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From: 2old2Rock
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  • ...song of an angel....

  • I've shared this song Jennifer co-wrote with many. Some at the end of their lives. I will play it at the end of mine and many many times before then. I just love her for sharing herself this way. Thanks to all the musicians too.

  • Wow! That was beautiful! Thank you Jennifer for your humanity whenever I see you sing it's like there is a whole person up there. Sincere, humble,vulnerable and present! with that glorious instrument fully grounded in the heart of it's singer.

  • Wow. This beautiful woman really,really, really knows how to sing. One of the loveliest voices I've ever heard. I have loved her since the 60's when she sang as "Jennifer" on the Smothers Brothers show. Thanks loads for posting.

  • My name is Bernadette! :)

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  • Some songs mostly these older songs have such feeling, for us after losing the proudest part of our lives our daughter w ehear this and she is with us once again.If only dreams could come true..what we would give

    Sleep gently our beautifull girl

  • such warmth in her voice - I shed a tear xx

  • Thanks so much for posting this song. Heard it way way back...perfect.

  • L O V E

  • Awesome!!!!

  • I totally agree

  • I wish Jennifer would release more music. She has such an amazing voice.

  • Oh boy, this just kills me, every time. So beautiful, brings tears.

  • Peace is not passive at all...it means searching, human struggling & doubting, courage, conversion to the sacred, embracing those who graciously are of Spiritual Support to us...may in these times of faith crises, suffering, specially amongst little children & natural disasters as in Tsunami, strengthen our human bonds of prayer & good actions & fervent Prayer Worshipping The Good Lord & venerating Blessed Mother, Queen of Peace & Mother of God & ours...as per ligreekguy, not vilifying God!!

  • @angela44ize O my God! Your words and thoughts are so utterly true! I am sorry if I come off sounding like some "drug induced lackie", but you truly speak what I feel and have always believed in! Thank you for sharing...may the universe bless you and yours!

    With Much Love,

    Bridgette

    xoxooxox

  • @bushbaby001 Jennifer was pretending to be a disobedient angel from the day of Adam, Eve & Noah that can't "undo the wrong that they have done". Bernadette was Jen's nanny when she was about 2. The angel pleds, "Won't you let me hold you!?!" There are the skeleton fingers over Jennifer's at the end of the song. Skeleton fingers went over Tori Amos fingers in one of her songs as she played the piano. Only in Hollywood...you say?

  • @iriswigle I am most grateful for your comments which I find are filled with great words of wisdom! Thank you for lending your understanding, knowledge and insight to this timeless piece. You most obviously have a keen insight coupled with a spirituality, that I know nothing of;nonetheless, thank you...I am honestly, ever so grateful

    Love & Peace,

    Bridgette

    xxxoxoxo

    (Canada)

  • When they heard Jennifer's voice, a thousand nightingales got out of the business.

  • Hi,Charlie Landsborough does a lovely version of this song also.I have it on one of his cd's.

  • wow..beautiful..and notice that Jennifer didn't have to shake her boobs in front of everyone to get their attention????

  • playback....that I don't like about it

  • i am awed by jennifer's performance of this song. i have been a fan since her days on the smothers brothers show, so very long ago.

  • Alas, this was an era when even politically liberal actors and singers showed the proper respect to God and religion. You would never get this today from entertainers, indeed, many of them go out of their way to display the most disgusting and shocking vilification of God.

  • @ligreekguy In what way?

  • The first time I heard Jennifer Warnes sing this song it was on a cassette in my car and I pulled over and replayed twice. It still sends shivers through me even now. She's got it and that's for sure.

  • I feel calmness, peace and mature humanity inside her voice and THAT is the real beauty.and not her singing.

  • She seems to have such a natural voice, free of artifice in the way that Rosemary Clooney's voice was. Her compositions & her choice of material underlines her amazing, seemingly effortless voice. You feel as though you are listening to a friend speak.

  • A singers singer - a beautiful performance of a Cohen's spiritual masterpiece..by one of the best female siners of all time.

  • @carpediemfriends . Is that a freudian slip. Siners. ??

  • Sorry, still technically impossible, but I'll keep trying.

    B

  • Such a rare voice and a brilliant song.

    Jenny & Lenny!

