There’s a stanza in Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker” that goes like this:

They’re lining up to prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
I struggle with some demons
They were middle class and tame
I didn’t know I had permission
To murder and to maim
You want it darker

Hineni, hineni
I’m ready, my Lord

The beginning of the verse and the end seem very related; it seems to be talking about mass killings of prisoners such as was done during the Holocaust. The middle two lines, though, seem a little different; they’re talking about “demons” who are “middle class” and “tame”.

What’s this line referring to, and how does it fit with the theme of the rest of the verse?