Tuesday’s Tune: Who By Fire

And who by fire, who by water,
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time,
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial,
Who in your merry merry month of may,
Who by very slow decay,
And who shall I say is calling?

And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate,
Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt,
And who by avalanche, who by powder,
Who for his greed, who for his hunger,
And who shall I say is calling?

And who by brave assent, who by accident,
Who in solitude, who in this mirror,
Who by his lady’s command, who by his own hand,
Who in mortal chains, who in power,
And who shall I say is calling?

———-

“Who by Fire” from Leonard Cohen’s 1974 album, New Skin for the Old Ceremony, explicitly relates to Cohen’s Jewish roots, echoing the words of the Unetanneh Tokef prayer. The beautiful female voice you can hear is American singer and writer, Janis Ian.

I love this song. It’s smoothness on delivery with that hint of spanish guitar, and it’s lyrically weighted after-taste it leaves in your mouth – a classic Cohen. Enjoy!