What does "I've seen your flag on the marble arch?" in Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" mean?
From Leonard Cohen's "Halleluj'ah":
> Baby, I've been here before --
>
> I know this room, I've walked this floor:
>
> I used to live alone before I knew you.
>
> **I've seen your flag on the marble arch:**
>
> Love is not a victory march;
>
> It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.
I believe I have a clear and coherent understanding of this song, with the exception of one line: "I've seen your flag on the marble arch." Based on my understanding of Cohen's work as a whole, I am all but certain that it is a reference to something in the Jewish Scriptural canon, possibly from the Prophets or from later Jewish history. However, my lack of knowledge prevents me from identifying the reference. Can anyone else?
More
1 Expert Answer
Max M. answered • 05/29/19
Tutor
5.0
(336)
Harvard Literature major with 20 years of coaching writers
It sounds to me more like a reference to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, or perhaps monumental triumphal arches in general. The Arc de Triomphe was built in honor of the soldiers in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, in the tradition of Ancient Roman triumphs, which often commemorated major military victories with a marble arch. On VE Day, the end of WW2 in Europe, there was a huge celebration in Paris around the arch, with flags from the allied forces prominently displayed (you can google the pictures).
Dan W.
Arc of Titus. It's in line with both the themes in the song and Cohen's faith. I see where Max M. is coming from, and the Arc of Titus did inspire the Triomphe, but nothing else in the song refers to something that modern. Time frame, reason for its construction, social/political implications, and lore of the Titus Arc all fit within the context of the lyric as a whole.
Report
12/04/19
Max M.
Well, fair enough! And really cool to bring it all back to the classical / biblical theme. To further the discourse, I'd argue that kitchen chairs are a bit more modern than Samson and Delilah, as for that matter is the chromatic scale, so David wouldn't really have played fourths, fifths, or minor lifts as such either. And I suspect it's unlikely that the Romans would have covered Titus's brand new arch in flags, with its detailed engravings, at his procession in CE 81. So I'd argue that what Cohen is doing is crossing eras, blending the classical / biblical and the modern. In short, I do still think VE Day would have stuck quite vividly indeed in the memory of the young, Orthodox Jewish Cohen, and, in keeping with the biblical imagery in the song, the celebration of the fall of Nazi Germany at the Arc de Triomphe in 1945 would have made a very poignant bookend to the celebration of the fall of Jerusalem at the Arch of Titus in 81. Sooooo....we can both be right!
Report
12/10/19
Kristi A.
The kitchen chair is about her conquering him. The “kitchen“ was historically the woman’s area where she carried out her tasks of servitude to her husband. It is only through being conquered— his throne (dominion) and hair (power,strength, glory) being lost that the wrongly formed & broken can be redeemed to a truer and greater state & self. I would say the flag & victory arch are likewise symbolic, not a specific reference. He’s saying, “you think conquering is winning.” But, while my being conquered may allow me to more aptly perceive what is truest & best being. You’re act of conquering & needing to conquer — your perception of conquest instead of serving a good higher than the self means you lose — not win.
Report
08/30/20
Pam S.
Also I felt mentioning David and Bathsheba and then Samson and Delilah in the same breath is a picture of each man's fall from grace. Just a thought.
Report
10/17/20
H. Y.
I am not an expert in any way, but for me the verses were clearly & unquestionably written from the perspective of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah the Hittite, one of the elite soldiers of the Hebrew King. The Old Testament texts firmly indicate that the husband was not aware of the affair, but Cohen assumably wrote his verses that Uriah knew “what’s really going on below.” So based on his creative freedom, Uriah was a broken & betrayed lover, husband & soldier. Perhaps Cohen was projecting his own love life at the time. Once you see the dynamics, EVERYTHING will begin to make sense including the flag on the arch. It was a "victory flag" raised by a soldier's wife hoping for her husband's safe return, or welcome sign from a victorious war. But for Uriah, the flag no longer represented a victory in his eyes. It became a sign of defeat & betrayal. Looking back or forward at the flag from a distance, he sings achingly "Love is not a victory march. It's a cold and a broken Hallelujah.” BTW, who the heck brought Samson into this? Nonsense!! I agree with Kristi A. above. Cutting hair is a symbolic gesture by a strong woman who emasculated a powerful King in her domain, kitchen!! Meaning she was now in control!! She even sat on him “and from" his "lips she drew the Hallelujah!” Oh, you are so slow. In other lines, Uriah "moved in you (Bathsheba)" & “The Holy dark/dove (King's dove. Wink!) was moving too (in Bathsheba.)” Why was David a baffled King? Because he was still allowed to remain as a King & a Prophet in spite of all the transgressions & sins he had committed (adultery, murder, cover-up, etc). Not only that, young David was just a humble sheep herder & a harp player who eventually became one of the most powerful Hebrew Kings in the Jewish/Biblical history!! Buffled? Anyone would be. The King’s “faith was strong but” he still “needed proof (of God)” even after all the miraculous blessings he received. So, God indeed shows the proof that David was careless & powerless enough to risk all of his kingdom to satisfy his lust. He already had 5 wives when he “saw her on the roof.” OMG!! He was given a sign in the form of a test that God’s Power & Wisdom were far greater than himself. Back to Uriah. He was a Hittite, that means he was not a born Jew. So he was probably a convert to Judaism to satisfy his wife, as well as the requirement to join the powerful Hebrew army. In one of the less known verses, Uriah says “You say I took the name (of God) in vain (by converting). I don't even know the name (Jews typically avoid mentioning God’s name.) But if I did, well really, what's it to ya?” Unlike David, Uriah’s faith was not strong, so he ( or Cohen) sings “Maybe there’s a God above.” And the lesson he “learned from love” was “how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.” David obviously outdrew him. A bitter lesson learned from his love triangle. “It’s not a cry (Uriah’s) you can hear at night.” Or cry of “somebody (David) who’s seen the light (God’s grace.)” Cohen says it doesn’t matter whose hallelujah it is. Hallelujah drew from the broken love “is a cold” and “a broken Hallelujah." In fact, one of the verses says “It doesn't matter which you heard. The holy or the broken Hallelujah.” Once you listen from the right perspective, things become very clear ... and break your heart. But this is just my opinion. Take the best & leave the rest.
Report
11/30/20
Deborah S.
I believe the lyric "and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah" refers to Delilah found out the secret about his unnatural strength. He was told to never cut his hair. I don't think his hair had power in it, it was his obedience to God by keeping it long that God honored him with incredible strength. She wheedled and whined wanting to know and he was so besotted that he told her. That's when she brought in the Philistines and they captured him. His cold and broken Hallelujah was in his final moments where he asked God to grant him the strength once more to bring down the building he was chained in with all the Philistine leaders. I think the cold and broken hallelujah is different for all of us but I intrepret it as being able to praise God in your worst moments.
Report
03/02/23
Still looking for help? Get the right answer, fast.
Ask a question for free
Get a free answer to a quick problem.
Most questions answered within 4 hours.
OR
Find an Online Tutor Now
Choose an expert and meet online. No packages or subscriptions, pay only for the time you need.
James O.
Try Song of Solomon 5:15.11/26/19