Much about this song is speculative, but it was written around 1968-1969, shortly after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and during the high point of the Vietnam War. I have often thought of "The Old Revolution" as a reference to the Civil Rights Movement, with the "ghost" being John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and the "King" being MLK. Of course, it was also possible that MLK was both the "ghost" and "king" to which Cohen referred. Cohen "thought that we were winning", but his hopes were dashed by the Vietnam War..."I can't pretend I feel very much like singing, as they carried the bodies away." On the other hand, the repeated chorus has always confused me. Clearly there is a reference to Israel's history in the reference to the furnace. The Bible records Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, and Jewish tradition claims that the same happened to Abraham, thrown into a furnace by Nimrod for espousing monotheism. It could be that the chorus is a prayer, in which Cohen (a priest) is invoking the "fourth man", the Son of the gods, to venture into the furnace and rescue the Hebrew children, You (the Messiah) "whom I cannot betray."
Much about this song is speculative, but it was written around 1968-1969, shortly after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and during the high point of the Vietnam War. I have often thought of "The Old Revolution" as a reference to the Civil Rights Movement, with the "ghost" being John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and the "King" being MLK. Of course, it was also possible that MLK was both the "ghost" and "king" to which Cohen referred. Cohen "thought that we were winning", but his hopes were dashed by the Vietnam War..."I can't pretend I feel very much like singing, as they carried the bodies away." On the other hand, the repeated chorus has always confused me. Clearly there is a reference to Israel's history in the reference to the furnace. The Bible records Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, and Jewish tradition claims that the same happened to Abraham, thrown into a furnace by Nimrod for espousing monotheism. It could be that the chorus is a prayer, in which Cohen (a priest) is invoking the "fourth man", the Son of the gods, to venture into the furnace and rescue the Hebrew children, You (the Messiah) "whom I cannot betray."