I first encountered the song, Hallelujah, written by Leonard Cohen, on a 2010 CD, Dark Hope, an album of mainly indie rock covers by the opera soprano, Renée Fleming. I must have listened to the CD dozens of times the first month I owned it. While there are several very good songs on the CD, the one that really talked to me was her cover of Cohen’s Hallelujah. Although I have listened to the song innumerable times, it never fails to move me, leaving me pensive and frequently, a little weepy. Yeah, I can’t totally explain it.
One website, in an article entitled, 25 of the Most Covered Songs in Music History, places the song at number nine on their list. Another site claimed that in 2008 (when the article was written) there were over 300 known covers of the song. Obviously, it touches a lot of folks like it touches me. I have discovered though, that to share your favorite cover of this song is a bit dangerous, as everyone seems to have a favorite which, more often than not, is not yours.
John Fullbright is an Okie musician who came on the scene around the same time Fleming released her CD, Dark Hope. As an aside, he did a house concert at our abode here in Chesterfield, MO the year before he was nominated for a Grammy in 2013 for the best new American Roots album for his CD, From the Ground Up. He did not win, but just being nominated is a great honor.
I had not listened to his album, Live at the Blue Door, for a while, and did so a couple nights ago. I had forgotten that he covered Hallelujah as the ultimate song on this release. All I can say, is that he owned the song. They say (or actually I said) you can take the Okie out of Oklahoma, but you can’t take Oklahoma out of the Okie. All by way of saying that his Oklahoma drawl comes through on this song, especially the opening few bars. That does nothing to distract from the song, and for me, it was a bit of a bonus.
Another aside – The Blue Door is a famous, small music venue in Oklahoma City, very similiar to The Focal Point here in St. Louis.
Enjoy.
Here is an interesting video that attempts to explain the song: What Does “Hallelujah” REALLY Mean? | Lyrics Explained