Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)
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| “Hallelujah” | |||||
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| Song by Leonard Cohen | |||||
| Album | Various Positions | ||||
| Released | December, 1984 | ||||
| Recorded | June 1984 | ||||
| Genre | Folk-rock | ||||
| Length | 4:39 | ||||
| Label | Columbia Records, Passport Records | ||||
| Writer | Leonard Cohen | ||||
| Producer | John Lissauer | ||||
| Various Positions track listing | |||||
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| “Hallelujah” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Leonard Cohen | |||||
| Album | Cohen Live | ||||
| Released | June 28, 1994 | ||||
| Recorded | October 31, 1988 Austin, TX |
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| Genre | Folk-rock | ||||
| Length | 6:54 | ||||
| Label | Columbia Records | ||||
| Writer | Leonard Cohen w. additional verses | ||||
| Producer | Leanne Ungar Bob Metzger |
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| Cohen Live track listing | |||||
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"Hallelujah" is a song written by Leonard Cohen. It was first recorded on his 1984 album Various Positions. It has been covered numerous times and featured in the soundtracks of several movies and television shows.[1]
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[edit] Lyrics
Different cover versions of "Hallelujah", and different performances by Leonard Cohen himself, sometimes include different lyrics from those in Cohen's original 1984 recording. However, although individual words do change between various versions, most of the variation may be due to selection from Cohen's complete lyrics rather than additions by the cover artist. 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."
The original recording from 1984 is noted for containing explicit biblical 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). In these instances, the lyrics are overtly sexual. Jeff Buckley called his own rendition of the song an homage to "the hallelujah of the orgasm".[2]
In 1994, Cohen released a substantially different version on the album Cohen Live (recorded in 1988), retaining only the final verse from Various Positions. In this version, the lyrics became more explicitly sexual, and the music was slightly reworked. Many cover artists mix lyrics from both versions, and occasionally make other changes (such as Rufus Wainwright singing "holy dark" and Allison Crowe singing "Holy Ghost" rather than "holy dove").
In the section of the lyrics "the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift", the chords move as described in the lyrics. In C major, for example, the chords would move as follows: F ('the fourth'), G ('the fifth'), Am (a movement downwards and to a minor chord), F (a movement upwards, and to a major chord).[1]
As well as recording a cover of the original version, in February 2007 Alistair Griffin rewrote the lyrics to reference the soccer player Mark Viduka. Leonard Cohen gave permission for this to be released as a charity download in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.[3]
Lincoln Brewster released a rewritten and retitled version, "Another Hallelujah" on its album "All to You" in August, 2005.[4]
Welsh rock-outfit Lostprophets uses the song's sentence "I've seen this room and I've walked this floor" in their track "Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time)" on their 2006 album Liberation Transmission. It is not clear if this use is coincidental or not.
[edit] Cover versions
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John Cale "Hallelujah" cover excerpt John Cale selected the verses by Leonard Cohen which most covers have since followed. First recorded by Cale in 1991 for the Cohen tribute I'm Your Fan. Jeff Buckley "Hallelujah" cover excerpt From the album Grace released in 1994. In 2007, Sony BMG rereleased the album (subtitle "The Legacy Edition") with a live music video of the song. Allison Crowe "Hallelujah" cover excerpt One of a new generation of interpreters, Allison Crowe's cover, from Tidings, released in 2003, is celebratory rather than melancholy. - Problems playing the files? See media help.
One of the best-known covers of "Hallelujah" was recorded by the American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley for his 1994 album, Grace. Jeff Buckley's version is a sparse production of vocals and guitar, influenced by John Cale's earlier cover of "Hallelujah" which appeared on the 1991 Leonard Cohen tribute album I'm Your Fan and on his 1992 live album Fragments of a Rainy Season.
John Cale's version was featured in the 2001 animated film Shrek.[5] Rufus Wainwright covered the song as well, and his version appears on the film's soundtrack album rather than Cale's. This is apparently because Wainwright is signed with Dreamworks SKG and Cale is not.[citation needed] The film version excludes the more sexually suggestive verses,, and it chops off the line "maybe there's a god above" from the beginning of the last verse.
