The Frustrating Events That Led to Leonard Cohen's Song Hallelujah
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- Опубликовано: 26 июн 2024
- 🎵The story behind the song hallelujah is filled with ups and downs and incredibly frustrating moments for Leonard Cohen. Hallelujah has always been my absolute favorite song. I had so much fun going down the rabbit hole recently learning about Leonard Cohen's incredible life and was surprised at how frustrating and hard it was for Leonard Cohen to get Hallelujah to be distributed in America! Walter at Columbia Records refused to circulate the song here, and had Leonard Cohen not begun singing it live with new (unheard) versus it never would have been picked up by John Cale in the first place. I was further surprised to learn that while Jeff Buckley was out performing the song and bringing this entirely new life to it, Leonard was in a MONASTERY! This story is just so incredible and full of so many twists and turns. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do • The Frustrating Events... 🎵
The song 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen | Jeff Buckley has brought audiences to tears for generations. While it seems as though every musician knows the cords and the lyrics, many don't know the frustrations Leonard Cohen and composer John Lissauer went through to create the song in the first place.
In today's episode of the Roots Music History Podcast, we dig up the roots that grew the song 'Hallelujah' and talk about the challenges Leonard Cohen faced: Professionally and Personally that led him to write this iconic, life-changing song.🎵
#storybehindthesong #rootsmusichistory #podcast #documentary #hallelujah #music #history #historypodcast #storytime
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© ROOTS MUSIC, LLC | MUSIC HISTORY PODCAST DOCUMENTARIES
Chapters:
0:00-4:48 Leonard Cohen’s Early Life
4:48-7:50 Journey to Songwriting
7:50-11:55 ‘Suzanne’ Opens Doors
11:55-14:50 Enter: John Lissauer
14:50-19:45 Enter: Phil Spector
19:45-21:52 Leonard Tries to Regroup
21:52-24:26 Hallelujah is Born
24:26-29:11 Hallelujah Banned in USA
29:11-31:46 Never Before Heard Lyrics
31:46-35-37:17 John Cale and Jeff Buckley
37:17-41:15 Conclusion 
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Not only the words of Hallelujah, it's the melody that is outstanding.
That is what horrifies me. All this fuss about everybody except the genius who wrote the music. Latter day rockers just don't get it.
Amen
They say there is a secret chord!
Please tell me again how we can support your astounding service to music lovers of all ages ( I am 78)
Please tell me again how we can support your astounding service to music lovers of all ages ( I am 78)
I am an evangelist and Gospel Singer here in South Africa. I love HalleluYAH and the feedback I get from everyone is awesome.
Great story. Thanks for sharing it.
I'm also a South African Gospel music songwriter. 😊
One of the many gifts Canada has given to the world, the amazing Mr. Cohen. 🇺🇸❤️🇨🇦
And the divine voice of K D Lang.
I miss you, Leonard. Bless you for the decades of joy your music has brought me.
Leonard Cohen: one of the greatest!
I miss him too
It was SUCH a RELIEF to hear you talk about the most important, profound, holy, wrenching, and triumphant verses Cohen brought forth and how most pop singers instead of comprehending those verses trim them off and reduce this song into a mere romantic complaint.
Bri in bed already. Celebrating Kim's birthday etc. A long 3 weeks Jane
Hallelujah is more popular in this decade than earlier. Young people especially love it, that tells you the world needs more of it. Thanks Lenard and John!
I agree. I think that is because many were not raised with Christian guilt and learned to hear words like Hallelujah without bing triggered or associating it with Christianity o or religion
I love the way bon Jovi does it
The music not the lyrics so much bring out the souls longing for something big, great, spirit filled, love…
My intro was with Pentatonics. I've heard many versions but my intro still stands as No.1. Thank you, Leonard, your song will live forever.
They are my favorite too !
