Hallelujah: The Song of Life
- Richard Selke
- Dec 24, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 26, 2025
December 24, 2025
LISTEN TO AUDIO
I am struggling to get it all down. What to leave in? What to take out?
That struggle feels familiar to anyone who has tried to put their relationship with God into words. Faith is not a neat story with clean edges. It’s lived in moments of joy and doubt, confidence and confusion, gratitude and grief. And when we try to describe it – especially honestly – we often come up short.
That is why the story behind Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah resonates so deeply. Cohen wrestled for years to express what he felt about love, faith, God and human brokenness. He wasn’t writing a worship song in the traditional sense. His song is not polished praise. It’s raw, searching and unfinished – much like our own spiritual journeys.
The word Hallelujah is an ancient Hebrew expression meaning “Praise the Lord.” It appears throughout Scripture, especially in the Psalms. It is not reserved for moments when life is easy or joyful. It’s often spoken through tears. Cohen’s song reminds us that praise does not require perfect faith or perfect circumstances. Sometimes all we can offer is a broken Hallelujah – and God receives it.
Leonard Cohen, the Canadian poet, singer, and songwriter, spent more than five years writing the song. He is said to have written over 80 verses. During one writing session, Cohen reportedly sat on the floor in his underwear, filling notebooks, banging his head against the floor as he tried – desperately – to express what he felt about love, God, faith, failure and longing.
Anyone who has wrestled honestly with God can relate.
Cohen released the original recording in 1984. Almost immediately, he began changing it – reworking verses in live performances, reshaping the song as his own life experiences changed. Over time, Hallelujah became less a fixed song and more a living testimony.
Here are the lyrics Cohen sang in a 2008 live performance:
I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord…
From the opening lines, Cohen points us to Scripture. King David – the poet, musician and deeply flawed man after God’s own heart – played music that pleased the Lord. David also knew failure, temptation and repentance. Cohen references David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), his broken kingship and his anguished cries for mercy found in Psalm 51.
The Bible never hides the brokenness of God’s people. Scripture gives us permission to bring our doubts, failures, grief and confusion before the Lord. Faith is not pretending. Faith is wrestling.
As the song unfolds, Cohen speaks of love that wounds, faith that questions and praise that feels hollow:
It’s not a cry that you hear tonight
It’s not some pilgrim who claims to have seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a very broken Hallelujah.
This is not triumphant praise. It’s honest praise. And honest praise matters to God.
Over 300 artists have performed Hallelujah in many languages. Many have altered the lyrics – adding verses, removing others or reshaping the song to reflect their own journeys. Even Cohen himself adapted verses written by others. The result is that Hallelujah has become more than a song. It has become a shared lyrical language and melody for people trying to express their experiences with God.
Despite its pain and ambiguity, the song always returns to the same word: Hallelujah.
Praise the Lord.
Why? Because even when our faith is wounded, God is still God.
The melody and message have echoed through decades – from concert halls to churches, from rock stars to ordinary people – all proclaiming an unchanging truth – we praise the Lord in all circumstances.
Recently, that truth was powerfully expressed by Skyler Derrington, a 13-year-old survivor of the tragic Camp Mystic flooding in the Texas Hill Country. In the aftermath of unimaginable loss, Skyler rewrote verses to Hallelujah, singing:
We are a part of Mystic herd
We spread His light, His love, His Word,
the holy and the broken Hallelujah.
That is testimony!
Skyler did not wait for life to make sense before praising God. She offered what Scripture calls a “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15).
Cohen’s 2008 performance version ends with this verse:
I’ve done my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I learned to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
That is witness!
A friend once described Susan’s and my lives as “rich lives” – full of blessings and struggles. I suspect most of us could say the same. This life is not about perfection. God uses our experiences – our joys, wounds, losses and loves – to shape our souls and prepare us for His purposes both in this life and in eternity with Him.
We do not wait for perfect lives to praise Him – because Christ did not wait for perfect people to save. Our praise is often broken. But it’s still praise.
Cohen’s performances are rough and gritty – like real life. They soar and ache at the same time. If they don’t move you, you might want to check your pulse:
One of the most beautiful and polished versions of Hallelujah is by Pentatonix, reminding us that praise can take many forms:
In the end, Hallelujah is not about getting the words exactly right. It’s about coming honestly before God.
What I love most about Leonard Cohen’s story is his struggle to “get it all down.” Cohen’s many versions of Hallelujah – his revisions, his struggles and the ways others have adapted it – mirror the lives of believers throughout Scripture and throughout history. Like David, like the psalmists, like countless saints, we love the Lord even when we do not understand our lives. We bring Him our joy and our sorrow, our certainty and our doubt.
Our witness is not a perfect song – but it is a faithful one.
God has given us His Word – the true lyrics for life. Our lives become the music. And even when the tune is cracked, even when the words falter, the song still rises to Him. At Christmas, we remember why this is possible. Jesus Christ, God the Son, entered our broken world – not to demand perfect praise, but to redeem broken people.
Because Christ has come, our broken Hallelujah is never wasted.
So whatever season you find yourself in – celebration or sorrow – do not wait to praise Him. Offer whatever you have from wherever you are. And say it anyway:
Hallelujah!
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
QUESTIONS
Where in your life right now is God inviting you to offer a broken Hallelujah?
If you were to write your own verse of Hallelujah today, what would it say about your relationship with God right now?
PRAYER
Our Father, You are holy, faithful and worthy of praise – even when our lives feel anything but whole. You know the places where our faith feels strong and the places where it feels thin and fragile. You know the prayers we speak with confidence and the ones we can barely whisper through tears. Today, we offer You what we have. Not perfect words. Not perfect understanding. But honest hearts.
Teach us to praise You in all circumstances – not because life is easy, but because You are good. Help us to trust You when we do not understand, and to cling to You when the song feels broken. Thank You for Jesus Christ, who entered our suffering, carried our sin and turned death into victory.
Because of Him, even our broken Hallelujah is heard, received and redeemed. We praise You, Lord – with everything that has breath.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen. Hallelujah
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24, ESV
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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