In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Now the Captain called me to his bed
He fumbled for my hand
"Take these silver bars," he said
"I'm giving you command."
"Command of what, there's no one here
There's only you and me
All the rest are dead or in retreat
Or with the enemy."
"Complain, complain, that's all you've done
Ever since we lost
If it's not the Crucifixion
Then it's the Holocaust."
"May Christ have mercy on your soul
For making such a joke
Amid these hearts that burn like coal
And the flesh that rose like smoke."
"I know that you have suffered, lad,
But suffer this awhile:
Whatever makes a soldier sad
Will make a killer smile."
"I'm leaving, Captain, I must go
There's blood upon your hand
But tell me, Captain, if you know
Of a decent place to stand."
"There is no decent place to stand
In a massacre;
But if a woman take your hand
Go and stand with her."
"I left a wife in Tennessee
And a baby in Saigon
I risked my life, but not to hear
Some country-western song."
"Ah but if you cannot raise your love
To a very high degree,
Then you're just the man I've been thinking of
So come and stand with me."
"Your standing days are done," I cried,
"You'll rally me no more.
I don't even know what side
We fought on, or what for."
"I'm on the side that's always lost
Against the side of Heaven
I'm on the side of Snake-eyes tossed
Against the side of Seven.
And I've read the Bill of Human Rights
And some of it was true
But there wasn't any burden left
So I'm laying it on you."
Now the Captain he was dying
But the Captain wasn't hurt
The silver bars were in my hand
I pinned them to my shirt.
He fumbled for my hand
"Take these silver bars," he said
"I'm giving you command."
"Command of what, there's no one here
There's only you and me
All the rest are dead or in retreat
Or with the enemy."
"Complain, complain, that's all you've done
Ever since we lost
If it's not the Crucifixion
Then it's the Holocaust."
"May Christ have mercy on your soul
For making such a joke
Amid these hearts that burn like coal
And the flesh that rose like smoke."
"I know that you have suffered, lad,
But suffer this awhile:
Whatever makes a soldier sad
Will make a killer smile."
"I'm leaving, Captain, I must go
There's blood upon your hand
But tell me, Captain, if you know
Of a decent place to stand."
"There is no decent place to stand
In a massacre;
But if a woman take your hand
Go and stand with her."
"I left a wife in Tennessee
And a baby in Saigon
I risked my life, but not to hear
Some country-western song."
"Ah but if you cannot raise your love
To a very high degree,
Then you're just the man I've been thinking of
So come and stand with me."
"Your standing days are done," I cried,
"You'll rally me no more.
I don't even know what side
We fought on, or what for."
"I'm on the side that's always lost
Against the side of Heaven
I'm on the side of Snake-eyes tossed
Against the side of Seven.
And I've read the Bill of Human Rights
And some of it was true
But there wasn't any burden left
So I'm laying it on you."
Now the Captain he was dying
But the Captain wasn't hurt
The silver bars were in my hand
I pinned them to my shirt.
Lyrics submitted by softasfire, edited by MungoPark
The Captain Lyrics as written by Leonard Cohen
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is, in my opinion, a cold-blooded killer’s confession to his last disciple. The captain has led his team through the war not with the goal of reaching a peaceful conclusion, but of wreaking havoc… and now he has nothing left. Everyone has left him, besides one naïve soldier. The captain thinks he can convince the soldier that the two of them are equally bad, but they are not. “The captain, he was dying, but the captain wasn’t hurt.” In other words, he has never once suffered during the war, because of his utter lack of compassion. Killing others leaves no emotional impact on him, and because of his rank, he hasn’t had to make any physical action to bring about those killings anyways. The soldier takes the insignia in acknowledgement that the captain held no true care for material things. He will try his best to follow that direction, only this time, altruistically. He now has nothing left to lose except for himself. The insignia stands for evil, yes, but it’s just a material thing. He’s not becoming the captain of anyone but himself, in both a literal and spiritual sense. He’s realizing and accepting his mistakes; what he was once a part of— because he knows that he is nothing like the man who led it.
Surprising nobody's commented. The next to last stanza about snake-eyes if one the coolest set of lyrics you will ever hear. This may be Cohen's most country sounding song. It's on Various Positions, which also contains his popular Hallelujah. Good album, but very slick production.
I think the country sound is supposed to be ironic in a way "I gave my life but no to hear some country western song".
I think the line: "There is no decent place to stand In a massacre; But if a woman take your hand Go and stand with her." is classic Cohen, a brilliant image.