Leonard is fabulous live! Especially singing Hallelujah! Fabulous artist! 🥰
I was also very moved by Leonard Cohens poems. Very powerful. Hallelujah is my favorite song but they are all good. As a child of the 60’s, he influenced so many artists.
Leoanard Cohen. The most wonderful singer, songwriter, poet, and deeply religious fantastic gentleman. We who loved you, miss you always sir. My favorite singer of all of his songs..
Thank you for the most respectful & respectable coverage of any artist that I have ever heard. In memory of LC, I wish you a long, healthy life of joy. ~
Music is what I avoid. When i heard this song, it was the exception. I listened to a few renditions, and quickly preferred Leonard Cohen's version. It's an incredibly beautiful music and lyrical composition. I played it for my step-father's last rites. He would have loved it. It is a powerful melody. Thank you for the background story. The song should be eternal. Hope there are many recordings and it never dies.
No-one can sing Hallelujah like Leonard Cohen❤❤❤❤
He sings Hallelujah with a very soulful tone and K D Lang approaches it with a lot of angst! It’s hard to choose who sings it better it’s like someone’ asks you who the s your favorite child!! I guess it depends on what mood I’m in!
Love them both!! 🤷🏻♀️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🌟❤️❤️🫶🏻🙋🏻♀️
Hallelujah plz by LC
Jeff Buckley!
kd lang and Pentatonix have done amazing covers of Hallelujah.
What cracks me up, given the lyrics, how many videos are on youtube by Christian Fundamentalists. And yes, KD and Pentatonix made very impressive tribute versions... and KD does convey much of the song's emotional kick, only Leonard delivers the level of irony and sadness that can only come from real life experiences.
Dominique Issermann, one of Leonard's loves was a French photographer. She shot the video for the song, 'Dance Me To The End Of Love.' Simply exquisite.
Best video EVER!
@@cyndyfredrickson855 I agree. I love it so much.
And my favourite too. Best song ever.
My favourite song of Leonard Cohen is 'If it be your will', though the first song I heard in South Africa in a hotel in the 70 s, was 'So long, Marianne'. L.C. influenced my life tremendously. ❤
Marianne was a lady he did meet in Greece and did she got mentioned in this video?
Marianne was a love of his live...... many is claiming.
Judy Collins' version of Suzanne is haunting. It will never leave you.
Yes I love it!
Thanks for the suggestion. Just checked it out.
Leonard Cohen
.... What a genius... I love the complexities ... Thanks. ❤
My very favourite version of this song is that of an Irish group of men known as Celtic Thunder! Their version thrills me all of the time that I heard them in live concerts and when I watch them on my DVDs . I love love this group! 6:5 when I
Interesting, will have to look them up.
I’ve mostly heard locally performed special versions of Hallelujah. One was performed by members of our police department. In any case, I’ve never heard a version that didn’t give me goosebumps.
You are an encyclopedia with a gift for telling stories. Thank you for this history lesson.
My first time on your channel. I am very impressed with you and your content. I can only imagine the research and work involved on making your videos.
Bon Jovi does an amazing job of singing it...
I saw him in Sligo Ireland a few years before he passed away. It was open air on the grounds of Lissadell house on a fabulously May evening with a view of Benbulbin in the background. Lissadell house had historic connections to W. B Yeats. Leonard incorporated some of Yates poetry into one of his songs. What an evening.
I would add the performance of Hallelujah at the Olympics, and she has done it at other concerts as well. This is a powerful song and her rendition is exceptional. Thanks for this.
I first heard a portion of Hallelujah in a movie, I have yet to hear a version that wasn't moving. I didn't know Leonard Cohen wrote it, nor did I know he wrote so many verses. The algorithm put this in for me to watch today. You did a great job describing Mr. Cohen, my wife may be a bit upset ŵhen she sees the charge for a tier 3 membership, I need to hear all of those beautiful verses.
This history is GOLD. THANK YOU!!!!
k.D.Lang sang it at the Vancouver Olympics and it was amazing
K.D. Lang singing this song was the first time I heard this song.
She totally owns this song & apparently Leonard Cohen thought so too---supposedly when he heard her sing it at a concert he turned to someone & said, I guess we've heard the definitive version now, or words to that effect.
Yes it was absolutely amazing! It left me in Awe
Hallelujah means praise Jehovah, the true God
As the music manager for my local church I was tasked with arranging the music for my best friend's funeral. His family asked me to include Hallelujah for Mass. I'd know the tune but never paid much attention to the lyrics and was kind of appalled that they'd be sung during a Catholic Mass. His daughter told me that every time my friend heard it on the radio he'd say that he wanted it for his memorial service. I got together with the singer and family and we decided on which verses would be most appropriate for this event; When I heard my organist sing and play it on the church piano I was amazed and appreciated its power and effect on everyone. I now look for all the other verses in search of what can tell a concise yet complete, spiritual story. The ones you read I believe are its key elements.
The lyrics are only a challenge if you insist on adhering to the political aspects of Christianity. The faith expressed is fundamentally Jewish. "You say I took His name in vain, but I don't even know *The Name* ". In Hebrew that last is Ha Shem, one of the expressions used to avoid vocalizing YHWH.
That was Leonard Cohen's favorite cover also. Her version is great.
I was so blessed to have seen Leonard in Los Angeles on his last tour. What a beautiful artist!
Thank you for sharing this background on the song and the composer.
"Hallelujah," is precious to me. I think the Wikipedia article says Leonard Cohen wrote 80 verses: I'm accepting your report that it's more like 120 verses. I imagined Cohen engrossed in the, "conversation," moved by the Spirit to express his walk with God.
So, I developed my own, "cover," of eight verses that I sing to myself from time to time. The fifth verse goes like this:
I know there is a God above
And I've learned so much more from Love
Than how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's in the cry we hear at night
It's from someone who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken, "Hallelujah...."
The song is a gift - and it belongs to all of us now. I recognized that there are secular and spiritual aspects early on. I hadn't thought of it as Cohen conversing with God: I saw Cohen as being David.
I could go on - but let me just thank you again for sharing this meditation on one of the most powerful songs ever written. And yes, the melody is a perfect match.
Many people don’t realize that Hallelujah means, “Praise Jah” (Jah being a shortened form of Jehovah). 🙏🏽
Many people don’t realize that Hallelujah means, “Praise Jah” (Jah being a shortened form of Jehovah). 🙏🏽 I love the words and music of this song. Beautiful❣️
It's one of those rare songs that transcends. My son played this at a huge Spring Show by individuals and bands in Austin high schools. Lots of great kids! But my sweet boy , and of course the song!, brought plenty of tears for a few special minutes. Such a beautifully rich song
I love the way you tell a story.
Thank for this excellent video. Loved it 🌞
Give me Leonard Cohen every night, that tranquil beauty of delight.... that profound feeling, I require for survival. His luminous words that burn within, his sexy voice capturing every sin...his love that complicated new arrivals. There are no words to fill his void, there are no symptoms left to cure, because when Leonard Cohen died, so did...a legendary idol.
- P
what a fascinating story - so well told! I really enjoyed this richness! thank you so much
I first heard Hallelujah as a background song in the movie Shrek. Even THAT was amazing; it really caught my ear. I also heard a priest sing it in a Catholic church--with his own words--for a wedding. It was very sweet, funny, and spiritual.
I had to listen to this a second time. The first time, I just sat there watching your eyes.
Thank you for pursuing the path of Hallelujah. It is good to be reminded that sometimes things go wrong, but ‘that’s Not all she wrote’! •What if we showed the persistence (even in our invisible years) that marks the rise and flowering of Hallelujah? We shall Prevail!
🙏💙🌱🌿✨
My favorite version of this song is from Jeff Buckley. I just heard it at the right time in my life. I had known this song from before but when I was 16 years old Jeff Buckley released his album and it floored me. Still does. But Hallelujah knocked me over for months. I feel like Jeff took that song and make it his own.
