Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

LYRICS AND CHORDS

Rebecca Bogart & Jenny Peters

 Table of Contents
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... 2
About Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen ......................................................................................................... 3
Strumming Pattern for the 1st Verse and Chorus ...................................................................................... 4
Fingerpicking Pattern for the 3rd Verse and Chorus ................................................................................... 5
Do What Works for You ........................................................................................................................... 7
How to Play the Chords used in Hallelujah ............................................................................................... 8
Lyrics and Chords for Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen .................................................................................11
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................................13
ABOUT THE AUTHORS .............................................................................................................................14
3 • HALLELUJAH BY LEONARD COHEN LYRICS AND CHORDS

About “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen

Cohen's Ingenious Lyrics

While Leonard Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016) was mostly known as a singer and songwriter, he
actually got his start as a writer in the 1950s. He worked as a poet and a novelist until the late 1960s when he started his
music career. Hallelujah is an ingeniously written composition widely thought of as the archetype of secular hymns.
Cohen started with an astonishing eighty verses of lyrics for Hallelujah. He cut this to a final four-verse recording which
was released in 1984. But the alternate verses and lyrics sometimes came up not only in Cohen’s live shows but also in the
hundreds of later covers.
Cohen wrote brilliant lyrical narratives about Biblical characters. These include King David and Bathsheba, and the
tragic love affair of Samson and Delilah. These narratives coupled with thoughtful lines about love, despair, dejection and
redemption make Hallelujah an interesting and thought-provoking song.

One Song, Many Versions

While Hallelujah was not a commercial hit initially, famous musicians such as Bob Dylan and Velvet Underground's
John Cale recognized the beauty of the song. Bob Dylan performed the song in some of his shows in the late 1980s.
John Cale, on the other hand, recorded a version of it in 1991 on a Leonard Cohen tribute album. Cale's version included
lyrics which were different from Cohen's earlier version. Cale requested the lyrics of the song from Cohen. Cohen then sent
him several pages of the song's original verses. Consequently, Cale got to pick which verses suited him.
Jeff Buckley, influenced by Cale's version, released a cover recording in 1991. Songwriters and critics alike regard
Buckley's soulfully sung version as one of the greatest songs of our time. Buckley’s "as near perfect as you can get" rendition
contributed to the song finally getting worldwide recognition.
In fact, more than 300 singers from various countries have covered Hallelujah to date. What’s interesting is that these
different covers convey different interpretations and moods depending on the performer. These range from sorrowful to
joyous, fragile to uplifting, and religious to sexual. Also, many movies and TV programs have now featured Hallelujah, the
most notable of which is the first Shrek film in 2001.
Finally, let’s not forget to mention that the famous ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro also included a solo ukulele cover
of Hallelujah in his 2011 “Peace, Love, Ukulele” album. Even though the song’s lyrics are definitely unforgettable, its
melody and chord progression are also most noteworthy.
4 • HALLELUJAH BY LEONARD COHEN LYRICS AND CHORDS

Strumming Pattern for the 1st Verse and Chorus

Use the strumming pattern shown below for most of the song. The approximate rhythm of the strum is the same as
the nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.” In case you’re not familiar with the notation,
this symbol means a down strum:

And this symbol means an up strum:

5 • HALLELUJAH BY LEONARD COHEN LYRICS AND CHORDS

Fingerpicking Pattern for the 3rd Verse and Chorus

Use the fingerpicking pattern below beginning with the chorus before the 3rd verse (with the syllable “lu). This pattern
of playing one string at a time instead of strumming all the strings at once is sometimes called “arpeggiation” or “broken
chord”. Use your thumb on the G string (the one closest to the ceiling), your index finger on the C string, your middle finger
on the E string, and your ring finger on the A string (the one closest to the floor).
Tab for the Chord Melody

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7 • “PERFECT” BY ED SHEERAN LYRICS AND CHORDS

Do What Works for You

One of the joys of playing music is that you can choose to play it in the way you like best.
We’ve included the above suggestions for strumming, fingerpicking and chord melody so you can play the song the way
Jenny does in the video. If you don’t know how to read tab or do fingerpicking, you can strum the whole song. If you find
the down-up strumming pattern too difficult, just do all down strums. And if you have a different way of strumming the
song that you like better, then by all means, do it your way!
8 • HALLELUJAH BY LEONARD COHEN LYRICS AND CHORDS

How to Play the Chords used in Hallelujah

Hallelujah uses these chords:

Here are some more detailed illustrations of how to play the chords:
9 • “PERFECT” BY ED SHEERAN LYRICS AND CHORDS

About the E Minor Chord

The E minor chord is the hardest chord in the song. You could play the four finger version shown at the very beginning
of this section. Here is an easier way to play the E minor chord that only uses three fingers.

