Songfacts®:

• Cohen wrote this after a party at the Mulholland hilltop estate of a longtime friend. The lyrics were inspired by a heated debate about the existence of God - a debate that was "enhanced" by a good deal of marijuana smoke.
• The song has been described by several critics as being "The best Christian song written by a Jew" in years. However, Cohen attributes any Christian aura to the arrangement influences of producer Henry Iglesias.
• Eliah Levy's Chapman Stick performance was the result of a lucky accident. Both Cohen and Iglesias discovered street performer Levy on a crowded Santa Monica mall and thought his talent so considerable that they decided to include him in the song already in production.
• Cohen invited Thomas Hunter to sing background vocals because he thought Hunter sounded just like a Gregorian monk. But Hunter, a staunch atheist, initially refused to do the song and had to be convinced it would not be an unqualified tribute to God.
• If you listen very closely to the end of the song, you can detect Cohen's bullfrog voice crying "God, God, God" in the background. Producer Henry Iglesias felt this subliminal approach would leave listeners pondering the existence of God long after the song ended. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Arnie - Los Angeles, CA, for all above