  • beautiful

  • This performance and the song on the album move me so very deeply... exquisite. I remember seeing Miss Warnes singing it on the Smothers Bros. show back when I was a teen and never forgot it... as powerful in its simplicity now as it was then. Thanks for sharing it with us....

  • She is the one and Only Ms. Jennifer. She ws made to move us!

  • really touching to the heart

  • What a beautiful voice! I'd never heard of her before.

  • I agree - this song is so touching and Jennifer Warnes sings it perfectly. "Sorrows to be healed and mercy in this world. Come on, let me hold you like Bernadette would do". Others have sung this song, but not like Jennifer Warnes.

  • she is timeless/classic! my favorite singer of all time!

  • Sheet music for Song of Bernadette signed by Jennifer now available (October 1, 2010) at Jennifer Warnes' official website at the on-line store.

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  • Visit Jennifer Warnes official website and go to on-line store for Sheet Music for Song of Bernadette.

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  • "That there were sorrows to be healed, and mercy, mercy in this world"

    If ever a performance could heal sorrows, it's this one.

  • Just great!

  • This is sooo beautiful...thank you Jennifer for having one of the prettiest sweetest

    voices I've ever heard..

    joanie

  • gorgeous...also check out Aaron Neville's version .

  • goreous...also check out Aaron Neville's version .

  • One of my favorite songs of all time..

    Thank you again for posting this..

    Did you all know that there is a 20th Anniversary RE-ISSUE of the "Famous Blue Raincoat" album?

    It has 5 other tracks that weren't on the original CD, and is also available in 24K Gold CD version..

    You can find it on Amazon & via Jennifer's store page

    Love it.

  • One of the most beautiful, unique female vocalists ever. Also, one of the most beautiful ballads I've ever heard. Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen = Pop Adult Perfection

  • Jennifer must of had a terrible agent. An angel with a voice like hers should have been more mainstream and more famous. I can see her doing songs like Ann Murray type. Regardless. If angels sing, they probably sound like her.

  • @Twom44 cannot agree with more.....she was and is a great talent !!!!

  • @Twom44 cannot agree with you more.....was and is a great singer and performer!!!!

  • @Twom44 There was actually an XM Radio interview that Bob Edwards didwith Jennifer awhile back. She said she hated much of the popular songs she was asked to record - so she didn't. That's one of the reasons she wasn't as big a commercial success as some others. I give her credit for that.

  • @Twom44 In an interview with Bob Edwards on XM Radio a few years ago she said she hated most of the songs she was asked to record --songs that would have made her a bigger commercial success.

  • I think I am repsonsible for half of the 292,000 views here....I come here often to think of the Blessed Mother's love for us, sinners and all.

  • @gootenslog Good for u mate!

  • @gootenslog I'm responsible for the other half!!!

  • ... the whole album is, well, just class.

  • one of the great underrated voices

  • Incredibly powerful version of this beautiful song!

    Her voice is like a caged bird aching to be released.

    I hope an improved audio version of this is available soon.

  • I agree with 2old2Rock's comment, "One of the most powerful and moving performances I've ever seen." I have that Smothers Brothers show on video tape. One thing that isn't shown on this video is after she finished the song, both Tommy and Dick came out and kissed her on the head. I would have kissed her on the head too for such a performance. This is one of the first songs I Iearned on guitar about seven years ago and shortly after I learned it I performed it on stage in front of 200 people.

  • Brilliant song, from a very underrated album. This song, and "First We take Manhattan" are great. Find the CD, and enjoy....

  • she sang three Oscar winning songs...

  • @pandemits And was nominated for a fourth Oscar. More than any other singer ever and heaven knows she deserved them all.

  • @patricia51fem for which song/film was the fourth one?

  • @pandemits The one nomination she didn't win for was for "One More Hour" for the movie "Ragtime" in 1981.

  • @patricia51fem thanks

  • ALl I can say is wow

  • Jen wrote this song from a report she wrote in a Catholic elementary school. Such a beautiful song.............such a beautiful voice that we are blessed with.

  • @plbdlt

    Don't forget Leonard Cohen's writing credit too.

  • I remember watching this when it originally aired - many, many moons ago - it moves me now as it moved me then. A very powerful song written by an amazing man and sung by an amazing woman.

  • @gmacv1957 Jennifer actually co-wrote this song with

    leonard cohen

  • Outstanding, I came from the V.A. hospital and this made me feel new. Gave me hope.

