Lyrics
And who by fire, who by waterWho in the sunshine, who in the night timeWho by high ordeal, who by common trialWho in your merry merry month of MayWho by very slow decayAnd who shall I say is calling?And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturateWho in these realms of love, who by something bluntWho by avalanche, who by powderWho for his greed, who for his hungerAnd who shall I say is calling?And who by brave assent, who by accidentWho in solitude, who in this mirrorWho by his lady's command, who by his own handWho in mortal chains, who in powerAnd who shall I say is calling?
Meaning
The song is inspired by a piyyut or a Jewish liturgical poem called Untanneh Tokef ("Let us speak of the awesomeness "), that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy in some traditions of rabbinical Judaism for centuries. [1]
A section from Untanneh Tokef is as follows: "On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed – how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die after a long life and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by upheaval and who by plague, who by strangling and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquility and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted. But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity mitigate the severity of the Decree." [1]
A song of Death, a song of Life
“Who By Fire” is a song of death, but each death has its life. So more importantly, it's a song of life as well.
"Who by fire" and "who by water" may be references to the ancient judicial practices of trial by fire and trial by water, or alternatively to natural disasters.
“Who by high ordeal” clearly refers to a form of trial in the medieval period such as trial by combat; which contrasts with "who by common trial".
The "merry merry month of May" refers to May day, the European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.
In the next stanza, Cohen switched to modern parlance:
“Who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate?” are likely references to Marilyn Monroe.
"Who by avalanche, who by powder" could refer to people who do mountain climbing and other adventures. Powder possibly refer to gunpowder. "Brave assent" refers to people who volunteer to fight for their causes.
"Who in this mirror" probably refers to people who copy others. "Who in mortal chains, who in power" refers to people enslaved by power, ambitions or other illusions.
Blending these methods indicates the timelessness and ubiquity of death throughout history.
The line “Who shall I say is calling?” punctuates each verse as if the messenger is asking who they should say is deciding the way people would die.
This song was officially released on 11 August 1974. The year prior, Cohen spent some time in Israel, experiencing war first hand, which could be one of the inspirations behind this track. [2]
Furthermore, there is a book about that entire experience which is named after this song, i.e. Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai (2022) by Matti Friedman.[3][4]
Note:
- Unetanneh Tokef, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unetanneh_Tokef
- Song meaning+facts/Leonard Cohen: https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/leonard-cohens-who-by-fire-lyrics-meaning/
- City Journal: https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-dark-night-of-leonard-cohen
- Matti Friedman: https://mattifriedman.com/who-by-fire/
