THE MINOR FALLS, THE MAJOR LIFTS

Hallelujah's Epic Odyssey

If I knew where songs came from, I’d go there more often. - Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen rocking a beat poet look. Credit: Jack Robinson/Getty Images

In the early ‘90s, I worked at a store in San Francisco that my mom dubbed, “The Cotton Schmatta Shop.”

“They should pay people to wear their ugly clothes,” she’d say.

Ma wasn’t wrong. The merchandise—an array of leggings, t-shirts, babydoll dresses, and flowy pants, manufactured in the USA from organic cotton and dyed in an array of muddy hues—were far from flattering. I never cared for most of the duds, but they appealed to the earthy-crunchy set, like Kay, our store manager. A middle-aged woman with a mullet, Kay’s mood often matched the sullen color palette of her Cotton Schmatta uniform, ergo, leggings, a mock turtleneck, and Birkenstock sandals.

Most of the time, the shop was dead. My coworkers and I spent our shifts unpacking schmattas from giant plastic bags, steaming out the wrinkles, and folding each piece with military precision. To funnel some joy into the place, we’d play music, though we weren’t allowed to bring in our own mixes. The owner’s husband had provided a collection of store-sanctioned, homemade cassette tapes to serve as the soundtrack to the schmatta-shopping experience.

I’d scan the cassette spines, brow furrowed, looking for something recognizable or appealing. In my memory, every other cassette on the shelf had “Jethro Tull” scrawled on the side, much to our collective dismay. I usually opted for some Nina Simone.

One day, somebody put on a Leonard Cohen tape, and I became entranced with his cinematic sound, spoken word style of singing, and poetic/sometimes cheeky lyrics i.e., “I’m Your Man.” Soon after, I found an excellent tribute album in a used record store bin called “I’m Your Fan.” Recorded in 1991, the album included covers of Cohen’s songs by many popular artists of the time like Ian McCulloch, Nick Cave, Lloyd Cole, The Pixies, and REM.

John Cale sang “Hallelujah,” on that record, and stripped it down to just vocals and a piano. His version would eventually be placed in the movie, Shrek. As pretty much everyone on planet earth now knows, “Hallelujah” would go on to become Leonard Cohen’s biggest hit, covered by just about anyone who fancies themself a singer. What I didn’t know, and you may not know, is that “Hallelujah” nearly faded into obscurity.

“WE JUST DON’T KNOW IF YOU’RE ANY GOOD.”

The other night, I watched the documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song (2021) on Netflix and I highly recommend it for anyone pursuing a creative path. There’s some great archival footage of Cohen and lots of entertaining interview clips, but what I found truly remarkable was how long the now ubiquitous song languished in the ether.

I consider myself a Leonard Cohen fan, but I had no idea that he was thirty when he first tried his hand at writing songs. Born and raised in Montreal, Cohen cut his teeth as a poet and a novelist. When he failed to make it big as an author, he moved to New York, and gave music a whirl, though he had little confidence in his singing and songwriting talent.

According to folk singer/friend, Judy Collins, Cohen showed her the lyrics to “Suzanne” and said he didn’t think it was a song. Collins assured him it was indeed a song and proceeded to record it. She made “Suzanne” a hit and went on to record several of Cohen’s songs. Cohen and Collins performed together at folk festivals and on TV, which helped him gain more exposure.

For many years, “Suzanne” was Cohen’s most recorded and covered song until “Hallelujah” came along. And that song was quite a labored effort. It took Cohen seven years to write it. In the documentary, we’re shown a glimpse of the song’s journey via hundreds of notebook pages filled with verses and rough drafts. The former Rolling Stone journalist, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, a longtime friend and Cohen interviewer, guessed that Cohen had written somewhere around 180 verses.

In 1984, Cohen was 50-years-old and proud of the hard work he’d put into his latest record with “Hallelujah” as the lead track. He waltzed into a meeting with the new head of Columbia Records, Walter Yetnikoff, and expected a positive response.

Leonard Cohen was 50-years-old when the song “Hallelujah” was first recorded.

Well, Yetnikoff hated it, and refused to release the already-paid-for album. Allegedly the exec said, “We know you’re great, Leonard. We just don’t know if you’re any good.” ⬅️ CAN YOU BELIEVE SOMEONE SAID THAT TO LEONARD COHEN?!

It made me think of all the talented people I know who’ve had their brilliant work rejected by gatekeepers—people who wouldn’t know a hit if it socked them in the eye. This is not to say that everyone in a position to fund artists’ work is clueless, but many gatekeepers hate to take risks. They say they want something original and then refuse to support truly innovative work for fear of failure.

The rejection was devastating for Cohen. “He was absolutely crushed,” says French photographer Dominique Issermann, who lived with Cohen while he was writing the album and had sat in on the studio recording.

The record came out in Europe and Cohen found a small label to release the songs stateside. Shortly afterwards, Bob Dylan, who happens to know a good song when he hears one, covered “Hallelujah” at some of his live shows. Leonard Cohen sang it too on his tours and still the song failed to gain momentum.

Then John Cale’s version, from the aforementioned I’m Your Fan record, got the attention of a young singer named Jeff Buckley—son of folk singer Tim Buckley. Buckley performed the song live in New York at a club called the Sin-é to great fanfare, and in 1993, he was signed to Columbia Records of all places, though Yetnikoff was no longer at the helm. Two years later, Buckley released an album with Columbia Records and “Hallelujah” was a stand out, yet still not a chart-topper. The song became synonymous with Buckley, especially after his untimely death in 1997 when he accidentally drowned.

AN OGRE MAKES THE SONG A HIT
Cut to 2001. The movie Shrek hits screens with John Cale’s version of the song playing during a poignant scene. The soundtrack sold 2 Million copies.

“I just thought it was right for the complex mix of feelings, not often there in a family movie,” says Shrek’s director Vicky Jenson, who used Cale’s voice in her film. “I also chose it to keep ‘butts on seats’ as it was a well-known song. But I cut the naughty bits, such as ‘tied you to a kitchen chair’ and ‘saw you bathing on the roof’.”

LEONARD COHEN WAS 67 WHEN “HALLELUJAH” OFFICIALLY BECAME A HIT.

Leonard Cohen was a spiritual guy and a seeker. Raised in a Jewish household, he found solace in Buddhism right after his label rejected his record, and spent five years living at a monastery in California. He never spoke ill of Columbia Records nor Yetnikoff, and only said that the song’s eventual success was ironic.

LATE IN LIFE TOURS

Following a fifteen-year hiatus, Cohen toured in his 70s and 80s, at first because he needed cash after his trusted manager embezzled over $5M from his accounts. Talk about some serious bad Karma on her part. Once on the road, Cohen rediscovered how much he loved performing. Just look at him skipping off stage at a show in Dublin in 2009 at age 75.

TASTE IS SUBJECTIVE
I love that LC lived to enjoy his success, and to see the song that he labored over for so many years make a meaningful impact on listeners. I imagine that every artist hopes for that same outcome.

As someone who has experienced a fair share of writing rejection, I find the journey of “Hallelujah” comforting and inspiring. There’s an audience out there for good work, regardless of an artist’s age. All one can do is put stuff out there and hope that the right people find it and connect with it.

I’m certainly willing to admit that my taste doesn’t represent the public at large. I just Googled the official name of the Cotton Schmatta Shop and was stunned to find that there are still THREE stores in existence. Last year, the original owner sold the business to a new proprietor, but dang, good on her for managing to peddle her schmattas for over forty years to a willing clientele. Guess it goes to show that if you truly believe in your art/creation/book/screenplay/song/band/pottery/schmatta, chances are someone else will too.

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