  • A lovely song with so much meaning.... but sung without any passion at all, give me Leonard any day..

  • what !!!!

  • This is however, correct me if I am wrong, about the rebellious angels that served under the Queen of the Heavens (once married to Jehovah God). She serves, as the lore goes between Heaven and Earth in the realm of the Third Heaven...banished there during the flood...a move by God to force the angels back into the rightful place Genesis 3 and Genesis 6. Thus, "look at what we have done" from an angel's viewpoint." Tad like the Phantom of the Opera with skeleton fingers pressed upon the singers

  • @iriswigle It's about Bernadette. as a young girl, she had a visitation from Our Lady. .."The Queen of Heaven"..that would be Mary...Mother of Jesus.

  • @garymichael1950 Bernadette was living in Ireland on the same street as Mick Mars said to be the son of Leo Cohen. Yet, Leo confided he was the "uncle" of Mick. Hmmm? My mom, Elsie Wigle, knew the inhabitants of that street. I remember when Mick had been detained in a Windsor, Ontario police station between 1976 - 1981, she said about Mick at the police station where she worked, "You were such a good little boy."

  • @garymichael1950 Hmmm? My mother, Elsie Wigle, had a "visit" by the angel Gabriel 3 months before dying from scleroderma. "He blew a horn" and I knew I was going to die." She longed for the Heavens. I had asked a specialist if it was part of scleroderma He thought so. Part of me could not dismiss it. It is like with ABBA, "The Day Before You Came". It is said by cameraman and crew that "was not Benny sitting in the audience". It was said to be a ghost from Buckingham Palace

  • One of the first recordings, as a young adult (composing started at the age of 5 years old) was with a very good friend in the song "Souer sourir Dominque". Jen seems to bring over that nun black and white habit into Jennifer Warnes (Belgium nunnery 1966 -1970?) and, then, of course the Ali McGraw extra front false tooth and teeth.

  • @iriswigle WOW do you ever sound like a kook!

  • I taped The Smothers Bros. 20th Reunion Show (hey, they went to my high school, RUHS), and the sound is way better than this. If I can figure out how to post it, I will.

    Totally moving. A statue should be erected in honor of her voice!

  • @burleq Please please please post the improved version!!

  • @burleq Hi - did you ever post your tape copy of this song?

  • Beautiful from start to finish. And the little smile and head tilt at the end. Wow - how can anyone not love this song, and Jennifer...?

  • The pureist voice on the planet.God must love this woman...so gifted.

  • 2nd only to Karen Carpenter

  • You'd have to not like music to not appriciate Jenny Warnes music!

  • just beautiful and heart breaking....

  • She shall sing more Duets with Jackson Browne, accompanied only by David Lindley........could imagine that ?

  • i like Bette Midler's version the best :)

  • I come to this song to get grounded. I get too busy, tired and off balance. This performance brings me back to the center.

  • What an amazing voice!

  • She can sing this live—at this level of perfection—any day she wants to.

  • How any of you could watch/listen to this and think she is lip syncing amazes me.

  • she sings LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Where's the mike? It's obvious when someone is lip-syncing. Also, notice that they prefer long shots, which they don't do when someone is really into the performance.

  • I guess you guys are not really up with modern stage sound technology. There is no lip syncro working here.

  • Think about the year, you had to lip synch them days. The amount of bands that refused to go onto top of the pops because they weren't allowed to play live is huge.

  • I really hate lip-syncing, like she's doing here.

  • she isn't lip-syncing.

  • I would like to think that this is dedicated to Jennifer Jones, who portrayed Bernadette so beautifully in the film, and who just passed away. She well deserved the Oscar she got for the role.

  • Check out the new release of her FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT album of covers of Cohen's songs.. they added several new songs.. he sings on a few with her..

    sublime...

  • Exquisite. Pure vocal beauty.

    Master class in singing for those who aspire to sing.

  • Loved this song the first time I heard it and still come back to it when times start going bad. Perfect for today DEC. 8 which is the immaculate conception. Many thanks for posting it.

  • Great song from a very under-rated album, "Famous Blue Raincoat".

  • Loved this song. Cohen's influence on it is obvious and the soulfullness of this performance is amazing.

  • Lovely song. I had never heard it before.  I have always loved St. Bernadette and took name as my Confirmation name. Thank you for sharing this song.

