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Hallelujah

Explore the transformative journey of Leonard Cohen's iconic song "Hallelujah," from its original solemnity to Pentatonix's haunting rendition with powerful vocal harmonies and emotional depth. Unravel the lyrical, musical, and spiritual layers of this timeless classic.

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Hallelujah

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  1. Hallelujah Leonard Cohen Pentatonix

  2. Leonard Cohen • Original author • Written in 1984 • On his album “Various Positions” • “I wanted to push the Hallelujah deep into the secular world, into the ordinary world,” he once said. “The Hallelujah, the David’s Hallelujah, was still a religious song. So I wanted to indicate that Hallelujah can come out of things that have nothing to do with religion.”

  3. Pentatonix • Covered Leonard Cohen’s version in 2016 • On their Christmas album • Reached 23 on Billboard 100 and has been gold certified in US, Canada, Germany, and Italy. Platinum in Switzerland • Popular with both older and new generations, because of “dignity, ambition, and sheer quality”

  4. Tone • Cohen: • “Beautiful, ironic, and melancholy • Bittersweet and sad • Inner desolation because of doubting God • Soulful and passionate • Long and drawn out • Pentatonix: • Said to “outdo” the original because of emotional aspect; described by USA Today as “haunting” • Powerful even though it is just vocals • Scott Hoying said: “Hallelujah” is one of the most iconic songs ever written. We made it really dramatic and emotional, and when people hear it, they feel something.

  5. Rhythm • Rhythm is based a lot off of the tones used in the songs • Cohen: • Much slower • Puts dramatic emphasis on nearly every word of the song • Pentatonix: • Slow • Focuses primarily on the word “Hallelujah”

  6. Instruments/Arrangement: Cohen • Organ/Keyboard, Bass guitar, Saxophone, Drums • Back up singers (male and female) – harmony • Each verse ends with the word that gives the song its title, which is then repeated four times, giving the song its signature prayer-like incantation.

  7. Instruments/Arrangment: Pentatonix • Pentatonix starts with nothing but Scott Hoying’s solo, then adds long hums from the third line of the verse. • In the second verse, a change in the syllabus in the accompaniment from the brief ‘ooh’ to ‘ah’ gives the overall sound more resonance and intensity, and aids the build up to the chorus with mild aggression. • Towards the end of the song, The second chorus has Kirstin, Mitch, and Scott singing in triads with each ‘hallelujah’ going higher than the previous. Avi is left to echo the higher voices with his own line before joining them in a culminating chord. Kirstin embellishes the melody towards the end with a note of anticipation. • At the very end, the section is hummed, giving the overall sound a better blend. This brings back the calm in the beginning.

  8. Literary Elements • Definite Rhyme Scheme • Asyndeton in Cohen’s version- “I know this room, I’ve walked this floor” • Repetition of “Hallelujah” • Biblical Allusion to David playing the harp, Bathsheba, Samson and Delilah, and Mary • Consonance- “Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord • Foreshadowing- “Your faith was strong but you needed proof you saw her bathing on the roof her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you”

  9. Religious Imagery • Religious imagery is used a lot throughout the song • Hallelujah literally means “ a shout of joy of praise to God” • King David and Bathsheba- “You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you” • Samson and Delilah- “She tied you to her kitchen chair, she broke your throne and cut your hair, and from your lips she drew the hallelujah” • David- “I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord” • Mary and conception of Jesus- “Remember when I moved in you, and the holy dove was moving too, and every breath we drew was hallelujah” • God- “Well maybe there’s a God above, but all I’ve ever learned from love was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya”

  10. Analysis • Portrays the “pains of love” in a spiritual journey in contrast to relationships of romantic love • “When one worships love, hallelujah becomes cold and broken” • Love has gone stale • All hallelujahs are equal; the perfect and the broken • Many types of “Hallelujahs” exist • The song leaves an open interpretation for each individual’s “Hallelujah” • It is not formally determined whether the meaning is religious or sexual

  11. Verse Analysis • The song, quite literally, shows the harmonic progression of the verse: “It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth / the minor fall, the major lift.” • This is an explanation of the song’s structure followed by a reference to the conventional contrast between a major (happy) key and a minor (sad) key. • The first verse ends with “the baffled king composing Hallelujah!” – a comment on the unknowable nature of artistic creation, or of romantic love, or both.

  12. Verse Analysis • The second verse of “Hallelujah” shifts to the second person – “Your faith was strong but you needed proof.” • Apparently the narrator is now addressing the character who was described in the first verse, since the next lines invoke another incident in the David story, when the king discovers and is tempted by Bathsheba.

  13. Verse Analysis • Following the David and Bathsheba reference, the sexuality of the lyrics is drawn further forward and then reinforced in an image of torture and lust taken from the story of Samson and Delilah – “She tied you to a kitchen chair / she broke your throne, she cut your hair.” • Both biblical heroes are brought down to earth, and risk surrendering their authority, because of the allure of forbidden love. Even for larger-than-life figures and leaders of nations, the greatest physical pleasure can lead to disaster.

  14. Verse Analysis • In the third verse of “Hallelujah,” the lyrics build to the song’s central premise – the value, even the necessity of the song of praise in the face of confusion, doubt, or dread. “There’s a blaze of light in every word; / it doesn’t matter which you heard, / the holy, or the broken Hallelujah!”

  15. Verse Analysis • The fourth verse offers an all-too-human shrug: “I did my best; it wasn’t much.” The song reinforces the idea of fallibility, limits, but also good intentions, singing, “I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you.”

  16. Cohen’s Thoughts • “It’s a rather joyous song,” Cohen said when Various Positions was released.  “I like very much the last verse – ‘And even though it all went wrong, / I’ll stand before the Lord of Song / with nothing on my lips but Hallelujah!’ ” • Though subsequent interpreters didn’t always retain this verse, its significance to Cohen has never waned: Decades later, when he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he recited this full last verse as the bulk of his acceptance speech.

  17. Fun Facts • Cohen once told Bob Dylan that it took him two years to write the song • More than 100 versions of the song have been recorded • The full version of the song has 15 verses • Cohen, a notorious perfectionist, is said to have originally written 80 verses • The song is broadcast at 2am every Saturday night by the Israeli defense force's radio channel • Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, 2008

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