Marie-Lynn Hammond

WHEN LEONARD COHEN SINGS

BY MARIE-LYNN HAMMOND

Half French, half English, Marie-Lynn Hammond writes and sounds like no one else. Co-founder and lead vocalist of the seminal Canadian folk group, Stringband, Marie-Lynn is also a remarkable solo performer. As a songwriter, her range -- in both official languages [English and French] -- is astonishing. From the anthem-like La tête anglaise, le coeur français, and Elsie, the poignant ballad about her grandmother, to the jazzy wit of Not Another Benefit or Girl who Can't Say Yes, she isn't afraid to be personal -- or provocative.

She especially likes to write about women's lives and concerns (often with tongue in cheek!). Her songs about her grandmothers are considered the finest ever penned in Canada. Those songs in fact grew into a successful musical play, Beautiful Deeds/De Beaux Gestes. Marie-Lynn often includes monologues from it in her concerts, which gives her performances a dramatic touch unusual in the folk world. While focussing on her own material, her repertoire also features some striking French Canadian chansons à répondre and mouth music pieces. And, given today's emphasis on women's issues as well as the current Canadian identity crisis, the bicultural Ms. Hammond is truly a singer for the times.

This multi-talented performer has four critically-acclaimed solo recordings to her credit and three produced plays. She has also hosted two popular national CBC radio shows, the most recent being Musical Friends which featured a wide range of live Canadian talent. Marie-Lynn Hammond plays guitar and performs with a piano accompanist.

When Leonard Cohen Sings
I'm sitting in a coffee shop one ordinary day
the radio is blaring out some ordinary tune
ah but then a Leonard Cohen song comes on and right away
the sun sets and the sky turns dark, save for a mournful moon
and the customers start waltzing in a slow and dreamy fashion
while the cashier weeps remembering some ancient crime of passion
and yet I'm not surprised -- I know these are the kinds of things
that happen when Leonard Cohen sings

It's 4.a.m. on Clinton street, I'm feeling pretty low
so I put Leonard on the tape deck and I haven't long to wait
till the sky fills up with fireworks or bombs for all I know
and Joan of Arc comes riding by and stops before my gate
and her soldiers fill the streets and now they're bursting through my doorway
and Joan just shrugs when I demand the reason for this foray
and yet I'm not afraid -- I know these are the kinds of things
that happen when Leonard Cohen sings

ah when Leonard Cohen sings
the broken dove flies up on mended wings
and I become a child again and yet I'm as old as time
I am the song of Solomon, I am a nursery rhyme
I sit here in the dark regretting all my hopeless flings
(I yearn for pure and burning love detached from all its strings)
when Leonard Cohen sings

when he sings "show me slowly what I only know the limits of,
dance me to the end of love," it takes my breath away
for those lines I'll forgive his tinny synthesizer solos
I'll even forgive him Rebecca de Mornay!

I'm in a huge cathedral now and Leonard's standing near
my hands are gnarled and spotted, my hair is thin and grey
and I don't know how this came about, I don't know why I'm here
but I was humming "Closing Time" when I woke up today
and saints above and fiends below are battling to possess me
till Leonard smiles and tenderly commences to caress me
he is my Prince of darkness and he is my King of kings
and I die happy, while Leonard Cohen sings

ah when Leonard Cohen sings
the broken dove flies up on mended wings
and I become a child again and yet I'm as old as time
I am the song of Solomon, I am a nursey rhyme
I yearn for pure and burning love detached from all its strings
when Leonard Cohen sings
when Leonard Cohen sings

Music and lyrics © 1994 Marie-Lynn Hammond. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission. The song has not been recorded.

Thanks to Richard L Hess for the introduction and help!
Visit The Marie-Lynn Homepage hosted by Richard!