What does Who by Fire mean?

Leonard Cohen: Who by Fire Meaning

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Album cover for Who by Fire album cover

Who by Fire Lyrics

And who by fire, who by water,
who in the sunshine, who in the night time,
who by high ordeal, who by common trial,
who in your merry merry month of may,
who by very slow decay,
and who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by...

  1. anonymous
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    Dec 8th 2013 !⃝

    I think Cohen is using the words of the "Day of Atonement" jewish prayer to ask himself repeatedly "who" is going to come and pick our lifes at their end, as well as "who" is going to die in one way rather than another. He is ironically describing this as if a phone operator was asking it. A long time mankind question.

  2. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 20th 2011 !⃝

    He is talking about the many ways death comes.


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