| Al Stewart – Nostradamus Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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One correction: Nostradamus originally published 353 quatrains in 1555, But a book of an additional 942 quatrains was published posthumously after his death. It should be noted that Al used translations from Erica Cheetham's book "The Prophecies of Nostradamus: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow" which was published in 1965 and he made further changes to them to fit the song. This is why I credit the predictions more to Al than to the 16th Century Prophet who was known for making his prophecies intentionally vague and later translations were often changed to better fit events that already happened. Also, I want to add that the first lyric: "In the east the wind is blowing the boats across the sea And their sails will fill the morning and their cries ring out to me" For a long time I wasn't sure if this was prophecy, or it simply described the Age of Exploration that was taking place during Nostradamus's lifetime. The wind coming from the East and blowing Columbus's boats across the Atlantic Ocean had already happened in 1492 when Nostradamus was writing his quatrains. But the age of exploration and colonization of new lands was still going on well into the 1500s, 1600s, 1700s and 1800s. "And their cries ring out to me" could describe consequence of this colonization and empire building ie The wars, genocides and deaths from disease of the native population. |
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| Al Stewart – Nostradamus Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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This song is from the point of view of the French prophet Nostradamus. In 1555 he published a book of 943 quatrains that were said to predict the future. These prophecies came to him over the course of several fever dreams. Al Stewart adapted and reworded English translations of some of Nostradamus's quatrains to fit this song. Here are my interpretations of the prophecies he mentions: "A king shall fall and put to death by the English parliament shall be" - King Charles I was executed by Oliver Cromwell's parliament in 1649 "Fire and plague to London come in the year of six and twenties three" - The great fire of London in 1666 "An emperor of France shall rise who will be born near Italy His rule cost his empire dear, Napoloron his name shall be" - Napoleon's take over of France and his defeat in 1815. "From Castile does Franco come and the Government driven out shall be" - Francisco Franco's overthrow of the Spanish government in 1939 "An English king seeks divorce, and from his throne cast down is he" - King Edward VIII loses his throne after marrying a divorcee in 1936 "One named Hister shall become a captain of Greater Germanie No law does this man observe and bloody his rise and fall shall be" - Hitler's rise to power and his fall at the end of WWII in 1945 "In the new lands of America three brothers now shall come to power Two alone are born to rule but all must die before their hour" -The Kennedy brothers: John, Robert and Joe. All died young. Joe died in WWII but John and Robert were assassinated in the 60s. Both were "born to rule" in that John was president when he was assassinated and Robert was a senator running for president when he was a assassinated. The rest of the prophecies are future predictions as they hadn't yet come to pass when the song was originally released in 1973 so it's not as obvious why Al Stewart included them. But here are my thoughts: "Two great men yet brothers not make the north united stand Its power be seen to grow, and fear possess the eastern lands" -This has been interpreted as the twin towers coming down and the subsequent wars in the middle East. But it could also be Trump and Putin's alliance against China. Who knows what was going through Al's head when he included this verse. It could be a reference to Lincoln and Grant during the Civil War as someone earlier mentioned, but I get the sense that the song was moving forward chronologically and Al intended on including prophecies that hadn't yet come to pass. The album is, after all, titled "Past, Present and Future". "Three leagues from the gates of Rome a Pope named Pol is doomed to die A great wall that divides a city at this time is cast aside" -This is the eeriest prediction in the song as Pope John Paul had not yet become Pope in 1973 when this song was first published nor had the Berlin Wall come down. Al correctly assumed that the Berlin Wall would come down around the same time there was a Pope named Pol (Paul). John Paul II became Pope in 1979, but he didn't die until 2005 ... 15 years after The Berlin Wall came down. Not exactly "at this time, but still that's pretty close. I'd love to ask Al why he included this verse. |
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| Al Stewart – Warren Harding Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| This song is from two different point of views. The first is from the POV of a poor immigrant who came to New York in the early 1920s and became a bootlegger during prohibition. The second is from the POV of Warren G. Harding who was president of the United States between 1921 to 1923. The story contrasts the rise of the poor immigrant with the decline and death of Warren G. Harding who died of complications from pneumonia shortly after his visit to Alaska. | |
| Al Stewart – Old admirals Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| This song is pretty straight forward in its interpretation. It is from the POV of an admiral in the English royal navy. He had been sailing the world since he was boy in 1853 and became captain around the time the ships changed from wood to steel. He became admiral at the turn of the century just after Queen Victoria died. He watched as Germany's power grew in the early 1900s, but by the time WWI broke out he was too old serve in the Navy during the War. "Oh call me back" is referring to him asking to serve during the war arguing that he is old but wiser and more experienced than the younger ship captains. But he never fought in the war. The narrator is telling the story sometime after WWI but before WWII. By then he's a retired grandfather who misses the sea. | |
| Al Stewart – Roads to Moscow Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| The song is from the POV of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. He was a Soviet Soldier in WWII who fought against the Nazis during their invasion of Russia and was later part of the attack on Berlin at the end of the war. He was captured for one day by the Nazis and was released. The Soviets killed or imprisoned Soviets who were relased because they assumed they were spies. So when the war ended he was sent to a Gulag. He was tortured in a Gulag until 1953 and later was exiled to Birlik where he later died. During his time in Birlik he wrote several books, including "The Gulag Archipeligo" which was banned in the USSR until the Soviet Union fell. | |
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