Among the other musicians who have recorded covers of this song released on CD are: Italian singer Elisa from her album "Lotus", Maxwell Murder of Saturday's Car Ride Home, Rea Garvey of Reamonn, Alex Lloyd, Sephira, Adam Nikkel, Keren Ann, Willie Nelson, Beefy, Bono, Bon Jovi, Blake, Bret Darby, Clare Bowditch, Fred Eaglesmith, Steve Acho, Allison Crowe, Patricia O'Callaghan, Jackie Greene, Julie Felix, Damien Leith, Anthony Michael Hall [2], Bettie Serveert, Kenny Zhao, John Owen-Jones, Custard, k d lang, Kevin Max, Gord Downie, Simple Plan, Gov't Mule, Steffen Brandt/Tina Dickow (in Danish translation), K's Choice, Enrique Morente (flamenco version, translated to Spanish), Street to Nowhere, Wayne Whittaker, the Prayerbabies, Kevin Christy, Kathryn Williams, Lucky Jim, Over the Rhine, Pat Terlizzi, Myrra Malmberg, Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, Michael Wolff, The Brown Derbies, Imogen Heap, Popa Chubby, Jimm Zombie, Joe Wilson, Kristian Meurman (in Finnish), Hilary Scott, The Choir of Hard Knocks and Kate Voegele.
Counting live performances, the list of artists who have performed "Hallelujah" includes: Glen Hansard of The Frames, k.d. Lang, Spoon, Joel Sprayberry Band, The Teamakers, Nick Hrenchuk, Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge, Kate Voegele, RRRadio Gee, Ari Hest, Chris Frank, Betty Buckley, Brandi Carlile, Bob Dylan, Connie Champagne, Caamora, Doug Parmenter, Howie Day, Gavin DeGraw, Dave Dobbyn, The Dresden Dolls, Chris Clonts, Damien Rice, David Ford, Peter Mulvey, Jay Clifford, Mike Winger, Tim Minchin, Regina Spektor, Starsailor, Donna Lynne Champlin, Rodney Harris, Todd Carey, Pain of Salvation, Sheryl Crow, Tristin Roberts, James Yarsky, Jeff Waters, at17, Jeff Martin of The Tea Party, David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion), Zach Condon (of Beirut), Emily Johnson, and Thierry Amiel[6].
Fall Out Boy sampled the song on their 2007 album Infinity on High, on the track "Hum Hallelujah". The West did a cover of the song on the "4 Song EP" entitling it "Song for Leonard". The website SadKermit.com posted a cover of Sad Kermit covering the song in Buckley's style. Another published cover can be found on the single "Tausend Tränen Tief" (1999) by the German band Blumfeld. Chris Botti recorded an instrumental version of the song for the album December. Susanna and The Magical Orchestra performed their take on the song at the London Jazz festival; broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on the 13 December 2004. An a cappella version by Clemson University's "TakeNote" is included on the "Best of College A Cappella 2006" CD. k.d. Lang did a version in an episode of Later (UK live music TV show hosted by Jools Holland), which made it onto DVD. The University of Oregon a cappella group, On the Rocks also does a version on their album, Full Coverage. Danish a cappella ensemble Vocal Line recorded the song for their 2006 album, "Vocal Stories". Bono and the Edge (from U2) performed the song at one of their concerts out of respect for Jeff Buckley just after his death. Australian comedian and musician Tim Minchin performed the song as a duet with Geraldine Quinn at a live show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005.
A Norwegian group including Espen Lind, Kurt Nilsen, Alejandro Fuentes and Askil Holm performed the song under the name Lind,Nilsen, Fuentes & Holm. A parody version of them and the song was made under the name Hallelujah-kameratene (including Espen Beranek Holm, Marit Voldsæter, Ole Morten Aagenæs and Kai Taule under the Norwegian award show Komiprisen on the Norwegian TV-channel NRK and later on another award show named Gullruten which runs on the TV-channel TV2.
Welsh group Brigyn have covered the song and changed the lyrics to festive Welsh lyrics. An Arabic version dedicated to Allah has been performed by Mohammad al Husayan [7].
