You Want It Darker

@Hlloyge totally agree, Cohen is a wise man and therefore a non believer of "holy" (man made) books and ancient stories.

@Hlloyge I had the same thoughts while I was trying to understand this song the best as I possibly could. Now I know I'm not the only one who sees it this way. Thank you.

@Hlloyge, i agree with you. I just wanted to add that a loving god can easily be responsible for everything terrible in this world and still have it all been part of an optimal loving plan with a part where 'they all lived happily forever after'. Religions are basically idol-worshipping, but they did get one thing almost right: "resurrection of the dead". Everyone's coming back. That's what I believe. And then it also makes sense that a world-of-suffering (for a short while) would be necessary.

@Hlloyge This is not the first time Cohen has had ambiguity or a beef with God. As early as Suzanne Cohen expressed issues with easy answers.<br /> Jesus 'crucifixion is seen as futile.<br /> <br /> "But he himself was broken, long before the sky would open<br /> Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone"<br /> <br /> But he contrasts this lens with a song like "Sisters of Mercy".<br /> <br /> As he gets older he gets bolder. "Everybody knows" is quite nihilistic.<br /> <br /> In Closing Time he writes <br /> <br /> "So we struggle and we stagger<br /> Down the snakes and up the ladder<br /> To the tower where the blessed hours chime<br /> And I swear it happened just like this<br /> A sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss<br /> The gates of love they budged an inch<br /> I can't say much has happened since<br /> But closing time"<br /> <br /> and ends the song with <br /> <br /> "And I lift my glass to the awful truth<br /> Which you can't reveal to the ears of youth<br /> Except to say it isn't worth a dime<br /> And the whole damn place goes crazy twice<br /> And it's once for the devil and once for Christ<br /> But the boss don't like these dizzy heights<br /> We're busted in the blinding lights<br /> Of closing time"<br /> <br /> Who's the Boss? God is the boss. He is closing the place down. "The gates of love they budged an inch I can't say much has happened since but closing time." This parallels, "A million candles burning for the help that never came<br /> A million candles burning for the love that never came."<br /> <br /> Yet the same artist could write Anthem. Cohen to me appears deeply ambivalent and in the end believes there is a cruelty to God (directly) and to life he cannot comprehend. So in this song I feel both rage and resignation. Cohen used Jewish and Biblical motifs all his life, but was a Buddhist, which is a non theistic religion.<br /> <br /> I always appreciated Cohen's profound depth, even when I do not agree with him philosophically. He had a great heart and his only equal (or greater) as a lyricist was Dylan.<br />

@Hlloyge Cohen has stated in his final interviews, on NPR and for the general press, that he believes it is the role of the Jew to protect the face of God. He was still His ardent follower and his continued with prayer and scriptural research up until the very moment of his passing. The song isn't merely criticizing the Abrahamic God; he is stating, though his body is broken, he still worships him. That's why Hineni (I'm here God, I'm here) is the song's refrain. In contrast to Cohen's ailing health, and the ailing health of the world, Cohen still means to serve God.

@Hlloyge I think interpreting this as a straight up anti-God song like XTC's "Dear God" doesn't mesh too well with Cohen's own stated beliefs. To me it's more about trying to hash out his complicated feelings toward both God and humanity.

@Hlloyge <br /> <br /> Well done. Clear sighted and free from dogma. <br />

@Hlloyge I think it's about Leonard being enlightened. He finally realizes that there is no god. He sees religion for what it is, a fiction and a myth.

@Hlloyge Very well articulated. I knew the can be interpreted along these lines. Please publish your interpretation on medium or some other forum. People have popularized stupid interpretations of the song which does not make any sense.

@icebox This is great. I come from the Christian tradition and the knowledge about that Kaddish here is very helpful. Thanks!

