Hallelujah :: Jeff Buckley

Leonard Cohen is one of my all-time favorite songwriters and artists, and Hallelujah one of the most moving songs I have ever heard in my life. It is a song that never ceases to make me feel something and everything all at once, and always brings tears to my eyes. With every year of my life that passes this song takes on deeper meanings and changes form to me, just as other great works do; the test of time and the ability to grow along with you a true testament to amazing art, to me.

Cover songs are another great love of mine, something I adore discovering and collecting, and definitely on my list of favorite things in life. A good cover song just makes me incredibly happy. That said, it is not often that a cover version of a song completely transcends the original, and even less often when it is an already favorite song of mine to begin with. Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah does it, takes the song and makes it not only his own, but lifts it up into an almost spiritual level of breathtaking beauty. I can not comprehend how anyone could listen to his version of this song and not be moved.