Leonard Cohen is a highly talented lyricist and songwriter. He has released 41 singles and 46 albums. And he has sold over 20 million albums and has one of the most recognizable voices in music. However, despite his big music back catalog, he will always be remembered for “Hallelujah” more than any of his other work.
Consequently, I am going to delve a little deeper into the history and meaning of the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. Hopefully, it will give you a little more insight into Leonard Cohen’s most famous song and the man behind it. Let’s get started.
Leonard Cohen’s Career
Leonard Cone was born in 1934 in Quebec, Canada. He was born into a mixture of cultures. His mother came from Lithuania, and his grandfather from Poland. He came from a staunchly religious Jewish family, which is important in the writing of “Hallelujah,” as we will see shortly.
During his high school years, he studied music and poetry, which would serve as a solid foundation for much of his future. It was whilst studying music that he first picked up an acoustic guitar. He taught himself to play, in a rudimentary fashion, before switching over to the classical guitar.
He continued to play guitar and sing regularly. At the time, he was often accompanied by his mother, who was a keen amateur singer. And, he would recall her singing just about non-stop wherever she went.
In 1951…
Cohen went to university, where he dedicated most of his time to writing poetry. Following his graduation, he did the sensible thing and enrolled in a law course. After a term in Montreal at McGill University, he went to New York, where he continued his law studies at Columbia University.
Leonard Cohen then returned to Montreal. With the help of his parents diverged into a career of writing poetry and short stories. It was a precarious existence, but he did manage to score some level of success. Although, it was essentially quite meager and only allowed him to scrape out a basic existence.
In 1967, he finally gave up on his literary career…
The success he’d enjoyed was never going to be enough to sustain him in any meaningful way in the long term. Consequently, he decided to move to America and pursue a future in music as a Folk singer and songwriter.
By good fortune, he quickly fell in with Andy Warhol and his entourage, or ‘Fun Factory’ as he liked to call it. This proved useful in helping to launch Leonard Cohen’s music career, which started with the wonderful song “Suzanne.” This nicely leads me to the next section of Leonard Cohen’s life and career.
Chart Success
Leonard Cohen’s recording career started with his debut single, “Suzanne.” A wonderful song and my personal favorite. It was released in 1967, and it is fair to say that he set the bar high in terms of musical and literary performance.
The single was not a runaway success. Nevertheless, it still made it to #3 in France and broke the Top 100 in three different charts in Europe. It also went silver in the UK. But, strangely, it never charted in either his native Canada or newly adopted America.
“Suzanne” was the lead single from Leonard Cohen’s debut album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen. This received a little more attention than the single. It made it into the Top 100 in seven major global charts and, importantly, got to #83 in the US. Additionally, it went platinum in Australia and gold in the US and the UK. There was still no love for his music in his native Canada as it failed to chart there.
Over the next 17 years…
Leonard Cohen continued to release singles and albums. However, none of the singles proved to be as successful as “Suzanne.” Sadly, despite the quality of Leonard Cohen’s music, only very few releases achieved top 100 charts success.
Thankfully, his albums, of which there were six releases during this time, fared better. He achieved a good amount of high chart positions, including a few #2’s with different albums.
This brings us up to 1984, which saw the release of “Hallelujah.” So, let’s dive into the history and meaning of the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen.
The History of “Hallelujah”
Frankly, when “Hallelujah” was released, it appeared to everyone who knew Leonard Cohen and everyone in the music industry that his career was going nowhere fast. He was seen as a good quality Folk singer but not as someone who would ever crossover to achieve global recognition. “Hallelujah” changed everything.
It was first released in 1984 as the second single taken from the album, Various Positions. Considering the future importance of this iconic piece of music, it did not chart or sell as well as might have been expected. However, it did give Leonard Cohen his first #1 hit, which he achieved in France. Additionally, the Canadians finally took notice, and he got his first chart position there at #17.
The album achieved slightly more success as it broke into more charts across the world. Additionally, it went gold in Finland and silver in the UK. That, compared with just one silver disc for “Hallelujah,” which he was awarded in the UK.
Following the record’s release…
Leonard Cohen pretty much went about his business of writing great songs. However, shortly after its release, it started to get attention from none other than Bob Dylan. Dylan was the first to pick up the song, and he began to play it live. Undoubtedly, this pushed a lot of attention toward Cohen.
Subsequently, John Cale also got interested in the song. He began to sing it and was also the first to cover and record it. The song was included on his 1991 album, I’m Your Fan. Thankfully, by the time 1991 came into sight, things had started to change significantly for Leonard Cohen.
At this time…
Leonard Cohen had already released a follow-up album to Various Positions called I’m Your Man. Very probably because of all the interest around “Hallelujah,” the new album received much more interest.