Leonard Cohen's first book, 'The Favorite Game', is amazing.
But his second book, 'Beautiful Losers', is his true masterpiece. I first read it over 50 years ago. And it totally blew me away. I'd never read anything even remotely like it. And still, today, it's one of my favorite books. It's more than a novel. It's a stunningly beautiful prose poem. I recommend you read it. Especially if you love Cohen's songs and poetry.
For most people, the novel is a little strange when you first start to read it. And that puts a lot of people off. That's likely because it's simply unlike anything you've ever read before. But stick with it. It'll amaze you with it's depth of feeling, and Cohen's unique insights into the human condition.
i taught myself this song after hearing this song sung by jef buckley, who i heard sadly drowned in a river. i did it all instrumental
I love this song but I can't listen to it anymore, my son also drowned in a river. It's just too sad.
Phil S., is an example of talent having NO influence on a person's character.
Michael Jackson, O.J. Simon are also examples of talented men of poor character.
Precisely the reason we should not idolize these men or women. Admire the talent, but do not be blinded by it.
Who is OJ Simon?
Fantastic episode. Thank you!
I love the original. I love the Easter version. I love the Christmas version. The melody is haunting and beautiful. Since I first heard it, this has been a favorite.
Thank you for sharing this part of history
Me and Mr Cohen have so much in common..so so much
Facinating!
Excellent biography. Thank you.
Love it❤I'm going to listen to all of them😊
Thanks for the context!!
Too me, nothing will ever compare to Jeff Buckley's version. I loved Jeff Buckley...sad that he died so young 😢 I've been listening to Leonard Cohen since the 60s. Thanks for this great video👍
Neil Diamond covered this on his 2010 "Dreams" album. It's my favorite.
If you have not listened to the entire movie, and its soundtrack by Leonard Cohen, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" is the most meaningful track to ever TELL such a Big Screen story by song. Golden globe and Academy awards. Read the story of its making before watching it, you won't be able to not watch it. Location and Period costuming with absolutely stunning antiquity recreated. Even the blizzard was epic and real.
I play guitar... have been for 15 years
The getting the girls thing is a myth most guitarists will tell u it doesn't work
I do it cuz I love it
May be myth but guys still think it’s worth a try, and the guitar itself is kind of ‘protective’…
my twenty-something son echoes these same sentiments decades after ‘someone’ threw it out there, guitars help ‘get’ girls 🤨
I saw Leonard Cohn do this song in London Ontario. No one does it better but KD Lang’s outstanding.
Everything KD Lang does, she does well. She just has a wonderful voice and a deep feeling for the words.
Awesome!! Loved this!! Love Leonard Cohen and Hallelujah by anyone is my favorite❤️
Wonderful fascinating history!!!
What's really beautiful is that Leonard could stand before the Lord, "even though it all went wrong" with nothing on his tongue but "Hallelujah." What a wonderful way to make the big transition from whatever this life is to . . . whatever the Lord has for us in all eternity! I hope to speak with Leonard about it when I get up there. Thank you, Jesus!
Thank you so much for this amazing story. Love love Leonard Cohen
Love your program, beyond interesting!
I love leonard, he slowly grew on me.
He was a songwriting genius.
I graduated from high school in 1969. Yup…. Leonard Cohen…. Check out Jeff Gutt singing “Hallelujah” on The X Factor! Spoiler alert: He’s now been the lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots since 2017.
Thank you so much, so good to get this history!!
Leonard Cohen teared up when KD Lange. Very moving
I love the way you tell the story and hallelujah is one of my favourite song. From New Zealand
I started listening to his songs in 1967. Love him❤❤❤❤
However much time you spent on researching for this was time well-spent-thank you!
