Arguably, Leonard Cohen was one of the most significant musical influences of the modern era. Cohen wasn’t a big household name, but he was an artist who was revered by his fellow singers and songwriters. His iconic songs explored every conceivable area of the human condition, including love, depression, politics, loss, death, relation, and many more subjects that most performers typically shied away from. Cohen’s most well-known song was “Hallelujah.” Here’s the question: how did an obscure song from 1984 make it into mainstream popular culture? He involved a big-hearted green ogre named Shrek. For the most part, “Hallelujah” laid dormant until the movie “Shrek” premiered in 2001.
In “Shrek,” there is a scene where our beloved ogre and his love interest, Princess Fiona, have parted angrily after a huge blowup of an argument. Fiona starts preparing for a wedding to marry a man who isn’t of her choosing, and the song “Hallelujah” begins to play. The musical directors of the movie say that they tested out several different sad and poignant songs before stumbling upon “Hallelujah.” Once the had it, it was perfect. For the movie cover, “Hallelujah” is sung by Canadian musician Rufus Wainwright, who plays the piano while he sings the beautiful song. But what is the meaning behind “Hallelujah”? Leonard Cohen explains.
According to Cohen, “Hallelujah” is about covering the world full of conflicts and things that can’t be reconciled. Cohen points out that there are moments when we can “reconcile and embrace the whole mess,” and says that this is what he meant by “Hallelujah.” Basically, embracing life in all of its beauty and ugliness and randomness. Many artists have covered “Hallelujah.” However, no one has ever covered it like the Grammy-Award-winning a capella group Pentatonix. This popular group has more than 11 million YouTube subscribers and a cult following. Even I have seen them live in concert, and I don’t like going to concerts. But they’re unbelievable and I had to see them in person. I wasn’t disappointed.
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In the video below, Pentatonix sings this iconic song against a stark, barren desert background, which makes “Hallelujah” even more poignant. Sadly, Leonard Cohen passed away a month before the Pentatonix cover of his beautiful song was released. However, we have no doubt that he would have been blown away by the majesty of this stunning performance. Watch the video below.
