☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics are about the stories and experiences that happen on the streets.
- Cohen observes the scene from his hotel room and reflects on suicide and a rose.
- He asks questions about wars, freedom, and the ongoing presence of armies.
- A meeting with a woman and a stranger trapped in their own suffering is described.
- Cohen describes the birth of a child and his invitation to come with him to a farm.
Interpretation
In the lyrics of the song "Stories of the Street" by
Leonard Cohen, it is about the stories and experiences that happen on the streets. Cohen describes the scene with Spanish voices, passing Cadillacs, and poisonous gas. He observes all of this from his hotel room while dealing with two things: suicide and a rose.
Cohen asks the question of whether the wars we hear about are really over and if those who are screaming now speak for all of us. He also wonders where all these streets lead, now that we are supposedly free. Why are armies still marching that should be coming home?
The song lyrics also mention a woman with beautiful legs and a stranger at the wheel. They are both trapped in their own suffering and their joys are like a seal. Cohen describes how desire begets a baby and how the parents ask the nurse to tell them fairy tales. The child is drawn in like a dragon with its umbilical cord, one eye filled with plans, the other with darkness.
Cohen invites his little child to come with him to a farm where they can grow grass and apples and keep all the animals warm. When he wakes up at night and asks who he is, he asks to be taken to the slaughterhouse to wait there with the lamb.
With one hand on a hexagram and one hand on a girl, Cohen balances on a well that everyone calls the world. He feels small among the stars, but big in front of the sky. In the midst of the crowds on the subway, he tries to catch your gaze.