Recently there have been a few articles about the powerful lyrics of Rufus Wainwright’s song “Hallelujah”. In itself this is not a great fault, great and thoughtful ideas are now being shared in popular music. This is imaginably easy to do about a song with such deeply personal lyrics. Perhaps this system covered Wainwright. Although amazing and talented, this masterpiece of a melody cannot be trusted. He is not the first and certainly will not be the last to this haunting song. My first encounter with “Hallelujah” was in Jeff Buckley Grace. The day followed me.
Hallelujah” is an original work by Leonard Cohen. If you bothered to open the CD booklet, you should have come too. It’s Cohen, not lightly, a brilliant lyricist — quite clearly remembered songs pop up everywhere, causing some music fans who may have a different taste for the hit song, to hate its omnipresence.” (http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/P7E2QMMXT6TS)?tag=einfovn-20 I couldn’t have said better.
Making its first appearance in Various Positions, “Hallelujah” is especially appreciated, because it is both deeply spiritual and emotionally complex; of which it is permissible to collect only one poem in a few lines. It is told from the opinion of King David of the Old Testament about his affair with Bathsheba. Known only to fans of Cohen, he grew in popularity until his nineties. Although many artists worked on Buckley and Wainwright, his most important version was created by John Cale. Cale covered the song on his 1991 Cohen Tribute album I’m Your Fan, establishing the definitive form of the song. During his lifetime performance, Cohen would play around with the song, drawing as many as fifteen verses. After listening to them, Cale asked Cohen for the lyrics and was overwhelmed to receive all the lines, not just those of the evening. From this, Cale simplified the song, using only piano accompaniment. Cale deserves credit for producing the version we all know so well.
Just as Cale brought simplicity to the piece, Jeff Buckley brought his share of intensity; Having an incredible vocal skill, he gives credit to his version for the best performance. And although Wainwright’s cover is used on the Shrek Soundtrack, Cale is the one who used it in the film. Unfortunately, “Hallelujah” is a case of self-inflicted destruction.
