Avalanche

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Considered one of Cohen’s classic songs, the anguished lyrics are based on his poem ‘I Stepped Into An Avalanche’ (included in Parasites of Heaven). Cohen has remarked… Read More

Mar. 19, 19711 viewer100.5K views

Avalanche Lyrics

[Verse 1]
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

[Verse 2]
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 center, the center of the world

[Verse 3]
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

[Verse 4]
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

[Verse 5]
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

[Verse 6]
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

About

Considered one of Cohen’s classic songs, the anguished lyrics are based on his poem ‘I Stepped Into An Avalanche’ (included in Parasites of Heaven).

Cohen has remarked about the original recording and the song in general,