Reflecting a broadening populist appreciation of the song, reaching mass numbers since Shrek, in recent years the song has been performed by contestants on Australian Idol, Swedish Idol, French Nouvelle Star and Canadian Idol. Most recently, in 2008's Season 7 of American Idol, Jason Castro performed a rendition of "Hallelujah" and received positive reviews by the judges for his performance. Soon after Castro's performance, Jeff Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah" became the #1 most downloaded song on iTunes. [8] Subsequently, on the Billboard charts dated March 22, 2008, Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" debuted at #1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. [9] The song was certified Gold and Platinum as a single on April 22, 2008.[10]
[edit] Movie and TV soundtracks
"Hallelujah" has frequently been used in television shows and movies during scenes involving death or heartbreak. It has been featured in movies as diverse as Basquiat, The Edukators (Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei), Shrek (covered by John Cale in the movie and by Rufus Wainwright on the soundtrack), St. Ralph, Deliver Us from Evil, Kissed by Winter, Feast of Love, Barfuss, Lord of War and When Night is Falling, and TV series such as Holby City, House, M.D., Falcon Beach, The L Word, The O.C. (twice by Jeff Buckley, once by Imogen Heap), Hollyoaks, The West Wing, Scrubs, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, ER, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Crossing Jordan, Drama and Nicole, Rescue Me, LAX, Lost, Roswell, Ugly Betty, Numb3rs, Nearly Famous and One Tree Hill. It was also used in the Third Watch and Without a Trace episodes dealing with the 9/11 events. "Hallelujah" was played at the closing of NBC's Dateline on April 17, 2007, covering the Virginia Tech massacre. During the playing of the song, a montage of photographs regarding the events of the tragedy was displayed. Additionally, Cale's cover was used for the closing of the Stuff, a short film about John Frusciante in 1994 by Johnny Depp and Gibby Haynes. After the shooting massacre at NIU, the song was covered during a montage of YouTube users' responses to the massacre. The song, as covered on YouTube by "Christina Marie,"[11] could be heard at the end of the montage on Fox News Tonight with Shepherd Smith.
[edit] Citations and Tributes
In 2004, Jeff Buckley's version was ranked #259 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
In August 2004, and, again, in November 2005, Allison Crowe's recording of "Hallelujah" was cited by the UK's Record of the Day as the journal's top song pick.
"Hallelujah" was also named the tenth greatest Canadian song of all time in Chart magazine's 2005 reader's poll.
In September 2007, Q Magazine dubbed Buckley's version "the most perfect song ever".
Buckley's version was ranked #2 in U Choose 40 in the topic of Tearjerkers on New Zealands C4 music channel, losing out only to the Johnny Cash cover of "Hurt".
The Fall Out Boy song "Hum Hallelujah" is said to be named after Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" because it is the song that played in the car when bassist Pete Wentz tried to commit suicide.
[edit] Further reading
- Edgers, Geoff (March 18, 2008). "'Hallelujah' goes from 'Idol' to hit". Boston Globe.
- Gundersen, Edna (March 19, 2008). "Praise be to 'Hallelujah': Classic reborn digitally, thanks to 'Idol'". USA Today.
[edit] References
- ^ Hallelujah!, Bryan Appleyard, The Times, January 9, 2005
- ^ Hallelujah: Jeff Buckley: Rolling Stone, December 9, 2004
- ^ Hallelujah Mark Viduka
- ^ www.lincolnbrewster.com/main.html (YouTube: YouTube - Survive Tour: Lincoln Brewster)
- ^ Shrek (2001) - Soundtracks
- ^ YouTube - Hallelujah - Thierry Amiel Live au Trabendo
- ^ YouTube - Fi Lailatin Min Al Layali
- ^ Rolling Stone: Rock & Roll Daily
- ^ Billboard Hot Digital Songs
- ^ Billboard RIAA Single Certifications
- ^ YouTube - Hallelujah (v2)
[edit] External links
- 1984 lyrics (Various Positions), from The Leonard Cohen Files
- 1988 lyrics (Cohen Live), from The Leonard Cohen Files
| Preceded by "Floden" by Bjørn Eidsvåg |
Norwegian VG-lista number-one single (Performed by Lind, Nilsen, Fuentes and Holm) 10 January 2007 – 17 January 2007 |
Succeeded by "Smack That" by Akon featuring Eminem |
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