HALLELUJAH: not just a song anymore - UPDATE

R.I.P.
Many remembered him with a line from his 1992 single, Anthem: "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."
NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Father Ray Kelly of Meathe has taken the internet by storm, and captured the essence of this amazing song like no other before:

Irish priest astounds at wedding with incredible rendition of 'Hallelujah'

Ashley Fetters, writing for The Atlantic (12/04/2012), presents a fascinating account of Alan Light's new book The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah": A new book traces the the song's strange rise to pop-cultural ubiquity.

You may still prefer the Leonard Cohen original, or some of the others along the way that are chronicled below with videos. I didn't like Jeff Buckley's until I listened a second time--am fascinated with his teeth!--and I really liked Alexandra Burke's "X Factor" version. But Father Kelly proves Cohen's companion/collaborator Anjani Thomas wrong when she said, after hearing k.d. lang perform 'Hallelujah' at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006: "I think we can lay that song to rest now! It's really been done to its ultimate, blissful state of perfection."

You be the judge:

How Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' Became Everybody's 'Hallelujah'

UPDATE:

New from THE JEWISH STANDARD [We are the oldest independent weekly Jewish newspaper in New Jersey. Based in Teaneck, we cover Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties and beyond.]

You probably wouldn't believe us if we told you the IDF produced the best version of Leonard Cohen's Halleluja ever. So here it is. You be the judge.