Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin have provided plenty of laughs as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump respectively throughout the US election campaign but the mood was decidedly more sombre on the first Saturday Night Live following the result.

Kate appeared as Hillary on stage alone to perform Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, who died on Friday.

Seated at the piano, she performed the beloved record as Hillary’s swansong, singing: “I did my best, it wasn’t much, I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch.

“I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you. And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the lord of song, with nothing on my tongue but hallelujah.”

At the song’s end, Ghostbusters star Kate turned to the camera with a message of hope.

“I’m not giving up and neither should you,” she said.

The show was hosted by African-American comedian Dave Chappelle, who also offered a cautious word of optimism, saying: “I’m wishing Donald Trump luck, and I’m going to give him a chance.

“And we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one, too.”