Home / Songs / Hallelujah — Guitar
Song

Hallelujah Guitar Chords

Leonard Cohen · from Various Positions, 1984

Cohen's modern hymn in the key of C — five open chords cycling through the verse and the "Hallelujah" refrain. Played with no capo, so guitar, piano and bass all use the exact same chords. Every diagram is sourced live from the chord library.

GuitarPianoSimple Bass
KeyC Major
DifficultyBeginner
Strumming Pattern6/8 feel — one gentle strum per chord
Root3rd5th7th

Verse

Chorus

Play It Now

Load the whole progression into the Studio.

Open Hallelujah on the interactive guitar, hear every chord, and loop the progression.

Play Hallelujah in the Studio →

Questions about Hallelujah on guitar

What key is Hallelujah in?

C major. It cycles through C, Am, F, G and an E7 that leans back into Am — the "minor fall, major lift" the lyric describes. There is no capo, so guitar, piano and bass all play these same chords at the same pitch.

Which chords make the "the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift" line?

That famous lyric names the chords as they happen: the fourth is F (the IV), the fifth is G (the V), the 'minor fall' is Am (the vi), and the 'major lift' is F back to C. Cohen wrote the words to describe the exact progression under them.

Chords & variants

CChordAmChordFChordGChordE7Chord PianoThis songSimple BassThis song