Bird on the Wire
Freedom's Dance: Leonard Cohen's Melodic Reflections on Life
Lyrics
Like a bird on the wire
Expressing vulnerability, feeling exposed and precarious
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
Metaphor for being lost or troubled amidst a group
I have tried in my way to be free
Attempting to achieve freedom in a personal way
Like a worm on a hook
Feeling trapped or ensnared, possibly in a difficult situation
Like a knight from some old fashioned book
Reference to chivalry, suggesting a longing for noble ideals
I have saved all my ribbons for thee
Saving something valuable for a special person or purpose
If I, if I have been unkind
Acknowledging the possibility of unkindness
I hope that you can just let it go by
Encouraging forgiveness or understanding
If I, if I have been untrue
Admitting the potential for being untrue
I hope you know it was never to you
Clarifying that any unfaithfulness was not directed at the listener
Oh, like a baby, stillborn
Using the metaphor of a stillborn baby to convey loss and emptiness
Like a beast with his horn
Depicting oneself as a beast with destructive tendencies
I have torn everyone who reached out for me
Causing harm to those who tried to connect or help
But I swear by this song
Swearing by the sincerity of the song as a form of redemption
And by all that I have done wrong
Acknowledging past mistakes and misdeeds
I will make it all up to thee
Promising to make amends or repay for past wrongs
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch
Observing a beggar and learning a lesson about contentment
He said to me, "You must not ask for so much"
Advice to not demand too much in life
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door
Encountering a beautiful woman, possibly representing temptation
She cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more?"
Suggesting a more ambitious or daring approach to life
Oh, like a bird on the wire
Reiteration of the bird metaphor and the struggle for freedom
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
Revisiting the image of a troubled person in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Reaffirmation of the ongoing effort to be free
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