Who sings the best version of Hallelujah?

The best covers of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

  • Jeff Buckley. Buckley’s version is perhaps the most well-known, and has been credited with giving the song the final shove into the American consciousness. …
  • John Cale. …
  • Rufus Wainwright. …
  • Bob Dylan. …
  • Regina Spektor. …
  • Imogen Heap. …
  • Damien Rice. …
  • K.D.

Who originally wrote Hallelujah?

Leonard Cohen Hallelujah / Composers The song was written and composed by Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), who said in interviews that it took at least four years and two notebooks to write an unspecified number of completed verses.

Did Jeff Buckley change the lyrics to hallelujah?

However, to call the song Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ is to omit a very important part of the song’s ever-increasing history: Leonard Cohen didn’t make the song famous, Jeff Buckley did. Were it not for the fact that Buckley was covering Cohen, one might argue that they are two entirely different songs.

Are there two versions of the song Hallelujah?

There are over 300 recorded versions of the song known and that’s not counting the myriad you’ll find on YouTube many of which continue to pop up. While the original is untouchable, there have been some excellent renditions of the track, something we thought we’d celebrate in a list.

What is the meaning behind Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah?

Hallelujah, the song teaches us, is a refrain worthy of times of celebration, of mourning, of regret, of catharsis, and reconciliation. Cohen’s song tells a story of broken love, true love remembered and mourned, guilt, penance, and of finding peace. The song’s thematic content is oddly fitting for its history.

Is hallelujah song religious?

Cohen is particularly known around the holidays because he was the one who penned the song Hallelujah. It is an iconic song and one that has been covered by several musicians, with Jeff Buckley’s version being the most popular. … But it is by no means a Christmas song. In fact, it really isn’t a religious song at all.

What is the true meaning of hallelujah?

praise ye Yah hallelujah, also spelled alleluia, Hebrew liturgical expression meaning praise ye Yah (praise the Lord). It appears in the Hebrew Bible in several psalms, usually at the beginning or end of the psalm or in both places.

Was JJ Cale in the Velvet Underground?

Cale was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Velvet Underground in 1996. At the ceremony, Cale, Reed, and Tucker performed a song titled Last Night I Said Goodbye to My Friend, dedicated to Sterling Morrison, who had died the previous August.

What was Leonard Cohen favorite version of Hallelujah?

Buckley omits two of Cohen’s redemptive verses; he called his version an ode to ‘the hallelujah of an orgasm’, even saying: ‘I hope Leonard doesn’t hear it. ‘ He needn’t have worried. Cohen has allegedly acknowledged it to be his favourite version.

Which is the greatest song of all time?

Subscribe Now. (WTRF) Rolling Stone has released its latest list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and the Queen of Soul is at the top. Aretha Franklin’s Respect topped the list as the No. 1 song, according to the entertainment magazine and website.

Did Leonard Cohen change the lyrics to hallelujah?

As fans mourn the loss of singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, who died at age 82, many are listening to versions of his hit, Hallelujah. … Then, Cohen revised the song: He made it longer, darker and changes up the first few verses. Musician John Cale heard Cohen perform the updated song at a live performance in New York.

Does Leonard Cohen sing Hallelujah?

Hallelujah is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984). … Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)

Hallelujah
Length 4:39
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Leonard Cohen
Producer(s) John Lissauer

Is Hallelujah a good wedding song?

Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is a gorgeous song, one of the best ever written. But it is not a nice song about God or Heaven, it is a dark indictment of affairs of the heart, and is not appropriate for weddings, or funerals, or for the Republican National Convention.

Is the song Hallelujah about Samson and Delilah?

Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is a song about a powerful sexual obsession, ennobled by Old Testament references to King David and Bathsheba, and Samson and Delilah.

Did Bob Dylan sing hallelujah?

Dylan performed a beautifully charged, bluesy and loving rendition of Hallelujah on the road often. That song has resonance for me, Dylan said to David Remnick of The New Yorker.

Is Hallelujah suitable for a funeral?

Hallelujah Jeff Buckley This is a popular choice for funerals. Buckley’s smooth voice, accompanied by beautiful lyrics makes this song a true classic for a funeral service.

What’s the difference between Hallelujah and Alleluia?

The difference between Hallelujah and Alleluia is that the Hallelujah is used for joyful praise of the Lord, whereas Alleluia is used for traditional chants in the name of the Lord. … The term Alleluia is a Latin word that has been derived from the Greek transliteration of hallelujah.

Why did Brendon Urie write Hallelujah?

Hallelujah seems to be a celebration of how close Urie feels with his listeners and how much they have in common. … In an interview with Mashable,Urie says, Religion was a huge part of my life. I was raised in the Mormon faith, and I can’t really deny too much of it.

What is classification of Alleluia?

Alleluia refers to a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of scripture, usually from the Psalms. This chant is commonly used before the proclamation of the Gospel.

What’s another word for hallelujah?

In this page you can discover 20 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for hallelujah, like: praise ye Jehovah, praise-the-lord, praise be, thanks be to God, hosanna, Deo gratias (Latin), alleluia, glory be to God in the highest, praise ye the Lord, thank-god and lift up your hearts.

Why is hallelujah called the highest praise?

The word hallelujah is most familiar in the context of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. … So great is the rejoicing by God’s people at the wedding feast of the Bridegroom (Christ) and the bride (the church) that hallelujah is the only word grand enough to express it.

Who is Leonard Cohen’s wife?

Marianne Ihlen
Known for Relationship with Leonard Cohen
Spouse(s) Axel Jensen (195862) Jan Kielland Stang (19792016)
Partner(s) Leonard Cohen (196067)
Children Axel Joachim Jensen (21 January 1960 – )

Who is Leonard Cohen’s daughter?

Lorca Cohen Leonard Cohen / Daughters But for now Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen, newborn daughter of Rufus Wainwright and Leonard Cohen’s daughter, Lorca Cohen, is simply just very, very beautiful, according to her doting father.

Did Leonard Cohen have a child with Marianne?

When Marianne Ihlen met Leonard Cohen on a Greek island in the early 1960s, she already had a child from a previous relationship, whom the iconic singer helped to raise. Now a new documentary spotlights the fraught story of that son, Axel Jensen, Jr. … One of the two women was Marianne Ihlen.

Who did John Cale produce?

The nineties found Cale producing the New Zealand act Garageland, Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses, Siouxsie & The Banshees and the Breton Alan Stivell. He made the all girls vocal group Medival Baebes sound like 21th century angels.

When did John Cale record hallelujah?

Released on 1984 effort Various Positions, its unfathomably long lyrics and twisted tonal range meant that Cohen could never get the song to its best standard. Enter John Cale. The iconic songwriter has had an indelible impact on modern rock and pop through his own work.

How did Lou Reed meet John Cale?

Reed met John Cale for the first time in several years at Warhol’s funeral in 1987. They worked together on the album Songs for Drella (April 1990), a song cycle about Warhol.