The Captain — текст песни (Leonard Cohen)

Now the Captain called me to his bed
He fumbled for my hand
Take these silver bars, he said
I`m giving you command.
Command of what, there`s no one here
There`s only you and me --
All the rest are dead or in retreat
Or with the enemy.
Complain, complain, that`s all you`ve done
Ever since we lost
If it`s not the Crucifixion
Then it`s the Holocaust.
May Christ have mercy on your soul
For making such a joke
Amid these hearts that burn like coal
And the flesh that rose like smoke.

I know that you have suffered, lad,
But suffer this awhile:
Whatever makes a soldier sad
Will make a killer smile.
I`m leaving, Captain, I must go
There`s blood upon your hand
But tell me, Captain, if you know
Of a decent place to stand.

There is no decent place to stand
In a massacre;
But if a woman take your hand
Go and stand with her.
I left a wife in Tennessee
And a baby in Saigon --
I risked my life, but not to hear
Some country-western song.

Ah but if you cannot raise your love
To a very high degree,
Then you`re just the man I`ve been thinking of --
So come and stand with me.
Your standing days are done, I cried,
You`ll rally me no more.
I don`t even know what side
We fought on, or what for.

I`m on the side that`s always lost
Against the side of Heaven
I`m on the side of Snake-eyes tossed
Against the side of Seven.
And I`ve read the Bill of Human Rights
And some of it was true
But there wasn`t any burden left
So I`m laying it on you.

Now the Captain he was dying
But the Captain wasn`t hurt
The silver bars were in my hand
I pinned them to my shirt.