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 barbiturate
Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt
Who by avalanche, who by powder
Who for his greed, who for his hunger
And who shall I say is calling?

And who by brave assent, who by accident
Who in solitude, who in this mirror
Who by his lady's command, who by his own hand
Who in mortal chains, who in power
And who shall I say is calling?


Lyrics submitted by Hosimosi

Who by Fire Lyrics as written by Leonard Cohen

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Who by Fire song meanings
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    General Comment

    I always heard the line the opposite of snydal and similar to what thickasthieves is getting at- "Who in solitude? Who in this mirror?" always suggested the same thing to me: alienation and lonliness to the point of not even recognizing yourself in the mirror, Dress Rehearsal Rag style... which of course ties in nicely to next lines about "who by his own hand?"

    paranoid schizoidon August 16, 2011   Link

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