1
Well I stepped into an avalanche
It covered up my soul
When I am not this hunchback that you see
I sleep beneath the golden hill
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn, learn to serve me well
You strike my side by accident
As you go down for your gold
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
Is neither starved nor cold
He does not ask for your company
Not at the centre, the centre of the world
When I am on a pedestal
You did not raise me there
Your laws do not compel me
To kneel grotesque and bare
I myself am the pedestal
For this ugly hump at which you stare
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me kind
The crumbs of love that you offer me
They're the crumbs I've left behind
Your pain is no credential here
It's just the shadow, shadow of my wound
I have begun to long for you
I who have no greed
I have begun to ask for you
I who have no need
You say you've gone away from me
But I can feel you when you breathe
Do not dress in those rags for me
I know you are not poor
And don't love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you are not sure
It is your turn, beloved
It is your flesh that I wear
It covered up my soul
When I am not this hunchback that you see
I sleep beneath the golden hill
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn, learn to serve me well
You strike my side by accident
As you go down for your gold
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
Is neither starved nor cold
He does not ask for your company
Not at the centre, the centre of the world
When I am on a pedestal
You did not raise me there
Your laws do not compel me
To kneel grotesque and bare
I myself am the pedestal
For this ugly hump at which you stare
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me kind
The crumbs of love that you offer me
They're the crumbs I've left behind
Your pain is no credential here
It's just the shadow, shadow of my wound
I have begun to long for you
I who have no greed
I have begun to ask for you
I who have no need
You say you've gone away from me
But I can feel you when you breathe
Do not dress in those rags for me
I know you are not poor
And don't love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you are not sure
It is your turn, beloved
It is your flesh that I wear
Lyrics submitted by Hosimosi, edited by Wyzygy, tobeortobe, Mignon
Avalanche Lyrics as written by Leonard Cohen
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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For me, the final words throw any idea of understanding this song out the window: "It is your turn beloved/it is your flesh that I wear." Up until this point, we seem to be encouraged to look at this song as metaphorical, but this seems to have only one possible understanding, and that is the literal one. I noticed that most people avoided commenting on this last line, and the ones that did seemed to offer weak comments in general. I think this is deliberately done to frustrate any sense of understanding. It seems to me that Cohen likes to do this for some reason, as he seems to do so do varying degrees in many of his songs. But few more than this number.