Diane Timmins, a hair stylist at JD’s Styling Salon, has a story that will start more than a few people humming.
“One day my daughter Jenni, my granddaughter Addy Guimond and I were on Highway 24 heading back to 100 Mile from Sweet Ash Bistro in Lone Butte.
Just before we got to the turn onto Highway 97, Jenni told me that she had something for me on her playlist. It was Leonard Cohen singing Hallelujah. We pulled over at a truck stop and sang the entire song. Addy is six now. She doesn’t know all of the words yet but she sings her heart out, with her eyes closed.
“A couple of years ago we started practicing “Hallelujah,” sitting in my living room. I love that song. It is so haunting. It speaks to me. One time I was walking on Grandville Street and there was a man playing it with a flute. It was so beautiful that I had to stop and listen. When “Hallelujah” comes on the radio at work, everyone has to bear with me. I turn it up and I have to sing.”
Timmins noted that an early appreciation for music can be a lifelong gift for a child.
“I’ve always liked to sing. I sang to Jenni all the time. I remember when she was sitting in her high chair and I would sing Summertime to her, with emphasis on the words ‘and your momma’s good-looking.’ She loved that, and to this day she loves the blues.”
In 2017, Canadian Leonard Cohen’s masterpiece, Hallelujah was named the greatest song of all time. It has been recorded by hundreds of performers all over the world, from massive choirs to child prodigies, from Willie Nelson to opera divas. A video of a 13-year-old boy playing the song on a street in Australia is worth watching.
His violin seems to sing the words and his joy in playing it is obvious. In contrast to that video is one in which an American acapella group, Pentatonix, walks with the camera on the bleak, flat Mojave Desert. Their rich voices blend together in a stunning version of the song.
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When Cohen was asked what he thought about the hundreds of people who were recording Hallelujah, he said, “I think it is a good song but too many people sing it.”
However, one night he watched kd lang sing Hallelujah at an awards show. He was visibly moved by her interpretation of the song. He told her, “Well, I think we can lay that song to rest. It’s really been done to its ultimate blissful state of perfection.”
Anyone who watched kd lang sing Hallelujah at the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 will never forget her powerful rendition of the song, with thousands of glowing lights moving gently in the dark background.
For me, the most memorable performance of Hallelujah happened in May 2010, here in 100 Mile at the South Cariboo Recreation Centre. A large audience was on hand for the South Cariboo Idol competition that evening.
Laura Kelsey is well-known in B.C., especially in the Interior and on the Island, as a multi-talented singer, songwriter and author. While she lived here she worked as the editor of the Free Press and sang at many different venues.
She is a small girl with a very big presence. Her voice is remarkably strong and rich.
When Kelsey came on stage her music was slow to start. When she began to sing Hallelujah the crowd quieted down and began to sing along with her. All around us people in the balcony and those on the arena floor were singing.
Kelsey’s performance was stunning.
She shouted “Thank you!” to a standing ovation. In the video of that night, the audience can be clearly heard singing in the background. The video is available online on Cariboo Radio. It was an unforgettable experience.
As for catching a future performance of Hallelujah in 100 Mile, maybe some warm day the door to JD’s might be open.
You might be walking by and suddenly everything will stop as Hallelujah flows out of the salon and out over Birch Avenue. It could really happen.
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