AP Some of them were penned at the Royalton Hotel in New York. Cohen found it such hard going he was reduced to sitting on the floor in his underwear, banging his head on the floor. ID: 869021 7. When Cohen heard that Cale was interested in covering the song, he faxed him FIFTEEN PAGES of potential lyrics Cale then picked out the “cheekiest verses”. ID: 869333 8. Jeff Buckley then covered Cale’s version on his 1994 “Grace” album. But that wasn’t a huge hit either.

At least, not initially View this image › Chris Jackson / Getty Images Many people think of Buckley’s as the most powerful version, though he didn’t live to enjoy its success. The singer-songwriter, who died in 1997, described his intimate interpretation of the song as “a hallelujah to the orgasm… an ode to life and love.” But like Cohen’s original, Buckley’s version was never officially released as a single - it first charted posthumously in 2006. ID: 869530 9. In fact, ‘Hallelujah’ didn’t really hit the mass consciousness until 2001, when Rufus Wainwright’s version appeared on the “Shrek” soundtrack Though, confusingly, it was John Cale’s version that featured in the film itself. Whatever, the soundtrack album sold over 2 million copies. ID: 869587 10. The film’s musical directors assumed the studio execs would object, but to their surprise, they loved the song Video available at: .

Codirector Andrew Adamson says: “I expected the studio would push me to do something more popular, which they often do, but the emotion really outweighed the expectation.” ID: 870034 11. Rufus Wainwright had known Jeff Buckley while he was alive, but only came to love “Hallelujah” in the wake of his death Victoria Will / Reuters His explanation: “I was alone and probably on something. I put his version of the song on, and it was this kind of cosmic communion. It kind of hit me how great he was, and how fabulous the song is, and how foolish I had been for being so petty.” ID: 870052 12. It was “American Idol”, though, that propelled “Hallelujah” to the top of the charts at last Video available at: . In March 2008 “Hallelujah” topped Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs in the U.S. after a performance of the song by Jason Castro in the seventh season of American Idol. ID: 869634 Video available at: .

It was a moving echo of the season one finale , that had been soundtracked by Buckley’s version. However, Heap was initially reluctant to take on such a well-worn anthem. She explains in the book: “I had actually just sent an e-mail to the show saying I was sorry, but I wouldn’t be able to give this the time it requires. I was in the shower and feeling a bit sad about it, and I started singing it and thought, ‘Why don’t I just do it this way—do it a cappella, with no music or production, as if I were singing in the shower?’ So I got out and I sent them another e-mail back.” ID: 870067 15. On 21 December 2008, “Hallelujah” became the first song in 51 years to occupy the first and second positions on the UK Singles Chart The X Factor winner Alexandra Burke’s and Jeff Buckley’s version were the two highest-selling songs in the week beginning 15 December 2008. Leonard Cohen’s version reached Number 36 in the same chart. ID: 869707 Video available at: .

The Holy Or The Broken’s author Alan Light describes Trousersnake’s version as a triumph: “It was more ragged and more powerful than anything you might expect from the former NSync-er. It was the broken hallelujah in full force.” ID: 870096 17. The great thing about “Hallelujah” is that it can be adapted for different occasions. Witness Adam Sandler’s version, directed at Hurricane Sandy Video available at: . ID: 870133 Video available at: . ID: 870270 Video available at: . The group’s David Miller told Rolling Stone : “The way the melody is structured is quite genius. It builds, it lifts, then there’s always the one word coming back down. It’s almost like sex – it builds, it builds, there’s that moment, and then the afterglow. To go on that journey, the whole thing taken as an experience, is wonderful.” ID: 870161 Video available at: . ID: 870234 Video available at: . ID: 870153 22.

Not every cover hits the mark. Bono’s was so bad - by his own admission - he offered the world an apology Video available at: . In The Holy And The Broken, the U2 singer says: “”The lyric explains it best. There’s the holy and the broken hallelujah, and mine was definitely the broken one. … It was a snapshot, a Polaroid, of a place I was in, but you really shouldn’t go putting these things out when they’re done in such a private way. Intimacy was the currency of the occasion.” ID: 870018

Question: Who wrote the much covered and 2008 hit song Hallelujah?
Answer: Leonard Cohen