Hallelujah
| 1984 | Cohen Various Positions (studio) | O1 O2 O3 O4 |
| 1988 | Cohen Live (1994), October 31 1988 Austin | N1 N2 N3 N4 |
| 1991 | John Cale - I'm Your Fan | O1 O2 N1 N2 N3 |
| 1993 | Cohen - Stranger Music (book) | O1 O2 O3 O4 N1 N2 S3 (O4 lips / tongue) |
| 2008 | Cohen Live In London / Songs From The Road (2009) | O1 O2 L4 N1 N2 L3 |
| 2013 | Cohen - Live in Dublin | O1 O2 O3 O4 N2 |
Hallelujah O1 1984 Various Positions (studio) O2 1984 Various Positions (studio) O3 1984 Various Positions (studio) O4 1984 Various Positions (studio) N4 ÷ O4 1988 Austin (Cohen Live 1994) L4 ÷ O4 2008 Live In London N1 1988 Austin (Cohen Live 1994) [live 1988] (Stranger Music 1993) S3÷N3 1993 Stranger Music (book) L3÷S3÷N3 2008 Live In London |
Al·leluia O1 O2 O3 O4 N4 ÷ O4 L4 ÷ O4 N1 N2 N3 S3÷N3 L3÷S3÷N3 |
Hallelujah was not considered a “rare song” although its evolution is, to say the least, amazing. Leonard Cohen had already written and rewritten many verses, say about 80, before publication in Various Positions 1984. At that moment I observed, among biblical images, a kind of loneliness and nostalgia for a lost relationship loaded with sensuality. The truth is I found it a bit exaggerated.
That album, Various Positions, ends with another mystical prayer: If It Be Your Will, of unbearable submission but sublime beauty and begins with Dance Me to the End of Love with Casio rhythm, another curious path that goes from the Holocaust to a love song and that, over time, would be a basic piece of his repertoire. In those days Columbia didn't believe in that record, the president Walter Yetnikoff said: Look, Leonard; we know you're great, but we don't know if you're any good. And they refused to publish it in the USA.
As Cohen recalls, only Bob Dylan seemed interested in Hallelujah on his 1988 tour he performed it twice, Montreal on July 8 and in Los Angeles on August 4, 1988. There is no official recording, we know him from audience shots. (Well, to be exact there is a Polish version of Hallelujah recorded in 1985 by Maciej Zembaty, of course this one, with 60 recordings of Cohen's songs, we can consider a expert of his work).
On the 1988 tour Cohen introduced new verses. The stanza N2 is especially explicit:
"I remember, when I moved in you.
And the holy dove, she was moving too.
Yes every single breath that we drew was Hallelujah".
Well, the reason for the nostalgic memory materialized. Time ago someone was told me that Cohen was not at all nostalgic, I'm not at all sure about that. Nostalgia is in the past, the excitement for a relationship waited is also a good theme, a beautiful Cohen’s example is Tonight Will Be Fine. Hallelujah does not seem to me a wedding song o suitable for funerals, although its spirituality.
At that time, without the Internet, it was not easy to know or spread the new Hallelujah, I recorded it at the concert in Barcelona on May 24, we also saw it on television at the concert in San Sebastian on May 20, it was a much appreciated TVE video by the fans. The set was N1 N2 N3 N1, it may seem like a mistake, but reviewing other bootlegs from those days, the last stanza becomes a mix of verses, as it was not finished. The final N4 is an evolution of O4.
The revised Hallelujah was officially released on Cohen Live in 1994, from the concert in Austin on October 31, 1988.
It was the exvelvet John Cale who listened to the new verses in concert (Beacon Theater NY 1990) and asked Cohen to send him the lyrics; he received 15 pages by fax. However he did a mix between the studio album and the live version, the result was O1 O2 N1 N2 N3 with slight variations and he released it on the 1991 tribute album I'm Your Fan. The formula was adopted in many of the versions that began to be lavished. Most notable was Jeff Buckley’s broken and lonely Hallelujah (Grace 1994) that would create a whole style.
Halleluja became popular with the 2001 animated film Shrek, in a cut-out version by John Cale in the film (O1 N1 N3 without the first verse "maybe there's a God above"), and the full version of Rufus Wainwright on the soundtrack album.
From here the versions are countless; it is a regular part of the repertoire of vocal groups or musical talent contest programs. At the moment I have collected more than 100 hallelujahs in 11 languages, more instrumental, far from the more than 600 versions of Jarkko.
Depending on the taste of each the versions are configured by choosing stanzas. Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and Allison Crowe keep the five of Cale. k.d. lang sings the same format but eliminating N2. Bono uses the original version of Various Positions by adding N3. In TV shows it is limited, for reasons of time, to three stanzas, O1, O2 and N3, avoiding the more controversial N2. In a few appears the O4 (or its variations), a verse to which Cohen was very loyal, and important for me.
There are those who dare to try to improve Cohen’s work. Rufus Wainwright, Leonard's almost family, changes "the holy dove" to "the holy dark", why not "the holy pink"? It's more fun, isn't it? For her part Allison Crowe sings "the holy ghost". I need an expert in symbology to understand it, and I don’t know if in religious symbolism. These things happen; maybe they have a higher morale or just try not to get into trouble. So for some reason, for Frank Sinatra, Jilly was who loved most Mrs. Robinson than she imagined Mrs. Robinson, and not this Jesus of Paul Simon.
