The Story Behind Leonard Cohen’s Hit Song Hallelujah

"Hallelujah" is a timeless classic, written and performed by the legendary Leonard Cohen.

The story behind the song Hallelujah is one of resilience and perseverance.

Leonard Cohen wrote the song over several years, striving for the perfect combination of words and melody that would accurately convey his message of devotion and gratitude. Last year, a documentary: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, was released and it takes us behind the curtains and lays bare the struggles Cohen went through before the song became a success

According to the documentary, Leonard Cohen made 180 attempts spanning over 12 years to perfect the song. When the song was ready, he included it in an Album titled “Various Positions.” He then sought a meeting with president of Columbia Records, Walter Yetnikoff. Columbia rejected the album

This rejection crushed Cohen. He spiraled into drinking, and soon depression followed. The words by Columbia kept slicing and dicing his spirit. Columbia had not only rejected him, they told his this:

“We know you are great, but don’t know if you are any good”.

Sometimes it takes time to hit the jackpot, question is, how does one persevere and wait?

isitoshe,

Al Sharpton once said that as you climb the mountains of life, sometimes you will scar your skin and also break your knees: don’t focus on the bruises, focus on the journey.

See, 20 years after Leonard Cohen started working on Hallelujah, he got his big break.

According to Bloomberg, in 1994, Cohen who by then was struggling with excessive drinking and depression, learned that Dreamworks was making a computer animated film, Shrek, in which they planned to use Hallelujah

And that is how Hallelujah got introduced to the world. Other artistes did renditions of the song, further helping popularize it. You probably know the song from Alexandra Burke’s stunning rendition in the British singing competition X Factor in 2008. In the documentary, Cohen is asked what he felt about other artistes doing better with the song. With no string of bitterness or anger, he quips:

“What an irony..”

From 2008, Leonard toured the world, singing to sold out stadia. And the song that would move the crowd was Hallelujah, a song that was rejected by Columbia

Hallelujah is an ode to the many forms of love and celebration, as well as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Every time I listen to the song, it talks to me about the power of hope, even in the face of adversity, and the unwavering determination to keep searching for meaning and fulfillment.

Leonard Cohen died in 2016