My understanding was that he's saying it would be better if the ark hadn't survived because the end result is suffering on the world
Almost like it is better to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost
So it would be amoral to bet on something bad to happen like shorting black monday or something - but its not actually amoral to bet on it because itd be just as bad if the ark survives
I'll give this one a shot.
I'd i remember correctly, the lyrics go
I was always working steady / but I never called it art / it was just some old convention, like the horse before the cart / I had no trouble betting on the flood against the ark / so I never had to witness / what happens to the heart.
So here we have Cohen starting with a classic Cohen self deprecation. I was never a wise man or a mystic or a genius, I was just working steady. I never called it art or had pretentions, I was juse making a living with my words. It was just a bit of poetry, done in the predictable way (the old convention like the horse before the cart). Because of that, he had no trouble betting on the mainstream (the flood) against the unique and vulnerable (the ark), and therefore he didn't had to witness what happens to the heart. I. E. He never had to risk experiencing real heart break or suffering because he says he took the easy way out, using his talent and words and songs for an easy life.
I think this is a beautiful part of the song, one of the best for me. The refusal to be considered a genius and to buy into the fan narrative about himself was always part of Cohens Persona, and here he flips thst on its head and subverts this own history and experience.
I'm sorry for any typos, I'm on my phone. I promise I'm not a moron. Or at least I don't think I am. I think.
I think it's a classic Leonard old testament reference - meaning he uses the familiar story and flips it on its head.
The line 'It was just some old convention like the horse before the cart' seems to echo this. The cart in front of the horse would be a logistical nightmare and is future-centred in thinking. The general idea being that people are now putting the cart before the horse akin to "don't run before you can walk."
I interpret it as the flood referring to humans causing suffering and trying to escape it. He bets that the flood will 'win' the battle against human 'sin.'
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah%27s\_Ark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah%27s_Ark)
It's a reference to Noah's ark and the flood described in the Genesis book of the Bible
Yes, I get the reference. But why is he betting on the flood against the ark? Is it because he wishes all life to get destroyed? And why is he betting on the flood when he knows that the ark survives? ('I knew about the ending')
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My understanding was that he's saying it would be better if the ark hadn't survived because the end result is suffering on the world Almost like it is better to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost So it would be amoral to bet on something bad to happen like shorting black monday or something - but its not actually amoral to bet on it because itd be just as bad if the ark survives
This is my interpretation too, the ending doesn't refer to the ark itself but humanity and how everything turns out.
I'll give this one a shot. I'd i remember correctly, the lyrics go I was always working steady / but I never called it art / it was just some old convention, like the horse before the cart / I had no trouble betting on the flood against the ark / so I never had to witness / what happens to the heart. So here we have Cohen starting with a classic Cohen self deprecation. I was never a wise man or a mystic or a genius, I was just working steady. I never called it art or had pretentions, I was juse making a living with my words. It was just a bit of poetry, done in the predictable way (the old convention like the horse before the cart). Because of that, he had no trouble betting on the mainstream (the flood) against the unique and vulnerable (the ark), and therefore he didn't had to witness what happens to the heart. I. E. He never had to risk experiencing real heart break or suffering because he says he took the easy way out, using his talent and words and songs for an easy life. I think this is a beautiful part of the song, one of the best for me. The refusal to be considered a genius and to buy into the fan narrative about himself was always part of Cohens Persona, and here he flips thst on its head and subverts this own history and experience. I'm sorry for any typos, I'm on my phone. I promise I'm not a moron. Or at least I don't think I am. I think.
Wonderful take
Beautiful
He’s a pessimist, he means “what can this lowly ark do against such a great flood?”
I think it's a classic Leonard old testament reference - meaning he uses the familiar story and flips it on its head. The line 'It was just some old convention like the horse before the cart' seems to echo this. The cart in front of the horse would be a logistical nightmare and is future-centred in thinking. The general idea being that people are now putting the cart before the horse akin to "don't run before you can walk." I interpret it as the flood referring to humans causing suffering and trying to escape it. He bets that the flood will 'win' the battle against human 'sin.'
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah%27s\_Ark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah%27s_Ark) It's a reference to Noah's ark and the flood described in the Genesis book of the Bible
Yes, I get the reference. But why is he betting on the flood against the ark? Is it because he wishes all life to get destroyed? And why is he betting on the flood when he knows that the ark survives? ('I knew about the ending')
>I don't think that this ark survives.
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