the words of hallelujah by leonard cohen

Reflecting on the song's initial rejection, Cohen related that Columbia told him that 'we know you are great, but don't know if you are any good'. Unlike some other songs that became anthems, 'Hallelujah' initially was on an album that was rejected by Columbia Records, was largely ignored after an independent label released it, wasn't widely covered until John Cale's 1991 version, and didn't reach the Billboard charts until Cohen's death in 2016. Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, creators of the 2022 documentary film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, said that Cohen took about five years to write the song, and reconfigured it numerous times for performances. In a writing session in New York's Royalton Hotel, Cohen is famously said to have been reduced to sitting on the floor in his underwear, filling notebooks, banging his head on the floor. Cohen is said to have claimed 150 draft verses, a claim substantiated by his notebooks containing manifold revisions and additions, and by contemporary interviews. Problems playing these files? See media help.Ĭohen is reputed to have written around 80 to as many as 180 draft verses for 'Hallelujah'-a number affected by the accounting question that he had many versions of the same line. 'Hallelujah' experienced renewed interest following Cohen's death in November 2016 and re-appeared on international singles charts, including entering the American Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. The song has been used in film and television soundtracks and televised talent contests. Many other arrangements have been performed in recordings and in concert, with more than 300 versions known.

The song achieved widespread popularity after Cale's version of it was featured in the 2001 film Shrek.

Cale's version inspired a 1994 recording by Jeff Buckley that in 2004 was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone's ' The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time'. Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a new version recorded by John Cale in 1991. ' Hallelujah' is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984).

The words of hallelujah by leonard cohen