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They crossed over the border, the hour before dawn
Moving in lines through the day
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay
Waiting for orders we held in the wood
Word from the front never came
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away
Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees
Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and on our knees
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red
Silhouetting the smoke on the breeze
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine
Smolensk and Viasma soon fell
By autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel
Closer and closer to Moscow they come
Riding the wind like a bell
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill
Winter brought with her the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground while the sky filled with snow
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red
Silhouetting the snow on the breeze
In the footsteps of Napoleon the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow, standing in the wings like an avenger
And far away behind their lines the partisans are stirring in the forest
Coming unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise
You'll never know, you'll never know which way to turn, which way to look you'll never see us
As we're stealing through the blackness of the night
You'll never know, you'll never hear us
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming
The morning roads lead to Stalingrad, and the sky is softly humming
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night
Flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun
At home it will almost be spring
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin
Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The eyes of the city are opening
Now it's the end of the dream
I'm coming home, I'm coming home, now you can taste it in the wind, the war is over
And I listen to the clicking of the train-wheels as we roll across the border
And now they ask me of the time that I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner
"They only held me for a day, a lucky break," I say they turn and listen closer
I'll never know, I'll never know why I was taken from the line and all the others
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia
And it's cold and damp in the transit camp, and the air is still and sullen
And the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming
And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers "Never"
And the evening sighs, and the steely Russian skies go on forever
Moving in lines through the day
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay
Waiting for orders we held in the wood
Word from the front never came
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away
Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees
Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and on our knees
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red
Silhouetting the smoke on the breeze
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine
Smolensk and Viasma soon fell
By autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel
Closer and closer to Moscow they come
Riding the wind like a bell
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill
Winter brought with her the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground while the sky filled with snow
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red
Silhouetting the snow on the breeze
In the footsteps of Napoleon the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow, standing in the wings like an avenger
And far away behind their lines the partisans are stirring in the forest
Coming unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise
You'll never know, you'll never know which way to turn, which way to look you'll never see us
As we're stealing through the blackness of the night
You'll never know, you'll never hear us
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming
The morning roads lead to Stalingrad, and the sky is softly humming
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night
Flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun
At home it will almost be spring
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin
Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The eyes of the city are opening
Now it's the end of the dream
I'm coming home, I'm coming home, now you can taste it in the wind, the war is over
And I listen to the clicking of the train-wheels as we roll across the border
And now they ask me of the time that I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner
"They only held me for a day, a lucky break," I say they turn and listen closer
I'll never know, I'll never know why I was taken from the line and all the others
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia
And it's cold and damp in the transit camp, and the air is still and sullen
And the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming
And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers "Never"
And the evening sighs, and the steely Russian skies go on forever
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First half of the song, Nazi's push East through the Soviet Union almost to Moscow.
Second half, turning point at Stalingrad, Soviets push the Nazis West all the way back to Berlin.
Sad ironic ending is the heartwrenching fate of the narrator, sent to a delolate transit camp "deep into the heart of holy Russia" by the paranoid Soviet regime he fought for simply because he was once captured by the Germans
Didn't notice it mentioned in the comments I read but I thought I might add that the lines that allude to "tigers" that everyone seems to love (I get chills) refer to the Tiger Tank, the German army's huge and fearsome armored war machine from WWII.
As a history buff and a music lover, I would just like to express my great love and admiration for this magnificent song with it's poetic beauty, imagery, and the dead-on accuracy of it's many historical references. Bravo Al.
c.
The lyric continues through the battles of Stalingrad and the failure of the Nazis to take Moscow, resulting in the retreat and pursuit of the German forces, culminating with the German collapse and the capture of Berlin in 1945.
At some point in the narrators' service, he was captured, but had 'a lucky break' and was able to escape after being held for a day. He innocently reveals this on a homebound train, only to be overheard by NKVD operatives. He is singled out as one of thousands of Russian soldiers to be sent to Siberian Gulag work camps. This practice was Stalin's way of dealing with the huge number of returning servicemen. To allow them to return to civilian life would have placed too large a burden on the Soviet economy.
Now, go read a book.
I suggest you take your own advice and read a book.
Stewart has created a song that people will probably be listening to for decades into the future. His history is right, his take on the character and tenacity of the Russian soldier is right, his take on the fatalism embodied in the national character of Russians is right. Read some Alexander Solszenitsyn for an expert's take on the above, particularly "August 1914". Stewart has captured the essence of a tragic era and transformed it into a combination of verse and music that is unforgettable.
