MONTREAL – Leonard Cohen announced today his intention to add his name to the already impressive list of artists who have recorded their take on Leonard Cohen’s seminal 1984 religious rock hymn, “Hallelujah.”
“I recently heard ‘Hallelujah’ in the film Shrek; when the cartoon donkey was walking through the forest,” said Cohen, sipping his second cup of coffee and moving his fingers atop the table in a trot. “That was John Cale’s version. I soon discovered that nearly every voice of our generation has done their take on it.”
“The time feels right for me to try my hand at reworking this classic.”
Cohen added that covering Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” had become something of a rite of passage among musicians, and that he felt it was high time he matured as an artist.
“I’m just another guy trying to take a swing at one of the great songs,” said Cohen. “ I don’t have the range of Alexandra Burke, the power of K.D. Lang, or the. . . I’m not Bono.”
Cohen concluded his statement by remarking on how it was the song’s enigmatic lyrics that truly captured his imagination.
“Is the song biblical, sexual, political?” Cohen asked. “ I have my own interpretation, but I won’t be so bold as to claim I have any more understanding than Bob Dylan, Swedish metal band Pain of Salvation, or that drunk asshole crying at my daughter’s wedding.”
“I just hope my attempt at it approaches the standard set by Jeff Buckley.”
