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Cover of Various Positions by Leonard Cohen
Cover: Various Positions

Song · Leonard Cohen

“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen

From the album Various Positions (1984)

“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen appears on 23 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 2004 and 2026. It was first released in 1984 on the album Various Positions. Its best result is #2 on the WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,634 alternative song of all time.

23countdowns
9stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
2004–2026years charted

Watch

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah (Official Live in London 2008)

Video from YouTube (LeonardCohenVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Hallelujah" first appeared on Leonard Cohen's 1984 album Various Positions, and on arrival it barely made a ripple. Cohen's own reading is stately and patient, his deep, weathered voice taking the verses at a slow, measured walk, the refrain swelling into something close to a hymn.

John Lissauer produced and arranged it, with Jennifer Warnes among the singers and Leanne Ungar recording and mixing. The song's long climb from obscurity is a story of its own, but Cohen's original found fresh ears after his death in November 2016, when it entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2004 302 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2007 66 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2009 81 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 2 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2012 65 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2014 26 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2016 83 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2016) 100
2016 626 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2018 76 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 161 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 161 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 29 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 260 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 53 WYEP WYEP 2021 Labor Day Countdown 168
2022 86 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 80 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2023 688 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 234 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 39 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 45 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2026 82 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 39 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 1009 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound 1055

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