"Cale is really the one who cracks the code of Hallelujah, according to Alan Light," Gladwell said.
Cale liked the tune, and decided to make his own version of Hallelujah with some new lyrics. Musician John Cale heard Cohen perform the updated song at a live performance in New York. Then, Cohen revised the song: He made it longer, darker and changes up the first few verses. In 1984, CBS Records passed on Cohen's album that had the original Hallelujah, but independent label Passport Records released Hallelujah "and it barely makes a ripple," says Gladwell, because that iteration of the song "was kind of turgid." It ultimately took Cohen five years to write Hallelujah, but many more to find an audience for the song. Cohen, a meticulous songwriter, spent years "banging his head on the floor, because he couldn't solve this song," says Light, who wrote a book about Cohen called The Holy or the Broken. It all started with an agonizing songwriting process.
Watch Video: Leonard Cohen has died at 82Īs fans mourn the loss of singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, who died at age 82, many are listening to versions of his hit, Hallelujah. The earnest tune is famously covered by Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, Willie Nelson, a contestant on every singing competition and many others.īut how did Cohen's slow, emotional song become so prevalent? On the podcast Revisionist History's episode "Hallelujah," host Malcolm Gladwell details the song's unusual journey to fame, with music writer Alan Light.