☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics tell the story of a soldier who is promoted from captain to commander, even though everyone else is dead or fleeing.
- The soldier complains about the fact that he risked his life, but not for a country-western song.
- The soldier is on the side that always loses, facing the side of heaven.
- At the end of the song, the captain dies, but the soldier takes the silver bars for himself.
Interpretation
The lyrics of the song 'The Captain' by
Leonard Cohen tell the story of a soldier who is called to his bed by the Captain. The Captain gives him silver bars and entrusts him with the command. But the soldier asks why he should have the command, since everyone else is dead, fleeing, or on the enemy's side. The Captain complains that the soldier always complains since they lost. If it's not the crucifixion, it's the Holocaust.
The soldier asks the Captain for a good place to stand, but the Captain says there is no good place in a massacre. But if a woman extends her hand to him, he should stand with her. The soldier tells the Captain that he left a woman in Tennessee and a baby in Saigon. He risked his life, but not to listen to a country western song.
The Captain asks the soldier to stand with him if he can't take his love to a very high level. The soldier refuses and says he doesn't even know which side they fought for or why.
The soldier explains that he stands on the side that always loses, against the side of heaven. He stands on the side of the dice eyes that are thrown against the seven. He has read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and some of it was true, but there is no burden left, so he passes it on to the Captain.
At the end of the song, the Captain dies, but he is not injured. The soldier puts the silver bars on his shirt.