Avalanche Lyrics

Lyric discussion by pseudonym123 

Cover art for Avalanche lyrics by Leonard Cohen

This is a song about God, communicating to man.

"I sleep beneath the golden hill" - the Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem, is a golden dome on the Temple Mount, which used to be the site of the Temple of Solomon... Where God was supposed to dwell.

"When I am on a pedestal, you did not raise me there" - God is not above us because we worship Him. We worship Him because He is above us.

"Your laws do not compel me to kneel grotesque and bare" - self explanitory.

"The crumbs of love that you offer me, they're the crumbs I've left behind" - God has given us the ability to love. We think that when we do acts of love, we are something special, but it is He who created goodness in the first place.

"Your pain is no credential here" - When the time for judgement comes, the self-flaggelating nuts will be judged along with everyone else. Their pain is not a substitute for righteousness.

"I have begun to long for you, I who have no greed; I have begun to ask for you, I who have no need" - As powerful as God is, he still oves us and wants us to love him in return.

"You say you've gone away from me, but I can feel you when you breathe" - We can try to hide from God, but as the examples from the bible show (Adam, Jonah, etc.), it is impossible.

"Do not dress in those rags for me, I know you are not poor; don't love me quite so fiercely now when you know that you are not sure" - Hypocricy will get you no where. As said before, your pain is no credential, so stop imposing suffering upon yourself. Do not act devoutly if you do not truly believe in God. He can tell you‘re faking.

I am not a religious person, but this explaination sort of just jumped out at me. I think it makes sense.

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@pseudonym123 I think the reference to the Avalanche is speaking about how man can be buried in this world by pursuits, regrets, commitments, failure, getting exiled by society, etc. The second stanza seems to touch on this a bit as well, suggesting that the devil too is buried, all the way at the center of the earth. And that it is by digging for gold (engaging in worldly pursuits, driven by greed, power, etc that we hurt God the most). And all of this effort is in vain for the personification of these pursuits are a "cripple" that doesn\'t need...

Correction: \r\nVideo Title: "A Warning from Hell" \r\nChannel: "Father Spyridon"\r\n\r\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oNvP2rX1NI&t=1s\r\n\r\nHope the link works if anyone\'s interested.