Comments on: Name that artist!

Question: Name that artist!

piratebowling — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 08:14:27 -0800

Who wrote/sang the original version of Hallelujah?

I have many versions of this song, but I don't know who the original artist is.

Just to be clear, this is the Hallelujah that starts with the lyrics:
"I've heard there was a sercret chord/that David played and it pleased the Lord/but you don't really care for music, do you"

By: nylon

nylon — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 08:15:44 -0800

Leonard Cohen

By: piratebowling

piratebowling — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 08:16:55 -0800

I thought that might be it, thank you.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 08:22:12 -0800

Previous askme about the meaning of the song that became v interesting.

By: Danf

Danf — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 09:15:28 -0800

Who else does that song? I have two versions of the Cohen one. . I love it. .

Just curious.

By: hoborg

hoborg — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 09:18:16 -0800

Jeff Buckley - It was used in the movie Shrek, and became extremely popular after that, to the point that even my dad downloaded it.

By: the cuban

the cuban — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 09:21:04 -0800

Who else does that song? I have two versions of the Cohen one. . I love it. .

Just curious.

Read CunningLinguists's link.

By: amarynth

amarynth — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 09:24:55 -0800

Rufus Wainwright's version is on the Shrek soundtrack, but they used John Cale's version in the actual movie. Sheryl Crow did a live cover on a Vh1 show, I think.

The Covers Project has a list.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 09:50:18 -0800

I had the most depressing encounter recently with a teenage indie kid who corrected me when I referred to 'Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen' by saying with a smug sneer, 'Uh, I don't know who Leonard Cohen is, but I think you'll find that song is by Jeff Buckley.' I actually started banging my head on the table.

Er, anyway, I'm off to track down the k.d. lang version.

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 09:59:13 -0800

Rufus Wainwright did "Hallelujah" as the next-to-last encore at the Beacon here in NYC on Wednesday night. His voice had become a bit ragged (the Wed show was added on after Tuesday sold out) but they turned up his mike and he sang quietly and beautifully in more of the Jeff Buckley style. He traded verses with his backup singers, one of whom, Joan Wasser, was Buckley's long-time and last girlfriend - I wondered how she felt and who else there knew the connection.

By: Hildago

Hildago — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 11:22:51 -0800

They use his songs in movies a lot, and sometimes you don't recognize them because the voice and arrangement is so different, but you always know it's a Leonard Cohen song by the lyrics.

By: bephillips

bephillips — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 12:40:22 -0800

Gov't Mule recently performed it on 10/23/2005 in Santa Barbara. Very nice version, Warren sings it like he means it. After hearing this I found various sets of different lyrics, only four verses on the Ohen version I found. It made me wonder if Cale or Buckley had added lyrics of their own, or if they were singing lyrics of Cohen's that did not appear on an official release.

By: ND¢

ND¢ — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 14:00:36 -0800

I love John Cale's version of 'Hallelujah' from his live album Fragments of a Rainy Season.