  • I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!! I have been looking for this clip forever!!! I had never heard this song before Jennifer sang it on this episode of the Smothers Brothers Show, and I haven't ever heard it played again, but I soooo remember this song. It so moved me!! Thanks so much

    2Old2Rock for posting such a wonderful clip!!

  • I have been a fan over 25 years. STILL the best of the best. I recently saw Leonard Cohen at the Garden and I kept hoping Jennifer would run on the stage. Had it not been for Jennifer, I would never have discovered this wonderful music. Thanks

  • Thank you Jennifer! This is a beautiful, exquisite song with such tenderness. I cry when I hear this.

  • Not to detract in any way from Jennifer Warnes but there has never been any competition for Karen Carpenter, not ever! She is in a catagory all her own.

  • karen c never sounded like this, this is 60's too

  • @chippy783 "This is 60's too." Um, no it isn't... You must be 12 years old or something. It's the early 80s or late LATE '70s at the earliest.

  • a great voice sonds so clear

  • Her voice has some of the same quality as Karen Carpenter - very pure and lovely

  • Not since Patsy Cline has a female vocalist sung with this kind of heart......

  • with the exception of Linda Ronstadt

  • i could just sit here and look at her and listen to her all night.

  • i cant listen to it it makes me cry its sad and its sang beautyfully its relly nice i relly like it but its sad how she sings it it makes me cry

  • I saw her in concert last spring and she is beautiful. Gorgeous hair, smile, voice and a warm personality.

  • This is a beautiful song... I ofcourse love Bette Midler' version too...

  • This song never fails to touch my heart. I just listened to again for the uncountable number of times, and got chills. As a Buddhist, I find this song is all about unconditional love, and the essence of Buddhism. Well done, Jennifer. You could only do this if you have a beautiful heart and soul. Namaste.

  • Talent, discipline, dedication, Beauty, CLASS.

  • Ein toller Song nur schade das die Qualität nicht so gut ist.

    Gruß Rainer

  • Watching and hearing this song brings such sadness of our lost daughter.How do we let go of our children

  • you don;t you cry until you die which what i;ve been doing for 17 yrs

  • I am sorry to hear that John and also afraid to realise the hurt we feel never goes away.Take care

  • God bless both of you.

  • I think this abridged version sung LIVE is far superior to the version on Famous Blue Raincoat . Sign of a great artist and singer.

  • I would like to add that apart from the amazing music and lyrics the album should be in every sound engineers collection because its sound, orchestration and music engineering & production is just perfect...

  • I could not agree more. It is an absolutely exquisite album in every dimension.

  • this is the first time i've seen a video of her singing this lovely poignant song. for my money, jennifer warnes has one of the most sublime sensual voices ever. i confess to a long time crush on her. a gorgeous woman to my eyes. i also love the rumor that her choice for the title of her Famous Blue Raincoat LP was actually "Jenny sings Lenny" !

  • "Jenny sings Lenny" was a kind of pet name for the project: I doubt it was taken seriously as a possible tite. But you never know.

  • Thank you so much for posting this. "Song of Bernadette" is probably my favourite tracks off of "Famous Blue Raincoat."

    I still can't get over how much Jennifer's voice moves me.

    That album was a huge success in Canada.

    For those of you who don't have it, do yourself a favour and check it out.. You will not be disappointed.

    Cheers,

    James

  • check out the album......

  • oh yeah, absolute gem, first heard when i was 12 in 1992 and loved it straight away, sums up my feelings of unconditional love perfectly. thanks for this upload.

  • I saw this when it was broadcast and it's such a wonderful song. I agree: one of the most powerful and moving performances. It shows that real singers can perform a cappella or with very little musical accompaniment.

    BTW, great screen name!

  • The perfect combination of song and awesome singer.

  • Thank you  thank you thank you

  • Would love to have heard her sing this at her Portland Or. concert in May. Nonetheless, a wonderful evening with Jennifer. She made me laugh, relax, remember and smile.

  • what year was this ?

  • 1988 for the television appearance. I think the album was released in 1987 or 1989.

  • Absolutely stunning performance from the incomparable Jenny. Thanks for posting this!

  • I love, love this song so much.. and also first we take manhattan

  • No matter how many times I see this it always brings tears to my eyes. Jennifer Warnes is without a doubt one the finest vocalists of our time. God Bless You Jennifer.