Yes, but something is off on the timeline. I knew about Leonard Cohen in the 1970s. If you lived in California back then, esp. SF, you knew about his poetry. The music, maybe not, but definitely his poetry. City Lights Bookstore had his work and that of a lot of other wonderful poets from that era early on,.The thing about bios is that you can never be sure of the facts especially when it is an online presentation that was probably dependent on references and maybe even stories that were not original sources. I'd like to see someone do a book on him with all the references listed. Unfortunately, many of the people who knew personally him are probably not around anymore.
Why is John Lissauer never credited as the composer, or collaborating composer, on Hallelujah? This is so unfair!
Yep.
Thanks for mentioning this.
John Lissauer is the producer and did the arrangement of the song and is not the composer, he just helped a little!
@@treintjefop Helped a lot! Undoubtedly more than most of us realize.
He was credited for the whole album of Various Positions, first as produced and arranged by John Lissauer, and also as Piano and Keyboard Orchestrations by John Lissauer. He didn't get a special mention for just one song, his mention was for his particular arrangements for all the songs on that album.
You are a fantastic storyteller. Keep on keeping on young lady.
I agree that KD Lang when she sings it’s magic!!!❤❤❤
THANKS FOR YOUR WONDERFUL STORY OF LC....I LOVE HIS MUSIC.....MYRON DYAL
Ahh...my favorite poet songwriter...Leonard Cohen..was introduced to him by a beautiful young Lady in 1970..and was instantly hooked..have his 1st 2 Albums..treasured...Sisters of Mercy & Bird on a wire...Yes Cohen was always impeccably dressed a true gentleman.From my 1/4 Jewish blood(Not too Shabby) to you.. Thank You for this Beautiful Young Jewish Lady..
You are a great storyteller. Keep researching.👏
Thank you so kuch for sharing this story, the more i know now! Half the things you were talking, explaining about i didn't even know!
Can you maybe do a full story on pop,singer, country star artist Bailey Zimmerman & his album Religiously & his EP Leave The Light On,thru his music , etc.
Thanks so much- I found this fascinating!🙌🙌🙌🙌
I was in grade 8 music class in 1969 or 1970 and our teacher, Mr. Grant played a documentary movie of Leonard Cohen. My guess is the movie was made by CBC. Likely it is on You Tube somewhere. Imagine if I had not seen that film.
I find the music itself to be very moving. I heard a couple of mariachi band members playing it with a accordion and guitar in a shopping center parking lot and was moved to tears.
Good job...
good stuff
One of the best songs ever written.
Such good info on Cohen & "Hallelujah" ... want to know more!!! 🎉🎉
I saw a Canadian Documentary that was made about Leonard Cohen before he was a musician. Did you know he was Poet Laureate of Canada at one point in the early 60's? I saw him live a couple times in the 70's. One of my favorite parts of the show was him do very funny poems over a beatnik style jazz rhythm. He was so hysterical and such a dry wit and the poems were pretty prosaic and profound. so much wonderful memories.
Thank you. You have a gift and it shows in your knowledge and presentation. I'll follow you and learn more about the many generational talents we know and love, and their stories. You have a gift of story telling. Well done.
I haven't watched any of her other videos, but I plan on doing so. She has a great delivery and voice for doing these types of videos. Perhaps she could slow her speaking down just a tiny bit and it would sound even better. Anyway, I do look forward to watching anything she's produced about The Eagles.
