An Itinerant Mind

First we take Greater Gurling, then we take the biscuit

Prompt 6 - Your muse and Andre decide to collaborate. They want to write a song together. Tell us why they decided to collaborate.

With a discography spanning decades you would think that Andre would have great difficulty choosing just one stand out track amongst them. Yet when I asked the question he answered without hesitation, it was 'Hymn 2', Andre's collaborative effort co-written with the late Leonard Cohen.

It came about like this: Andre was guesting on the quaint English radio show 'Desert Island Discs'. For this he had to choose ten pieces of music to take with him whilst stranded on a fictitious desert island, and say a little about why he chose them. Though they were in no particular order, Andre made clear that 'One of Us Cannot Be Wrong' by Mr. Cohen, was a particular favourite. When asked why, Andre sang this line

"But you stand there so nice, in your blizzard of ice, oh please let me come into the storm. " Telling the presenter that it just sent shivers down his spine, and they talked briefly about the fact that Cohen was a poet who happened to put his poetry to music. Andre confessed that he was in total awe of Leonard's writing abilities, and wished that he could write a song with him.

A few days later he was surprised to receive a call from L. Cohen's agent Warren Coathanger. Warren explained that Leonard had been listening to the program, and heard Andre's comments, and wondered if they could meet up. Naturally Andre jumped at the chance and that weekend the two dined together at the Savoy Kosher Sausage Kabin in Greater Gurling Street.

Over coffee and brandy, Andre making a departure from his usual banana based beverage preference, the idea of them writing together was kicked around, blue sky-ed out of the box and generally agreed upon. Leonard was looking to do something different for his next album, and apparently getting together with Andre at the Banana Bar struck a chord, (a G Minor actually.)

Writing went well, and soon a song took shape. Naturally Andre deferred to Leonard's superior skills, and though some of his more enthusiastic contributions were vetoed they were both very happy with the result. Then they gathered together an unlikely group of musicians, including Eric Clapton, Ron and Russell Mael, and Avril Lavigne and recorded the track 'Hymn 2' live at the bar itself.

Word Count: 383.