And he finally achieved his first #1, in Norway, where it went four times platinum. It also sold well and charted high on many charts around the world. After more than 20 years, Leonard Cohen and his music were finally starting to get noticed.
The release of the single in 1984 and the release of the album in 1988 were pivotal in developing his career. But there was much more to come. Like a slow train leaving the station, “Hallelujah” began to become increasingly popular and climaxed with a cover from the legendary Jeff Buckley in 1994.
However, this was very much a slow burner…
The song was inspired by John Cale’s previous version. It was not initially released as a single and only came out as part of his wonderful 1994 album, Grace.
The hugely talented Jeff Buckley died in 1997. And sadly, it was not until five years later, in 2002, and a full nine years after the album was released, that it finally went gold in the US. Despite the song never having been released as a single, Rolling Stones magazine was sufficiently impressed to vote it as the 259th greatest song of all time in 2004.
Buoyed by the album’s popularity, and five years later, in 2007, Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah” was released as a single. Sales were phenomenal. The song went to #1 in the US as well as #2 in Canada and the UK. It went multi-platinum in several countries, and the song, after more than 20 years, became globally recognized.
So, who sang it better?
Jeff Buckley. That was easy! Don’t get me wrong; I love Leonard Cohen’s gravelly voice. But, compared to Jeff Buckley’s version, it was not even close. Jeff Buckley, more than any other artist, demonstrated the greatness of the song “Hallelujah.”
What followed was that anyone with a microphone wanted to show their soul and musical prowess by covering it. Consequently, it is more a case of who has not covered it rather than who has. Additionally, if I was to list every TV show and movie it has appeared in, you would still be reading this by bedtime.
Many have tried, but, in my opinion, the original and Jeff Buckley’s versions reign supreme. So, what does it mean?
History And Meaning Of The Song “Hallelujah” By Leonard Cohen – Possible Interpretations
The song is full of biblical references. And the frequent proclamations of “Hallelujah,” which means praise to God, add weight to the notion that this is a song celebrating God.
But, is it?
It might be, but frankly, I think probably not. Consequently, it is a greatly misunderstood song. I believe it is more about the frailties of humanity and the failures of man rather than the praising of God. It is about how things go wrong; it is also about love, lust, desires, and loss of all these things.
Consequently, the Hallelujahs are more like a broken version of praises to God. The song is like an ironic prayer to someone that the singer appears not to believe in. Even more ironic given the strong religious background and identity of Cohen.
The many biblical references and praise of God are cleverly intertwined within the song. But they are also exquisitely ambiguous. If you have any doubts about it being a religious song, these can be crushed by the harsh reference about life not being one for pilgrims and blind believers.
Even more damning…
The song tells us that the repetition and calling out of Hallelujah is nothing more than a reference to a broken world. Therefore, the word has no real worth. And, it is nothing more than a hollow chant shouted out in vain and with no conviction.
In a couple of places, Cohen draws attention to the fact that he questions the existence of God and blandly states that maybe there is one. He also writes about not feeling like there is anything in his life that he has seen to show God’s presence.
Despite all the evidence for not being a believer…
There is also a crazy amount of religious material. Plus, the song also finishes with what could be pleading for forgiveness for all he has done wrong. Although he has professed to not be a believer, is this a final capitulation to him laying himself open to the mercy of God?
Well, it could be. The complexity of the song can leave it open to several interpretations. However, I think it is unlikely. I still put this in the category of anything but a religious song. This is only my opinion. Plenty of people still seem to believe it is a song in praise of God. That is up to them. They are entitled to their opinions and entitled to have the song mean to them whatever they like.
However, listening to Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley’s versions very carefully, I don’t hear this at all. Not that it will deter every singer, would be contestants on those crappy talent shows, or buskers, from thinking differently.
Want To Learn About The Meaning Behind Other Famous Songs?
If so, check out our thoughts on The Meaning Behind “Both Sides, Now” by Joni Mitchell, The Meaning Behind “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, the Meaning Behind “Edge of Seventeen” Song By Stevie Nicks, The Meaning Behind “Cats in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin, and The Meaning Behind “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals for more song insights and interpretations.
History And Meaning Of The Song “Hallelujah” By Leonard Cohen – Final Thoughts
It has been great to listen to this wonderful song again. I hope you have enjoyed taking a closer look at the history of the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen and exploring it once more. It is such a classic that I’m sure you will agree it is more than worthy of this special attention.
It’s a song that means different things to different people. Whatever that might be, it is a song that undoubtedly retains its power. I hope it will always remain as loved to you as it is for me.
If you don’t agree with my analysis, let me know in the comments below how you would interpret it. Plus, if you have any interesting stories about the song or Leonard Cohen, be sure to share those too.
Until next time, happy listening.