@icebox Cohen always has a fascination with Jesus Christ as some sort of a universal figure and I think he said (correct me if I'm wrong) "I'm very fond of Jesus Christ. He may be the most beautiful guy who walked the face of this earth. Any guy who says 'Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the meek' has got to be a figure of unparalleled generosity and insight and madness...A man who declared himself to stand among the thieves, the prostitutes and the homeless. His position cannot be comprehended. It is an inhuman generosity. A generosity that would overthrow the world if it was embraced because nothing would weather that compassion. I'm not trying to alter the Jewish view of Jesus Christ. But to me, in spite of what I know about the history of legal Christianity, the figure of the man has touched me." from Leonard Cohen in His Own Words by Jim Devlin

@jwinterscom See my comment above, I was trying to reply to you.

@jwinterscom See my reply above. I think the point is there is no point, except deep feeling.. Cohen always had a nihilistic streak and this is one of the most profound songs I ever ever heard concerning a "loving God", yet the cruelty and Evil in the world. He pulls no punches<br /> "A million candles burning for the help that never came<br /> A million candles burning for the love that never came"<br /> <br /> He can't comprehend this. Religion makes no sense to him yet he uses religious terms to frame his profound rage and inability to understand. Contrast this with Dylan's "every Grain of Sand". (who knows what Dylan thinks now, he changes his mind so much.)<br />

@Rambam , thanks for the share I found it good soul food. I have have a close friend that is very ill and was on a web journey that led to here - cheers !

@kathy10154 And slightly more painful as a result. To me at least.

@kathy10154 I agree. When I heard this, my first thought was "I am listening to Leonard Cohen's last album." The entire album seems to be "getting his house in order". It is a collection of fair-well speeches. "Here I am, I'm ready, my Lord", "I'm Traveling Light", "I'm leaving the Table". I re-listen to this album about once a week, still gives me chills.

@LouiseLailah I think you are being too literal. Cohen was not particularly concerned with Judaism and his feelings were more Universal than just one event.

@ken1025751 Leonard Cohen was Jewish and he's absolutely referencing the Holocaust. He was very "concerned" with Judiasm and felt the need to repeatedly have to clarify this in interviews throughout his life, where journalists kept assuming he was a "secular Jew," or not practicing. He was raised Orthodox Jewish, later embrassing a more liberal form of Judiasm, and despite his interest in learning about other religions (which any tolerant person would surely benefit from doing), he always made it clear he was Jewish in both ethnicity and religious practice. As an American Jew you have to learn of Christianity since it's imbedded in American government and society, Cohen took it a step further and wanted to learn more about their beliefs, along with Islam, Buddhism, and other religions he found fascinating. <br /> <br /> It's hard for non-jews to understand the cognitive dissonance of having your people targeted in the genocide of the Holocaust, such an unconscionable inhumane act on its own, let alone knowing our God allowed it to happen, or at a minimum was complicit by doing absolutely nothing. It's the exact opposite of the "lullaby for suffering" (The Mourner's Kadish, or arguably Jewish Prayers in general, which are prodominantely focused on historical suffering, and almost always in the form of song), "And a paradox to blame," (the far-fetched stories in the Torah, always telling of God's mercy in the end - granting a miracle to save the characters that did't lose hope, despite the insane odds and literal impossibility of survival, and whom didn't turn their backs on God, or change allegiance to another God/idol), ending with "But it's written in the scriptures, And it's not some idle claim," (literal reference to the Torah, stating the aforementioned is in writing and therefore indisputable). <br /> <br /> This is why a lot of modern Jews struggle with their view of God; neither being able to fully believe or disbelieve in Him. <br /> There's also another blatent reference to the Jewish genocide, besides the millions of candles reference: "They're lining up the prisoners, and gaurds are taking aim. I struggled with some demons, they were middle-class and tame. I didn't know I had permission to murder and to maim." This is a darkly sarcastic statement about the hypocrisy in God's teachings, since so many people were free to murder and maim the Jews, without any recourse, while the peaceful and observant were the targets left lying in wait, despite already stomaching a lifetime of suffering without snapping into violent acts of retribution.

@LouiseLailah I think you are right. It all points to that. Also, Dance me to The End Of Love, is a song Leonard Cohen wrote about the Shoah. You almost have to avoid specific allusions in this song You Want it Darker, to come to any other conclusion. The million candles unanswered is quite beseeching.