# The “Hallelujah” Thread: Cohen and Covers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 17, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734 "2022-09-17T19:22:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/21 "2022-09-18T06:12:07Z")
Bob Dylan’s live cover is one of the more interesting versions to me, since it’s the only one I know of that uses the four-verse version Cohen recorded rather than the five-verse version that the John Cale cover and those inspired by it use, and the guitar work from Dylan is some of his best. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cuLmf7DMPPo/hqdefault.jpg "Bob Dylan - "Hallelujah" LIVE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuLmf7DMPPo) Jeff Buckley’s version is my favorite of the Cale-alikes - the guitar is haunting and you can feel the pain in the singer’s soul, and hearing it always makes me feel sad about how Buckley didn’t get to live to see his version become popular. Cohen is said to have written as many as 150 verses for the song, and faxed Cale 15 pages of lyrics when he was developing his cover. I’d really like to hear some versions that incorporate some of the verses that aren’t used in the two most common arrangements. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/22 "2022-09-18T12:09:47Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > - Are there other songs you like which are now considered classics which languished until featured in a movie? Basically any song that appears in a Quentin Tarantino film. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/23 "2022-09-18T12:45:13Z")
Pentatonix nails it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LRP8d7hhpoQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Pentatonix - Hallelujah (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRP8d7hhpoQ) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/24 "2022-09-18T19:35:06Z")
Everybody knows…you left out one of the best. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/25 "2022-09-18T19:46:14Z")
Most beautiful: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dLk9pzmaFHY/maxresdefault.jpg "The Most Beautiful Version of "Hallelujah" You Have Ever Heard") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLk9pzmaFHY) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/26 "2022-09-18T20:15:06Z")
I love Leonard Cohen, I have listened to his records endlessly for 40 years and have seen him live three times and it was great, but Hallelujah is the one song I cannot suffer. Pity. And on the last concert the woman next to me sang awfully along, it was painful, she messed the rhythm all up, missed the cue to start and finish and so out of tune it would have curdled milk in the udder had a cow been present. Almost ruined the whole experience. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/27 "2022-09-18T20:17:35Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > The original is my favorite, but I do enjoy k.d. Lang’s 2010 version. Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/28 "2022-09-18T20:19:28Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > What is the best Leonard Cohen song? Suzanne. But I like the Judy Collins version better than Cohen’s. I feel like he’s the greatest singer-songwriter of all time who couldn’t sing. That’s a little unfair, but I don’t love his voice, and I like a lot of covers of his songs better than I like his versions. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/29 "2022-09-18T20:38:41Z")
I hadn’t heard the k.d. lang version before this thread, but, _damn_, it’s good. So much contemplation, melancholy and experience in that voice. Buckley’s is probably my favorite, but I like the original, too. Anything that doesn’t sound too “pretty” works for me. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/30 "2022-09-18T20:54:59Z")
Re: Jennifer Warnes Powerful arrangement! Or, as I like to say: F\*\*\* Yeah! ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/31 "2022-09-18T21:21:40Z")
You might like this cover, then: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ch6h278GEpA/hqdefault.jpg "Madeleine Peyroux Dance me to the end of love") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch6h278GEpA) ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/32 "2022-09-18T21:26:59Z")
I like my version of it, but I might be biased. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/33 "2022-09-18T21:31:20Z")
Rufus Wainwright. He made me a fan after hearing his live version of Hallelujah. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LQK4YfiPj1Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah (Live At The Fillmore)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQK4YfiPj1Q) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/34 "2022-09-18T22:19:07Z")
You haven’t heard “Hallelujah” until you’ve heard it in the original Yiddish: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XH1fERC_504/maxresdefault.jpg "Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" - in Yiddish") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH1fERC_504) ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/35 "2022-09-19T00:26:07Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I feel like he’s the greatest singer-songwriter of all time who couldn’t sing. > > That’s a little unfair, but I don’t love his voice, and I like a lot of covers of his songs better than I like his versions. Same here. And as others have mentioned upthread, k.d. lang’s 2010 arrangement is one of the best I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/36 "2022-09-19T00:37:10Z")
Very much off-topic, but I saw this yesterday. There was a well-publicized memorial service in a nearby town for a teacher-coach who had been struck and killed by an impaired driver while walking in Memphis. One of the songs sung at the service was ‘Halleujah’. I had never heard this sung at a funeral, but when I searched it, it appears that it is something performed at celebration of life services. Has anybody else heard it at a funeral? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/37 "2022-09-19T03:25:34Z")
I have heard it sung at a memorial. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/38 "2022-09-19T04:05:11Z")
The cover version I listen to the most is by the Vitamin String Quartet. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q-jMGvvMoAg/hqdefault.jpg "Hallelujah - Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Jeff Buckley") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-jMGvvMoAg) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/39 "2022-09-19T08:04:58Z")
The Jeff Buckley version was my introduction to the song, I feel like it’s a parallel tale of moving from enthusiasm to cynicism both in a relationship with God on the one hand, and human love on the other. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734/40 "2022-09-19T10:39:54Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Another interesting fact that comes up is about the controversy over whether this is a secular (sexual) song or a religious song. It turns out that Cohen continuously worked on lyrics over a number of years and there are “canonical” Cohen secular and religious versions (and anything in-between, apparently). Cohen mixes elements of two biblical stories (David and Bathsheeba, Sampson and Delilah) in a single verse. He draws on lots of religious imagery, but it isn’t coherent or consistent. It doesn’t qualify as a religious song in that sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-thread-cohen-and-covers/971734.md?page=3)