Leonard Norman Cohen CC GOQ was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships.
Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s and did not begin a music career until 1967. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971), and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974).
What is the meaning behind Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah?
Cohen’s song tells a story of a broken love, true love remembered and mourned, guilt, penance, and of finding peace. The song’s thematic content is oddly fitting for its history. The song’s constant refrain, “hallelujah,” takes the listener through a journey of pain, joy, suffering, and celebration.
This is a journey that all peoples know well but speaks volumes in Jewish History. Some have gone as far as to say that the song reflects both Cohen’s struggles with faith and the tests of faith inflicted upon the Jewish people.
