Hallelujah

kd lang takes Leonard Cohen's song to the stratosphere

I am sick to death of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. That song lived in obscurity for many years and now every musician and their dog does a cover of it. The version that kd lang sang at the Vancouver Olympics though is a different beast. She takes the pain of searching that’s inherent in the song and runs it through her body before transforming it into something ethereal. Leonard Cohen said after he heard this, ”That song never needs to be sung again.” (Oh, if only everyone had listened!)

If you’re interested in learning more about the song itself, there’s a documentary on Cohen that came out in 2022 that tracked his story through the story of the song.

This is one of the great vocal performances and it’s your song of the day. Thanks to

B Mays

for reminding me of it.