It's true that all the men you knew were dealers
Who said they were through with dealing
Every time you gave them shelter
I know that kind of man, it's hard to hold the hand of anyone
Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender
Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender

And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind
You find he did not leave you very much, not even laughter
Like any dealer, he was watching for the card that is so high and wild
He'll never need to deal another
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

And then leaning on your window sill
He'll say one day you caused his will
To weaken with your love and warmth and shelter
And then taking from his wallet
An old schedule of trains, he'll say
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger

But now another stranger seems
To want you to ignore his dreams
As though they were the burden of some other
Oh, you've seen that man before
His golden arm, dispatching cards
But now it's rusted from the elbows to the finger
And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter
Yes, he wants to trade the game he knows for shelter

Ah, you hate to watch another tired man
Lay down his hand like he was giving up the holy game of poker
And while he talks his dreams to sleep, you notice there's a highway
That is curling up like smoke above his shoulder
It's curling just like smoke above his shoulder

You tell him to come in, sit down
But something makes you turn around
The door is open, you can't close your shelter
You try the handle of the road, it opens, do not be afraid
It's you, my love, you who are the stranger
It is you, my love, you who are the stranger

Well, I've been waiting, I was sure
We'd meet between the trains we're waiting for
I think it's time to board another
Please understand, I never had a secret chart
To get me to the heart of this or any other matter
Well, he talks like this, you don't know what he's after
When he speaks like this, you don't know what he's after

Let's meet tomorrow, if you choose
Upon the shore, beneath the bridge
That they are building on some endless river
Then he leaves the platform for the sleeping car that's warm
You realize, he's only advertising one more shelter
And it comes to you, he never was a stranger
And you say, "Okay, the bridge or someplace later"

And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind
You find he did not leave you very much, not even laughter
Like any dealer, he was watching for the card that is so high and wild
He'll never need to deal another
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

And leaning on your window sill
He'll say one day you caused his will
To weaken with your love and warmth and shelter
And then taking from his wallet
An old schedule of trains, he'll say
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger
I told you when I came I was a stranger


Lyrics submitted by phaethon

The Stranger Song Lyrics as written by Leonard Cohen

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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The Stranger Song song meanings
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41 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    Some interesting ideas on the meaning of this song here. In general I agree with the notion that it is about a woman who has a series of failed relationships with men who are too focused on their ambition to achieve something ideal and sublime (presumably in an artistic sense, although that is not clear) to have a meaningful relationship with her.

    A couple of thoughts on specific lines:

    "And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind you find he did not leave you very much not even laughter"

    The "dealer" has left the woman, and he's taken his cards with him. All he's left behind are the jokers (which she's left to sweep up) - cards which are typically 'wild' or have nil or indeterminate value. When she tries to play the jokers she finds they are worthless.

    "It's hard to hold the hand of anyone who is reaching for the sky just to surrender"

    I understand this line to mean that the man is constantly over-reaching, and trapped in a cycle of defeat/failure as a result. He wants to be great, to find his one ultimate winning card, but he fails every time he tries and he knows it. Thus he is "reaching for the sky" but only to inevitably fail - "to surrender". No coincidence that in cowboy movies and the like you hear the phrase "reach for the sky" - it is, indeed, a gesture of surrender. It's a great metaphor though because it would literally be hard to hold the hand of a person making this gesture, and in the context of the song it is hard for this woman to get a meaningful connection with a man who is determined to reach for the ideal in his life.

    "And then leaning on your window sill he'll say one day you caused his will to weaken with your love and warmth and shelter And then taking from his wallet an old schedule of trains, he'll say I told you when I came I was a stranger"

    Contrary to some of the above, I understand this to represent the scene where the man inevitably walks out again. Suddenly in his mind he never really wanted to be there - it was just that he needed shelter and the woman "caused his will to weaken". In other words he turns on her and blames her for distracting him from his imagined task of achieving greatness with her love. So he pulls out the train schedule because he's leaving, and uses his escape clause - "I told you when I came I was a stranger", i.e., I never promised I would be yours and so you have no reason to be upset that I am walking out now.

    caitsith01on February 18, 2010   Link

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