  • Wow. I didn'T know Tommy & Dick were around after the 60s. Are they still around today ? Great Performance by Jennifer Warnes who is one of my Favourite Singers.

  • In fact, they did another version of their show on ABC for a brief time, after being canceled by CBS, in the early 1970's. After the 1988 Reunion special, CBS gave them another season of the Comedy Hour from the fall of 1988 to 1989. It was a great show, I wish they'd put it out on dvd. Today, he Smothers Borthers still do tours across the country as well.

  • God BLESS You America's Singing SWEETHEARTS ! I have ALWAYS LOVE the Pure Soulful Sad buT Hopeful Songs of Such Singers like Jennifer Warnes (born Warrens). When was this performed and where ?

  • JBME, I tried to reply to this earlier, but I guess YouTube lost it. This performance was the Smother's Brother's 20th Reunion Special on CBS TV in 1988. It still gives me chill bumps when I hear it. One of the best moments ever on television, in my humble opinion.

  • Her actual legal and birth name is WARNES...not born Warrens.....as written in by JBME

  • @dlcfp

    "..In November 1968, Warnes (as "Jennifer Warren") portrayed the female lead in the Los Angeles, California production of the stage musical Hair..."

    en...wikipedia...o..r..g..wiki­..Jennifer_Warnes

  • I only knew Jennifer for her duet with joe cocker but have discovered her through you tube and what an artist!!! Her voice is beautiful and powerful and gorgeous tone but on top of everything she is a fantastic storyteller.Her style and facial expression reminds me alot of Karen Carpenter.Jennifer should be huge!!!

  • Thank you Jennifer for your breathless voice. Thank you Mr. Cohen for your timeless poetry. I am an eternal fan.

  • Wow - this is gorgeous. I think there's a small speck in my eye...

  • Beautiful Voice...

  • Just bought tickets for her Portland concert. I am so happy to finally get to see her. And how wonderful that Leonard Cohen, 74, is performing this spring on the west coast. Both are responsible for this lovely song.

  • Portland Oregon. She is playing at a place called The Aladdin. Where are you????

  • Laurianni, I'm out here in New Hampshire. I was hoping against hope that you were talking about Portland Maine. I'd give anything to see her once before I eat the big bagel. Steve

  • I love her voice. She is coming to Portland in concert this spring...I cannot wait!  This is a song I learned because of hearing her play it years ago.

  • laurianni, which Portland??

  • Greg I wasn't actually there in the studio. I just saw the show at the time it was shown. I was with my mother and sister at the time both now deceased. WE all just sat there dumbfounded, all agreeing that it was the finest thing they had ever seen on television. The audience respnbonse was profound and joyful. I never forgot it and when it came up on youtube I was smitten all over again. She is a treasure. S.

  • The music may or may not have been pre-recorded, but the singing is definitely live. Is there a spot where you see a disconnect? If they used a boom mike, you wouldn't necessarily see it. It would be controlled overhead, out of sight of the camera. Regarding her movements, if you have seen her sing other songs, you will see that she just has a quirky way about her.

  • I saw it at the time. It was live ...period. The audience response was staggering. The fact that some think it was not is bewildering. I'm scratching my head as my shoulders are shrugging...

  • You were THERE??? You are truly blessed. I always assumed that she was singing live to a backing tape (that would be a somewhat abbreviated the studio instrumental track.)

    Never had ANY doubts about the vocal being live though. It is NOT the same vocal as the studio version. (And not just because the first chorus isn't included, since I imagine that COULD have been edited out if they'd wanted to). But if u know the recording, you can tell this is a different take (and a LIVE one).

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  • She sang LIVE.

    The song is just AMAZING. so so so touching

  • That was not lipsynching....I am positive.

  • after watching again: who plays the strings ? where is the microphone ? and if it's on her blouse: why is the sound 100% even no matter where she moves her head ?

  • at that time and in some theatres they use stage mics that are placed around the theatre or one placed in a shirt or sometimes in the front part of the hair.She was definately not miming there as one can tell by her vocal placements and watching her throat in the higher notes.I guarantee she is not miming.

  • OK, I'll take your word for it. Now I can enjloy it more.

  • Is that sarcasm??haha...

  • No I was serious. I hate lip synching.

  • Great song. But...isn't she lipsyncing here?