Hallelujah Shrek

One of the great songs of the Shrek movie is Hallelujah, commonly known as the Shrek Hallelujah song. The song itself has an interesting story. Written by Leonard Cohen and recorded on his 1984 album, Various Positions, the composing proved to be a challenge. Filled with biblical references Cohen has said that he wrote up to 80 verses of Hallelujah.

The Cohen Halleluajh has never really been far away. And has been brought to current attention by it’s inclusion in notable soundtracks such as the film Shrek and others. The emotional song that Cohen distilled from 80 verses to six stanzas “on the carpet in my underwear, banging my head on the floor”, has become a recognised means of alerting audiences that it’s time to reach for the hankies. When Marissa died in popular American TV drama The OC, it was to the strains of ‘Hallelujah’.

In shrek hallelujah is a paen to to the love affair between Shrek and Princess Fiona. The song itself  is about love which has soured and gone stale. Cohen used a lot of religious imagery in the lyrics of Hallelujah, including references to some of the more notorious women in the bible.

Cohen started work Hallelujah five years prior to recording it on his 1984 Various Positions album, by which time he had 80 verses to choose from. Rufus Wainwright recorded this for Shrek. Wainwright did not sing on the version used in the film (John Cale did), but his version is on the soundtrack. Wainwright records for Dreamworks, who also distributed the movie. Wainwright had an album coming out a few weeks after Shrek was released, so this was good promotion for it.

While the classic Cohen Hallelujah song was generally well received by moviegoers in Shrek many were disappointed that the original soundtrack was not what appeared in the album release.