Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
There are poets, novelists and songwriters, but I can’t name many who can do all three well. One of them was Leonard Cohen, who will be forever remembered for the song “Hallelujah.”
Born the son of wealthy, orthodox Jewish parents in Montreal in 1934, Leonard had the luxury of taking his time to figure out what he wanted to do. He started writing poems in the ’50s (and was a published poet at 15), then moved to novels (having two acclaimed novels by the time he was 32). In the ’60s, he decided to write songs.
He wrote the song “Suzanne” and showed it to Judy Collins, saying he wasn’t sure it was a song. She assured him it was, and said “I’m recording it tomorrow.”
But dealing with the business end of music – the recording business – proved more problematic, since it is more concerned about whether records will sell than whether they say anything significant.
But Cohen’s “Hallelujah” made his reputation, despite the lukewarm reception it got from the recording industry. Once it was committed to DVD, everybody started singing it – Bono, Brandi Carlisle, Bob Dylan. It even made the soundtrack of the film “Shrek.”
The new film “Hallelujah” pulls together the multiple strands of Cohen’s work, personal and spiritual lives into a two-hour portrait of man and musician. He seems always to have been on a quest, and would do things like disappear without a word.
When composer/producer/performer John Lissauer heard Cohen’s songs, he reportedly said “They sound cinematic to me.” Cohen asked if he’d like to talk in New York. They agreed to meet and Cohen wrote six songs for him, but when Lissauer called, Cohen said he was going to Egypt.
“I didn’t hear from him for eight years,” Lissauer reports.
On another quest, he spent six years at a Zen retreat on Mt. Baldy.
Meanwhile, “Hallelujah” became a staple for touring singers.
Cohen was an interesting, complicated person, whose last personal appearance was in Coachella in 2009. He died in 2016.
“Hallelujah” is a fascinating, complicated film about a most unusual person.
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