# Hallelujah - which is best **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867 "2003-03-12T17:00:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/1 "2003-03-12T17:00:14Z")
Sort of a poll, sort of a debate, sort of a multiple choice. The song is **Hallelujah** The singers are: \*Leonard Cohen Rufus Wainwright Jeff Buckley\* Which one is YOUR favorite? I’ve never heard the Cohen version, but my personal favorite is Wainwright, simply because of the imperfection of it. It sounds painful to me, which is ideal for the lyrics. My sister, of course, nearly shot me in the face for not picking Buckley. So now it’s your turn. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/2 "2003-03-12T17:05:19Z")
Rufus Wainwright. Outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/3 "2003-03-12T17:15:01Z")
Makes me cry nearly every time. But I’m a wussy girl type ---
**Author:** ![CuriousCanuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@CuriousCanuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CuriousCanuck)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/4 "2003-03-12T17:15:07Z")
Jeff Buckley. No doubts in my mind. The way he makes that guitar sing. Haunting. Beautiful. Magic. Oh, and Bono did a version too, on Cohen’s Tower of Song CD. ---
**Author:** ![Misha77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Misha77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misha77)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/5 "2003-03-12T17:47:24Z")
Jeff Buckley. Ethereal, poignant, gorgeous. I have never heard Wainwright’s version. (Or did I? Wasn’t it on the _Shrek_ soundtrack?) I love Leonard Cohen’s deep, mournful voice, and obviously his songwriting skills are sublime, but Jeff Buckley’s voice matches this song so well. While I am a huge Buckley fan, I promise not to shoot anyone in the face if they disagree. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/6 "2003-03-12T17:58:39Z")
Cohen wrote it. He gets my vote. And Wainwright changed the lyrics-- points off for that. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/7 "2003-03-12T18:15:14Z")
I’m with the Wainwright version on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Stephi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stephi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephi)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/8 "2003-03-12T18:50:29Z")
I don’t know which version it is, but I like the one from the Shrek soundtrack the best. ---
**Author:** ![Stephi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stephi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephi)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/9 "2003-03-12T18:52:02Z")
Oh! It appears to be Rufus Wainwright! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/10 "2003-03-12T18:53:41Z")
WAINWRIGHT TAKES THE LEAD. YOU HEAR THAT SIS? SUCK IT! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/11 "2003-03-12T19:01:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*And Wainwright changed the lyrics-- points off for that. \*\* I don’t think so. Cohen wrote a zillion verses for this song; he even uses different words on his own live version compared to the studio original. Wainwright probably just uses a different selection of verses. I vote for Laughin’ Lenny, too. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/12 "2003-03-12T19:05:07Z")
OK, the version actually _in_ the movie Shrek is not by Wainwright, unlike the soundtrack. Anyone know who does that one? I think I like that one best. Not that I don’t absolutely adore Rufus! “Complainte de la Butte” (Moulin Rouge soundtrack) is sublime. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/13 "2003-03-12T19:08:53Z")
My answer to the question, “If you had to choose one person in all of history to have an affair with, who would it be?” has been and will always be **Leonard Cohen, circa 1965**. Just so you know how much I love him. Now with that said, I have to go with Jeff Buckley’s version. No less than a solo voice from the angelic choir. Rufus Wainwright? Don’t make me giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Stephi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stephi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephi)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/14 "2003-03-12T19:09:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LunaSea \* > \*\*OK, the version actually _in_ the movie Shrek is not by Wainwright, unlike the soundtrack. Anyone know who does that one? I think I like that one best. > > Not that I don’t absolutely adore Rufus! “Complainte de la Butte” (Moulin Rouge soundtrack) is sublime. \*\* Yeah, I’m talking about the version that’s _in_ the movie, I just assumed that the soundtrack would have the version in the movie. Well, whoever did it, I really liked it. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/15 "2003-03-12T19:24:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gallows fodder \* > \*\* > Now with that said, I have to go with Jeff Buckley’s version. No less than a solo voice from the angelic choir. > > \*\* but the lyrics of hallelujah don’t call for a perfect angelic choir. It’s a tortured, broken song and should be sung as if the person is just barely holding it together, I think. I enjoy Wainwright because his voice ocassionally sounds strained or cracked with emotion. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/16 "2003-03-12T19:29:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stephi \* > \*\*Yeah, I’m talking about the version that’s _in_ the movie, I just assumed that the soundtrack would have the version in the movie. Well, whoever did it, I really liked it. \*\* The version in the movie is by John Cale. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/17 "2003-03-12T19:40:26Z")
Ah, true, **jarbaby** , but Jeff Buckley’s death imparts a certain poignancy to everything he sang, which makes up for his perfect voice in this song. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/18 "2003-03-12T19:47:45Z")
Thanks **Biffy**! ---
**Author:** ![ion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f1d935/32.png) [@ion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ion)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/19 "2003-03-12T21:57:33Z")
Hmm, this is a tough one. I’m not sure I’m actually able to pick _one_ of them as my favorite. The versions differ too much. I heard his excellency **Jeff Buckley** ’s first - fell in love (that is really not like me, well sometimes a girl gets carried away…). Then I made the acquaintance of the great lover, Mr **Cohen** , and my romantic vein was ripped wide open. I dare say I was severely wounded, but in a good way. Oh the hopelessness, the sincerity, the beauty! (What is this? I’m rambling! Well, I guess that’s the impact of it.) The rendition by **John Cale** also struck me as powerful (maybe not to the extent of the above though). Funny to hear it made it to the soundtrack of the movie about “the green swamp-goblin”🙂 So, now I think I might have a date with Mr **Wainwright** soon… (Warning! emotional slush ahead!) Sigh… I fear there is no remedy for the true heartfelt feeling of that wonderful song. ---
**Author:** ![kefka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@kefka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kefka)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867/20 "2003-03-12T23:32:29Z")
yup, **ion** , the version actually in shrek is by the velvet underground’s john cale… but while that version is my second favorite, jeff buckley’s is still my absolute favorite. it just kills me every time… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallelujah-which-is-best/160867.md?page=2)