And who by fire, who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of May
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate
Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt
And who by avalanche, who by powder
Whereas the original liturgical poem underscores the role of God as the force that decides at the beginning of each year who lives and who dies, and by what means, at the end of every verse, Cohen drops an innocent colloquial telephone response to turn the tables and question: who is actually calling for these events to happen? Is there a God? 
 Cohen stated in 1979: 
 But of course, the conclusion of the song, as I write it, is somewhat different: “Who shall I say is calling?” Well, that is what makes the song into a prayer for me in my terms, which is who is it or what is it that determine who will live and who will die? What is the source of this great furnace of creation? Who lights it? Who extinguishes it?
Who by Fire