Here comes some constructive criticism that I'm certain she will never read and others will consider me attacking the storyteller. Her "knowledge" isn't quite as fantastic as you think it is and I only know this because I'm a total L. Cohen fanboi, nerd, geek. For instance, she is correct that Leonard disappeared for a while and was living among Zen Buddhist monks. Leonard was paired with an 89 year old monk named Roshi. Leonard attended to his needs, somewhat like a servant, but more like a student/teacher relationship that does seem a little weird to us Westerners. Cohen, himself, was ordained a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monks in 1996. The host of this video first stated Cohen was outside of the country for this spiritual journey. Though she quickly corrected herself she still didn't know that Leonard wasn't very far from his home in Los Angeles, CA. His location was the monastery atop Mt. Baldy, CA. This story has a tragic ending for multiple reasons, but the first was the fact that while Leonard was trying to better himself atop Mt. Baldy, his Longterm business manager Kelley Lynch embezzled over $5,000,000 from Cohen's bank accounts and even sold some of his publishing rights. That was the vast majority of Leonard's wealth. His retirement fund! It is pretty much a certainty that Leonard began his insanely long worldwide touring in order to earn some sort of a nest egg. I don't think Leonard could have known that he was more popular than at any point in his career and instead of performing in small concert halls he was selling out theaters with multiple night shows and co-headline famous music festivals. The crowds packed with as many 20-somethings as 60-somethings.
There are a handful of other mistakes made, but I can't believe the tangent my writing took...boring flight! LOL I think she might be well served to find herself an editor or fact checker so pedantic twits like me don't bloviate in her comments section. LOL
@@alb639
Thank you for writing!
Oh yes… I think I’ll hit the ⚙️ icon on the upper right & SLOW the playback speed. 😘✌🏽
@@alb639 I love it. I honestly can't remember where I read all the above earlier. From a book, no doubt. I'll try to reprise it as I find Cohen's life fascinating. Thanks for clarifying these facts. I was born in L.A. and spent my childhood there and in San Diego; lived in Quebec for a number of years and spent some time on Hydra as well; also spent 2 years in an ashram so it really helped to visualize Cohen's life.
Loved every minute of this! Thank you!
One of my favorite songs
Dance to the end of love is another fave!!
Great story, thanks. What wasn't mentioned that when Bob Dylan split with his wife and moved in with Cohen around that time in L.A. for a couple of months. Oh to be a fly on the wall. I have a great bootleg cover of Dylan singing the song. Possibly the first one to cover it. One time Cohen asked Dylan how long it took him to write I & I, and D said about 10 minutes. He asked Cohen about Halleugah, and Cohen said two years.
Not even halfway through your tribute to Leonard Cohen's life & loving it. I love how personal you get. Will check out your other videos❤❤❤
I thought a 41 minute video was going to be too long to watch. I was fascinated and glad I stuck it through the whole way!
Thanks for your exposition. Leonard was amazing! Thanks for your historical and interpretive guide. I know it's hard to give a history as so many things seem to overlap, but you do cover a lot of complexity in your narrative, thanks.
Wow! Loved your content, your facts, your presentation, your energy, your personal comments, and your presence! Cohen’s songs are among my very favorites. Subscribed. Looking forward to many more. Thanks!
Thankyou for the background information. I found it very interesting.
What a great story!😊
I really love your perspective on Leonard Cohen. You have told many things I didn’t know about the man, but His enticement to women was more through poetry than the guitar. The only thing I can think of is your persistence of the guitar theme. Is your own personal infatuation with guitarist. Which is kind of weird because Leonard Cohen while being a good guitarist was not a great guitarist. His greatness lies in his lyrical composition of his songs.
Thank you so much. I loved this expose'❤
Thanks!
❤ Well done.
My favorite version is by KD Lang. such a beautiful voice.
Check out The X Factor Jeff Gutt! Spoiler alert: He’s now been the lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots since 2017.
Jeff Buckley
I agree. KD all the way.
A critical event in Leonard’s life was the theft of his fortune and many of his copyrights, by his agent, whom he had entrusted with his affairs while in the monastery. This prompted him to go on what became a world tour to recapture his livelihood and ended up showing him how widely loved he was. Lemonade, indeed.
I'm going to check her version out! Thanks for the suggestion.
My personal favorite: You say I took the name in vain, but I don't even know the name; and, if I did, well really, what's it to ya? There's a blaze of light in every word. It doesn't matter which you heard, the holy or the broken, hallelujah.
That’s my favorite part too ❤️❤️❤️