Leonard Cohen - Avalanche [Live] Lyrics

I stepped into an avalanche
It covered up my soul

When I am not this hunchback you see
I sleep beneath the golden hill
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me well

You strike my side by accident
As you go down for your gold
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
Is neither starved nor cold

He does not ask for your company
Not at the center of the world

When I am on this pedestal
You did not raise me there
Your laws do not compel me
To kneel grotesque and bare

I myself am this pedestal for this ugly hump
At which you stare and stare

You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me kind
The crumbs of love you offer me
They're the crumbs I've left behind

Your pain is no credential here
It's just the shadow of my wound

I have begun to long for you
I who have no need
I have begun to wait for you
I who have no greed

You say you've gone away from me
But I can feel you, feel you when you breathe

Do not dress in those rags for me
I know you are not poor
Don't love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you're not sure

This is your world, beloved
It is your flesh that I wear
This is your world, beloved
It is your flesh that I wear