I almost never answer these comments but because I agree with both Judys last comment and A raised Eyebrow below it so much, I though it was worth voicing my agreement and adding my own opinion. If deemed appropriate, then it should be sung as written, in it's entirety. Lovely children with beautiful voices but not a song, in my opinion, for a children's choir to sing.

The pure, raw as written lyrics should not be distorted nor left out. I now find myself resenting people changing the words to suit the performer, i.e., age, setting, occasion, etc. I was married with a child when Cohen released Hallelujah. One of its most recent uses was its performance in a tribute to the child victims of the Sandy Hook massacre on The Voice. It has been used in funerals and weddings, in Christian worship, and in the midst of tragedies. These are just a handful of the artists that have added their voices to the canvas. Artists Who Have Covered the Song 'Hallelujah' Numerous other artists have covered the song, re-interpreting, adapting it, and sometimes adding their own verses. Its countless use in movies and television shows is impossible to list in any thorough manner. In the late 2000s, there was a sudden burst of interest in the song, and by 2008 Buckley's recording went beyond Platinum in sales. It still took several years before the song gained wide popularity. The Song Gained More Attention After Jeff Buckley's Cover song like a tiny capsule of humanity, using his voice to careen between glory and sadness, beauty and pain. Time wrote the following about Buckley's treatment of the song: To this day, his version is considered definitive and has served as the inspiration for countless other renditions. In 2004, Rolling Stone declared Buckley's cover one of the greatest songs ever recorded. Sadly, Buckley would pass away just before the release of his second album-cutting short a career that had barely begun.Д«uckley has been posthumously recognized as a musical genius, and his cover of Cohen's 'Hallelujah' was soon considered a classic. He would eventually record it on his debut album, Grace. Recordings of his early live performances reveal a treatment of the song that is undeniably both haunting and beautiful. To this day, few people play as Buckley did-performing on an electric guitar with the sensitivity of an acoustic folk 'balladist' and the precision of a classical harp player, couched in a symphonic, clean, electric glow as haunting as his voice is.Д®arly in his career, Buckley started playing Cohen's 'Hallelujah,' and his unique musical disposition took the under-appreciated masterpiece and turned it into something of a legend. He always performed on a Les Paul electric guitar. His career began by playing in cafГ©'s in France and elsewhere, where he would do intimate shows covering artists such as Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, French folk songs, and the India/Pakistani stylings of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He had a distinct voice that, like the man, escapes categorization.

From a young age, Jeff showed signs of being a promising musician-one who would later be heralded a genius and would go on to eclipse his father in prominence.ДЇrom the beginning of his musical career, Jeff eluded labels with musical influences as broad as classic rock, folk, jazz, hardcore punk, and even Pakistani folk music. Jeff Buckley was originally named Scotty but would later take his biological father's surname and became known as Jeff Buckley. It was this man who would turn 'Hallelujah' into the iconic and celebrated piece of music that it is today. Scotty would, like his father, become a musician. Mary got married, and the child (later Jeff Buckley) was raised under the name Scotty Moorhead. Tim fathered an illegitimate child with Mary Guibert, who Buckley would hardly have any contact with. Leonard Cohen and the Buckley FamilyДЄs an odd 'coincidence' of fate, Cohen had a friend named Tim Buckley-a country/jazz/folk artist who had achieved some notoriety in the '60s and '70s. Cale's version of the song immediately struck a chord and inspired a host of other artists to record their own versions. The song stayed in his mind he didn't decide to record it until Les Inrockuptiblesasked him to contribute to I'm Your Fan. John Cale's VersionД«efore Jeff Buckley recorded his iconic version, John Cale, of Velvet Underground fame, heard Cohen's track while attending one of Cohen's concerts at New York City's Beacon Theater in 1990 and was inspired. Still, it took nearly another decade before it garnered a large popular or critical audience. One exception was Bob Dylan, who was purportedly taken with the song and would play it live on occasion. The song largely went unnoticed for many years. How Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' Became Popular

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