This performance is part of the annual Leonard Cohen tribute concert in Minneapolis. It features Diane Martinson on vocals and J.J. Saecker on piano from the acoustic portion of the show. Words and music by Leonard Cohen.
Listen to a sample of Leonard Cohen's Famous Blue Raincoat sung by Diane Martinson
"I love to hear my songs by anyone else but me. My critical faculties go into suspension. I don't wonder 'Do I like it?' - I LOVE IT!!!" —Leonard Cohen
"Friday night was the concert tribute to Leonard Cohen at First Ave. I am always amazed at the professionalism of these people. Diane Martinson does a fabulous interpretation of 'FBR'..." —Valerie, Leonard Cohen Newsgroup
THE SHOW
The song was originally picked out for me as part of Chelsea Hotel: a tribute to Leonard Cohen. The concert allows a perfect setup of the song for me. It's not a show where the spotlight hits you and 'boom' you're on. It progresses from Mean Larry's solo voice and guitar to a high-energy rock band. Then there's a change in mood for the acoustic set. After the preceding song finishes, I move from the platform where I was singing backup vocals, and a solo piano begins. I take my time moving to a stool across the stage and take a long look at the audience. And when we're ready, we look at each other and I start singing.
THE ARRANGEMENT
Mean Larry wanted the song in the tribute show, and basically said to do whatever I wanted to with it. So I looked deeper into the song. I looked at all the different lyrics that Leonard had written, and settled on a version similar to what Jennifer Warnes used on her recording. My accompanist, J.J. Saecker, and I have been performing together for years. We tried different musical approaches until we found the emotional sense of the song.
THE SONG
I come from a theatrical background, and usually start off by looking for the song's message. The first thing I noticed is that the song does have a few ambiguous lines. It's just not obvious what they mean, but when you get away from interpreting at each individual line and look at the whole piece, it makes sense emotionally.
Everyone understands what a love triangle means to them. Whether you are on one side of it, or another, you know what it is to be in a triangle. So I didn't get bogged down by the song's ambiguity. It's not important to nail down which point of view it is.
After the show, people will come up to me and half-ask, half-say, "So this is about a woman forgiving someone." or "I like how you sing this from a woman's point of view." or "That was about a woman who had an affair, right?" And I answer, "Yes, you're right." to all of them. The song is open enough that it isn't blocked off to one character or one point of view. It's open to let you feel the power of the music.
The pinnacle of the song for me is the line;
And thanks for the trouble you took from her eyes
I thought it was there for good, so I never really tried
Everything is wrapped up in that line; confrontation, envy, concession, enlightenment, and acceptance. That line allows the lyrics of the chorus to have a different meaning at the end than the beginning.
When I sing Famous Blue Raincoat, I'm not trying to nail down who I am. I'm not trying to narrate the story. I'm just trying to bring out the emotional sense of the song, and with this tune it's very easy to do. It's all there just waiting for you to sing the hell out of it.
