Hallelujah
Dec 17th, 2008 | By Annie Aura | Category: Music
When I hear the whispered chorus of Hallelujah I begin to shiver and small droplets of sweat begin to form on my temples. My breathing becomes shallow and my hands tense up and I grip onto the nearest piece of solid furniture. Why? Not because I’m listening to the X Factor’s Alexandra Burke’s version but because it reminds me of when I was on a plane full of people who joined hands and sang mournfully while our plane dived, bumped and rattled over the church-like Alpine peaks. It was comparative to being in a film where the characters have realised their unfortunate fate and the music creeps in to accompany their feelings until their ultimate demise (or the credits, whichever arrives sooner).
Ever since then I’ve done my utmost to avoid listening to anybody sing Hallelujah. Until the X Factor went and ruined it all. JLSVWxy were on on stage to perform their final track of the show and at first I didn’t recognise the opening chords ( I thought it was REM “Everybody Hurts”, how apt that would have been!). My girlfriend threw her mung beans at the tv and shouted “No! Murderers!”. I then decided I was going to enjoy this version of whatever it was.
“I heard there was a secret chord….”
It opened up to me in a new way, how or why I don’t know. I listened to this awful version but something held my attention (possibly the gorgeous eyes of the wonderfully named Aston Merrygold). It finished to a torrent of curses from Captain Haddock beside me and then Alexandra appeared on stage to perform a beautiful soulful version. I got goosebumps.
Poor Alexandra has managed to poke the ants’ nest with this cover and all the musical snobs have come crawling out. There is a group on facebook encouraging people to download Buckley’s Hallelujah to stop Alexandra’s being Number 1 for Christmas. How nasty. I find Jeff’s version too whiny and ethereal for my liking. Just because you can hit all the notes doesnt mean you have to. I would consider versions by Rufus and Damian Rice to be similiar in that respect. They just don’t cut it for me.
Hundreds of artists have covered the track and the style varies enough for everybody to have a favourite version. Some truly awful ones include those by Bono and Bon Jovi (ironic considering “bon” means “good”). Bono tries to interpret it in his own way and makes a mockery of the whole atmosphere that most artists manage to retain regardless of how tone deaf they are. Bon Jovi just massacre it. John Cale is the man who decided to take the original and throw it over his shoulder, I can see its appeal but my favourite aspect of that is the beautiful string arrangement.
Bob Dylan’s you will either love or hate. Sheryl Crow? Don’t even bother. KD Lang? One of the best. In my eyes (or ears?) Leonard Cohen’s original will always be the greatest. It’s warm and he delivers the lyrics the way they were written to be delivered. His avoids the sacred distance that every other cover maintains from its meaning.
Here’s a few others, good and bad that you may have missed.
Let me know what you think. Which version is the best? Is Bono’s really that bad? Any others out there worth a mention?
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Hallelujah is and always will be a Leonard Cohen song, in my opinion. Although, there are a few good versions out there – not sure I’m mad on Alexandra’s to be honest
By the way, I heard Damien Rice do a great version a few years ago
Here
Also here’s him doing it when Cohen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Here
Oh Regina Spektor. *sigh*
I like gaelick, I like this post, and I like Hallelujah as a song too. I haven’t listened to your list here, but the thought just occurred to me when you said about Cohen’s original –
“he delivers the lyrics the way they were written to be delivered.”
It reminded me of the several times my creative writing teacher would take me outside the classroom and make me read my writing to him. He was checking to see if I had plagiarized. There is that special nuance that rarely anyone fully captures in covers. People say to do a good cover you have to ‘make the song your own’ somehow, but I write lots of songs and when I do my own, it’s like wearing your favorite pair of jeans – they’re just part of you.
I agree so far on Cohen’s original. To be honest, I am careful about listening to Cohen do this song – I have my memories too, and why fool with a perfectly balanced day. I sort of agree with you on Buckley’s version, but I still wish I could sing like he did. I’d like to try to do a version of this song too. It was the first thing I thought when I heard the original. (Obviously, not the only one. Too human, all too human.) Thx for the post – just wandered here following that little blue bird. There it goes now…
Ok, my wondorous opinion,
I heart Kate Voegele right now over all versions I’ve heard.
Here is one that you might want to add to the list??
Espen Lind(on guitar), Askil Holm, Alejandro Fuentes, Kurt Nilsen(World Idol) 4 norwegian great singers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2NEU6Xf7lM
I think this song has a life of it’s own and noone will ever totally capture it for good. That’s what makes a really, really, really great song. (Maybe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT_1Xzr0d7Q
Last one, I promise.
“Hallelujah”
[...] http://www.gaelick.com/2008/12/hallelujah/ [...]
Hey Brielle, and welcome to our little abode on the interweb! lol – I like that you’re an enthusiastic commenter; but I love that you love this song! Although, I have to say, I prefer Jeff Buckley’s version (RIP) over Cohen’s, just by a hair’s breadth.. Don’t hate me!
: )
I will always love Buckley’s version, that goes without saying. To be honest, it’s only his version and Cohen’s that move the big wheel for me. Cheers, I’ll be around!! (to buy the next round!)
Here I go again, and I PROMISED to stop!! Someone told me that in Ireland, people who go to AA are called “Quitters” Is that true? Anyway, I’m not giving up on this post! Look what I found:
“Last year, Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” enjoyed a renewed popularity, topping the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart in the U.S. and hitting No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart after “X Factor” winner Alexandra Burke performed her own version of the song.”
source: Billboard http://tinyurl.com/d6jumo
but then, you prolly know this already… Just sayin’ hi – B
[...] film, “Changeling“, a selection of interpretations of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah“, plus a review of the festive vocalisings of Ireland’s award-winning queer choir, [...]