By the way, sometimes ukulele players who don’t want to learn the E minor chord will substitute the Cmaj7 chord
instead for E Minor.
 “PERFECT” BY ED SHEERAN LYRICS AND CHORDS • 10

While some players think the Cmaj7 chord doesn’t sound quite as good as an E Minor chord, it will can help you get
through a song that might be too hard otherwise. Also, if you find your hand will not make the more difficult chord shape,
it’s nice to have a chord shape you can make that still sounds good. We think of it like modifying a yoga pose in a yoga
class. Some people are very flexible and some are not. You have to do what is possible for you!
Here is another possible way to play the E minor chord that uses only 2 fingers:

We prefer the three-finger version because it will help you get ready to learn the B flat chord, and because the two finger
version is often out of tune on soprano ukuleles. Again, it’s important to find a fingering that works for you and sounds
good. You can always start with learning the chord with one fingering and then switch to a different one later.
Some of you might be wondering why there are alternate fingerings for chords. A chord is made up of certain combina-
tions of pitches. For example, the E minor chord is made up of the pitches of E, G, and B. A musician can play the pitches
in any order from low to high and it will still sound like an E minor chord.
Also, the ukulele has four strings. So when we are playing a three-note chord on the ukulele, we are usually playing one
of the chord notes twice with two different strings. One fingering might have you playing E, G, B, G, and another might
have you playing G, E, B, E. Both combinations of notes sound like an E minor chord but they have different fingerings.
You can learn a lot more ukulele-friendly music theory in our book 21 MORE Songs in 6 Days: Learn Intermediate
Ukulele the Easy Way.

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11 • “PERFECT” BY ED SHEERAN LYRICS AND CHORDS

Lyrics and Chords for Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

Intro: C Am C Am

- C Am
I heard there was a secret chord

- C Am
That David played and it pleased the lord

- F C G
But you don't really care for music, do you?

- C F G
Well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth

- Am F
The minor fall and the major lift

- G Em Am
The baffled king composing hallelujah

- F Am F C G
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelu-u-u-u...

- C Am
Well your faith was strong but you needed proof

- C Am
You saw her bathing on the roof

- F C G
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you

- C F G
She tied you to her kitchen chair

Am F
She broke your throne and she cut your hair

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12 • AUTHOR NAME

- G Em Am
And from your lips she drew the hallelujah

Begin fingerpicking the chords at first F chord. Continue until the end of the song.

- F Am F C G C
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelu-u-u-u-jah

Play optional chord melody solo

C Am C Am

- C Am
Well, maybe there's a god above
- C Am
But all I've ever learned from love
- F C G
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
- C F G
It's not a cry that you hear at night
Am F
It's not somebody who's seen the light
- G Em Am
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah
- F Am F C GC
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelu-u-u-u-ja
13 • “PERFECT” BY ED SHEERAN LYRICS AND CHORDS

Conclusion
We hope this PDF has helped you learn Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah.
We’re Jenny Peters and Rebecca Bogart, the Ukulele Sisters. We’ve been publishing books on how to play ukulele since
2013 and have sold over 50,000 copies worldwide. We believe that people playing music make the world a better place, and
we’re thrilled to support you on your ukulele journey.
You can read more about us on the next page. Please feel free to reach out to us at any time if you have any questions or
comments about this PDF or anything else about the ukulele.
Happy Strumming!

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14 • “PERFECT” BY ED SHEERAN LYRICS AND CHORDS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jenny Peters is a Grammy-nominated full-time music educator in the Chicago area. She has taught thousands of begin-
ners on variety of instruments during her many years of teaching.
Jenny developed her unique beginner-friendly method of teaching ukulele when she learned to play in order to include
ukulele to her fourth grade General Music classes. She has gone on to become a popular YouTube ukulele personality who
owns seven different kinds of ukuleles!
Jenny and Rebecca have now written five books in the Beginning Ukulele Songs series: Book 1, 21 Songs in Days:
Learn Ukulele the Easy Way; Book 2, Easy Ukulele Songs: Five with Five Chords; Book 3, 21 Easy Ukulele Songs for
Christmas; Book 4, 21 MORE Songs in 6 Days: Learn Intermediate Ukulele the Easy Way; and Book 5, 21 Easy Ukulele
Folk Songs. A sixth book of easy ukulele hymns is in the works. They are also authors of Ukulele for All published by Kjos
Publishing.
The Illinois Music Educators Association has to do presentations on how to teach ukulele, and she written the subject
for the magazine of the Illinois chapter of the American String Teachers Association. She is a member of the National
Association for Music Education (NaFME), the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and the American Society
of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP.) Jenny plays six other instruments besides ukulele: piano, violin, viola,
cello, bass and organ. She currently heads a successful elementary and middle school orchestra program. Before that she
taught Elementary General Music for ten years.
Jenny has served on the faculties of Lake Forest College and the College of Lake County. She taught piano, violin and
chamber music at the Music Institute of Chicago and the Lake Forest Music Institute. She holds a Master of Music in Piano
Performance from the University of Illinois and Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Washing-
ton. She earned her teacher's certification from Trinity International University in order to share her passion for music with
students of diverse backgrounds.

Rebecca Bogart has been introducing beginners of all ages to music for over 40 years. She believes that helping more
people play music makes the world a better place.
She learned to play ukulele from her sister Jenny using the method taught in Beginning Ukulele Songs series. While she
has spent countless hours playing music with two hands at the piano, learning to have the left hand fret chords while the

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 “PERFECT” BY ED SHEERAN LYRICS AND CHORDS • 15

right hand strummed was a surprisingly challenging experience! Rebecca brings a ukulele beginner’s perspective to the
Ukulele Sisters' writing team.
Rebecca has been passionate about the piano and music her entire life. She has played for audiences in Italy, taught
master classes at Harvard and won more than a few piano competitions. She made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in early
2014. Several of Rebecca's piano students have won national and international awards and been featured on NPR's radio
show "From the Top". She has been a featured presenter at the California Music Teachers Association, and has recorded a
CD of American solo piano music American Retrospective. She completed her Masters’ degree in Piano at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music.

Jenny Peters [email protected]

Rebecca Bogart [email protected]
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