A sweatshirt I do not own, sad face, from Life Is Good.

How had any idea I would be able to post this much? I didn’t!

If I have worked this out correctly and everything works as it should, it’s Christmas Eve.

I have a holy song for you, but… it’s not about Christmas.

“Hallelujah,” written by Leonard Cohen, is one of those songs that everyone feels some kind of way about. But if you listen to the lyrics. Actually, what IS this song about? Drug use, some say. Probably not any sort of hallelujah you’d want to have for yourself. Still, it feels like church.

There were some lines in Wreck Your Heart a few drafts back that got cut I thought were appropriate here:

Music was transport. It swept you to another place, and every listener went somewhere different. Which is how people fell in love to sad songs and danced to songs about death at their weddings. How they listened to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” a song about human failures, and considered it prayer.

My favorite version of “Hallelujah” is probably Jeff Buckley’s, because it was the first I ever heard and also Jeff Buckley was a beautiful soul. We should have had a lot more music from Jeff Buckley. My other favorite is from Rufus Wainwright. I’ve seen him perform it live and lose his place in the lyrics—brilliant.

But for today, let’s check out kd lang’s version, the performance she did, live, FOR Leonard Cohen. No pressure, right? I love how patient she is with certain notes, how she extends and bends notes for effect, feeling, to show off her considerable skills.

It’s a hallelujah, for sure. Merry Christmas, all who celebrate.

If you need more holiday-themed music, try this Spotify playlist from the Americana Music Association.

The playlist is also available on Apple Music. Search for “An Americana Holiday 2025.”