"The Stranger Song"
• Alludes to the dealer in Nelson Algren's 1949 novel The Man with the Golden Arm.
• Alludes to the dealer in Nelson Algren's 1949 novel The Man with the Golden Arm.
“
O you've seen that man before
his golden arm dispatching cards
but now it's rusted from the elbow to the finger
And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter
— Leonard Cohen
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "O you've seen that man before
his golden arm dispatching cards
but now it's rusted from the elbow to the finger
And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter" in the context of ""The Stranger Song"
• Alludes to the dealer in Nelson Algren's 1949 novel The Man with the Golden Arm." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Leonard Cohen" (Quotes, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967))
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, CC, GOQ (21 September 1934 - 7 November 2016) was a Canadian poet, songwriter, singer, and novelist noted for the bold exploration of religion, politics, sexuality, personal relationships and personal isolation in his works.
About Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, CC, GOQ (21 September 1934 - 7 November 2016) was a Canadian poet, songwriter, singer, and novelist noted for the bold exploration of religion, politics, sexuality, personal relationships and personal isolation in his works.
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