In 1994, alternative icon Jeff Buckley recorded a soul-stirring take of “Hallelujah” that would go on to define the song for generations. Decades later, his haunting version has inspired hundreds of covers and remains one of the most chill-inducing performances in modern music. Here’s the story behind it.
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Originally written and recorded in 1984 by Canadian troubadour Leonard Cohen, the song was initially overlooked, especially in the U.S. where it was never released as a single. It’s unfortunate, because Cohen toiled over the song to the point of obsession.
“'Hallelujah' was obviously an itch to scratch for Cohen, who drafted 80-some verses and tortured himself over the lyrics, famously sitting in his underwear at New York’s Royalton Hotel, notebook in hand, banging his head on the floor,” Louder writes.
“To find that song, that urgent song, takes a lot of versions,” Cohen once said in an interview with SongTalk, per the outlet, “and a lot of work and a lot of sweat.”
The song was given its due a decade later when Buckley got ahold of it. He released the track on his only album, Grace, and elevated the lyrics with electric guitar, “starting out rich, sad and slow, then blossoming into a shimmering instrumental passage that stopped all the clocks,” Louder writes.
That build echoes Buckley’s interpretation of the song, which differs from Cohen’s religious-focused intent. “Whoever listens closely to ‘Hallelujah’ will discover that it is a song about sex, about love, about life on earth,” Buckley once said. “It’s an ode to life and love.”
The song became a touchstone of Buckley’ live performances. He would close every show with it, bringing fans to their knees. But there was one person he hoped would never hear his version. And that was Cohen himself.
Others disagree. Like Buckley’s one-time collaborator Gary Lucas who said, “There’s a spiritual quality in 'Hallelujah' that touches people. There’s a holy quality in that song. But it’s like they said about Sinatra: Jeff could have sung the phone book and made it sound great.”
Buckley’s cover of Cohen’s song saw delayed chart success. According to Billboard, the critically acclaimed cover first reached the charts in 2008, topping Digital Song Sales after American Idolcontestant Jason Castro performed it on the show.
Following Cohen’s death in 2016, Buckley’s version reentered the charts, soaring to No. 10 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, with Cohen’s original reaching the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
“Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ has also become a pop-culture staple, featured in numerous film and TV shows, including episodes of The O.C. and The West Wing,” Billboard shares. The track and its artist are explored in depth in Sony Pictures' near-perfect 2025 documentary, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley.
View this post on InstagramSince the song’s conception, it has been covered more than 500 times, with Buckley’s version serving as the most iconic. It was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, after all. However, further key iterations include covers by k.d. lang, Rufus Wainwright, and John Cale.
No matter whose version you prefer, we have to first give thanks for Cohen, but then also praise Buckley, who died of an accidental drowning in 1997 at the age of 30, but not before transforming a beautiful but forgotten song into a timeless standard.
Related: 1983 Power Ballad Blocked From No. 1 by Its Own Songwriter Makes ‘Greatest Songs of the ’80s’ List
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