They crossed over the border the hour before dawn
Moving in lines through the day
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground t'were they lay
Waiting for orders we held in the wood
Word from the front never came
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away
Ah softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees
Crossing their lines in the mist in the fields on our hands and our knees
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The fire in the air, glowing red
Silhouetting the smoke on the breeze
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine
Smolensk and Viasma soon fell
By Autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel
Closer and closer to Moscow they come
Riding the wind like a bell
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill
Winter brought with it the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground, while the skies filled with snow
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The fire in the air, glowing red
Silhouetting the snow on the breeze
In the footsteps of Napoleon, the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow, standing in the wings like an avenger
And far away behind their lines, the partisans are stirring in the forest
Coming unexpectedly upon their outpost, growing like a promise
You'll never know, you'll never know, which way to turn, which way to look you'll never see us
As we're stealing through the blackness of the night you'll never know, you'll never hear us
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming
The morning road leads to Stalingrad and the sky is softly humming
Two broken tigers on fire in the night
Flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun
At home, it will almost be spring
The flames of the tigers are lighting the road to Berlin
Ah quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down
And all that I ever
Was able to see
The eyes of the city are opening now
It's the end of the dream
I'm coming home, I'm coming home , now you can taste it in the wind the war is over
And I listen to the clicking of the train wheels as we roll across the border
And now they ask me of the time when I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner
They only held me for a day, a lucky break I say
They turn and listen closer
I'll never know, I'll never know, why I was taken from the line with all the others
to board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia
And it's cold and damp in the transit camp and the air is still and sullen
and the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming
And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers never
And the evening sighs and the steely Russian skies go on forever...
At the time this song was written, the world had been reading Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago". Solzhenitsyn had fought for the Soviets in WW II, been decorated, and was arrested near the end of the war and sent to a labour camp "deep into the heart of holy Russia" for 8 years.
Al Stewart obviously knew his military history and imagined himself a young homesick Soviet soldier. Solzhenitsyn himself was free in the US for years and a bit of a celebrity - still, homesick, he returned to holy Russia near the end of his days, calling for a return to the Russian monarchy and lamenting the soullessness of post-wall Russia.
The song describes that deep attachment to the Russian empire despite its problems.
The second to last verse is intriguing but I doubt it means anything. The Soviet soldier is caught behind German lines and taken prisoner, then stands in a line with other Soviet prisoners, then the Germans take him alone from the lines and put on a train to Russia. Then apparently he comes back to Germany, the war ends (in April), and in October he and other Soviet soldiers are on a train back to the Soviet Union.
It's true that when Soviet soldiers became lost from their units and snuck back across the front line, sometimes other Soviet soldiers shot them suspecting they were spies or traitors. But that scenario doesn't fit the song. I'll bet that if you asked Stewart what the second to last verse means, he'd say "I don't know, it just came to me." Indeed "I'll never know, I'll never know" is in the lyrics. Sometimes songwriters are just inspired. That a line says "holy Russia" suggests a religious or mystical experience. The Nazis had some strange religious fascinations, in my imagination a German general wanted to go to a religious shrine in Russia before it was lost to the Soviet army, and chose a single Soviet prisoner with him, for reasons known only to the general.
This is based on facts! Stalin, with his massive paranoia, sent millions of his own soldiers to concentration camps after the war, including those that had been taken prisioner by the Germans! One site suggests that several million Russian soldiers were killed by the Comunists, after the war. I've heard this story from other sources than the internet & do believe it to be true. It fits in perfectly with what I know about Stalin!
I think Stewart wrote, not just this verse, but the whole song, as a salute to the Russian soldiers and people who paid such a high price, not just fighting the Germans, but trying to live under the rule of the Communists! I don't have them now, but I've seen figures where, over the course of their leadership, Stalin was responsible for significantly more death than Hitler. Of course, he had many more years to accomplish this. Both were pure evil, in fact, some people like to talk of the political spectrum as a line with liberals on the left & conservatives on the right. At the far right of this line would be facists and at the far left would be communists. I like to think of it as an alomst closed circle instead, where, if you go too far to either the right or left, you come back to the same evil tactics and interpretations as those you claim to be your worst enemy! This CLEARLY describs Hitler and Stalin!
and Ended with "ipp vip" signifying the wars end.
Another line that takes on a new meaning if you assume no perspective change is, "The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down..." These are not the Russian villagers fighting for Stalingrad - these are the German and Austrian people fighting off the Soviet troops.
The mention of capture and being sent to Siberia was not, actually, from a German's perspective. A Soviet soldier that had been captured by Germans and managed to escape was seen as a potential traitor, and treated as such - including a sort of forced exile. The unfortunate soul who says "I'm coming home, I'm coming home..." is quite mistaken - as he admits later, he will likely never see his home again.
This is a very vivid and beautiful song, as so many of Stewart's songs are. It is truly able to capture the spirit of the years of fighting in WWII in the Russian winter.
The song refers to these events, very briefly... hence your confusion.
An interesting Idea, though! It shows you are Listening and Trying!
Please keep it up! Music needs open minds, or we will all fall victim to the Lady Gaga's of the world!