An English version of Hallelujah can be sung literally. When translating into another language it is no longer so, the text must be interpreted, and this becomes very difficult in the case of Cohen's poetry. The adapter, depending on their knowledge of Cohen, language and technique may be more or less faithful, more so if they take the opportunity to change and create something of their own. I am interested and amused to see the results, which is what they have understood or what inspires them. I will cite some versions, with my assessment of very faithful [10] to slightly inspired [1]:
- Catalan: Jorcx 2006, N1 N2 N3 N4, as always perfect and faithful to Cohen [10].
- Catalan: Andrea Motis i Joan Chamorro 2014, Al·leluia, O1 N2* N3, [8].
- Catalan: Gerard Quintana 2006, Al·leluia, O1 O2 N1 N2* N3, [8].
- (N2* "... Recorda quan a dins teu hi entrava jo i entrava Deu i respiràvem un fort al·leluia” "... Remember when into you I entered and God entered and we breathed a strong hallelujah...")
- Catalan: Jordi Batiste 2004, O1 O2 N1 N2 N3, acknowledged making a cover of Jeff Buckley, [9].
- Catalan: Filferro 2016, O1 O2 ¿? ¿?, [2].
- Spanish: Draco Rosa 2008, Aleluyah, O1 O2 O3 O4, [4].
- Spanish: Enrique Morente y Lagartija Nick 1996, Aleluya, N1 N2 N3, adaptation by Morente and Alberto Manzano, 3 stanzas and 06:30 minutes, let to say they are long, [3].
- Spanish: Sandra Carrasco 2015, Aleluya, O1 O2 ¿? N3, very beautiful, [2].
- Spanish: Surfin Bichos1993, Aleluya, O1 O2 ¿? ¿?, [4].
- Spanish: Volador 2005, Aleluya, ¿? ¿? ¿? ¿? “…disculpas por cambiar su canción, el señor no llegó a mi corazón… perdone Sr. Cohen”, “apologies for changing your song, Lord did not reach my heart… sorry Mr. Cohen” [2].
- Spanish: Ana Belén i Víctor Manuel 2015, Aleluya, O1 O2 ¿? ¿?, [4].
- Polish: Maciej Zembaty 1985, Alleluja, O1 O2 O3 O4, pre 1988, [9].
- Wales: Brigyn 2019, Haleliwia [3].
- Danish: Steffen Brandt and Tina Dickow 2004 O1 O2 N1 N2 N3 N4 very broad and faithful, except for significant variations in N2 without losing the concept [8].
- Hebrew: No'am Peled 2004, O1 O2 N1 (Eng in part) O4 N3, [8].
- Italian: Eugenio Finardi 2003, O1 O2 N1 N2, [8].
- Finnish: Hector 1995, ¿? ¿? N1 N2, almost unrecognizable "Leonard Cohen, Hector" [1].
- Swedish: Ebba Forsberg 2009, O1 O2 N1 N2 N3 N4, free in the final stanzas [6].
- Czech: Juraj Kukura 1995 “Alleluja”, “Leonard Cohen, Hana Sorrosová” [¿?].
There are those that we should no longer call versions, it is a new text that has nothing to do with Cohen's, only this spiritual melody remains with all the hallelujahs. Some time ago I called them "rare lyrics". They would have a rating of [0].
- Italian: Francesco Baccini 2003, “Shrek Alleluia”, “Leonard Cohen, Enrico Nascimbeni and Francesco Baccini”, the sadness of the ogre Shrek.
- Czech: Lucie Bila 2009, “Desatero”, “Leonard Cohen, Gabriela Osvaldová”, apology for The Ten Commandments.
- Czech: Hana Horecká 2010, “Leonard Cohen, Hana Horecká”, Christmas song and love song with reproach for breaking a promise before God.
- Czech: Jakub Smolik 2010, “Leonard Cohen, Hana Sorrosová”, hi has died and ascends to heaven with joy, he asks God to take care of the children, a yet to be born.
- Czech: Jitka Zelenkova 2010, “Zní Nové Haleluja”, “Leonard Cohen, re-written by Pavel Vrba”, it has a slight inspiration [1].
- Czech: Wabi Daněk 2013, “Haleluja”, “Leonard Cohen”, he remembers the moment of his father’s death.
- Czech: Nezmaři 2014, “Leonard Cohen, Pavel Zajíc”, Christmas song with a parade of holy kings and beggars on the stairs.
- English: Father Ray Kelly 2014, it was a viral video, the pastor starts singing to the surprise of the bride and groom.
- Spanish: Il Divo 2008 and Jencarlos Canela 2011, “Leonard Cohen”, among good wishes, miracles, conversions and donations to the Church, versions with much diffusion.
The amazing transformations of this song do not seem to bother Cohen at all, the spred of his work in any form was already good. John Cale remembers Cohen telling him, "You just take from it what you find useful and move on." I don't consider myself a particularly purist fan, but at least there's one case I can't understand: Serge Lama in 1971 did a French version of "Bird on a wire", Vivre tout seu signed by Cohen and Lama. Cohen sang a mix of verses from this version with verses from the English original on the 1976 tour on French-speaking sites, presenting it as a translation. In my opinion, it is not at all a translation, nor a version or adaptation; Lama doesn't understand "Bird on a wire", at least as I understand it on, and betrays the spirit of the song, Cohen talks about the conflict between freedom and fidelity to the couple, Lama of living alone. Cohen, the author, accepted it, I didn't.
Confinement time, June, July 2020.
Thanks to leonardcohenforum.com by Actaion