加拿大创作歌手Leonard Cohen于1984年发行的专辑《Various Positions》其中一首歌名为《哈利路亚》,这首歌起初只收获了有限的成功,直至1991年由Jeff Buckley和John Cale翻唱之后,开始广泛流行。《Hallelujah》先后被大约200名艺人用各种语言进行表演。到2008年,全球已经卖出超过500万份它的CD拷贝。BBC电台制作了以此为主题的纪录片,并在众多电影和电视作品中作为原声音乐。Alan Light以此为主题写作了《The Holy or The Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckly & the Unlikely Ascent of ‘Hallelujah’》(2012)。纽约时报评论员Janet Maslin赞扬了这本书和歌曲,文中写到:“科恩花费了几年的时间苦心创作《Hallelujah》……他写了几乎80个版本的主歌,然后慢慢修剪成最终的歌曲,并收录在1984年的专辑《Various Positions》。他的厂牌,CBS Record,一开始拒绝发行《Various Positions》,他们没有意识到这首歌会成为美国音乐历史上最萦绕心头最常被改编最多变的歌曲之一。(维基百科)
Leonard Cohen不但是歌手也是一位诗人和小说家, 他的歌词富于哲理性和画面感,这首《Hallelujah》并不像一首宗教歌曲,叙述中满是矛盾的困惑的苦恼不堪的情绪,反反复复的“Hallelujah,Hallelujah...." 是人类向上帝伸出的手臂,渴求着,询问着,彷徨着,跪拜着,卑微而又感人。
《Hallelujah》
I'd heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well, it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to the kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well baby, I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah