Good lyricists, and good artists in general, rarely restrict the meaning of their works. If the literal meaning of this song resonates with other parts of life, then the artists have accomplished their goal. "Kings" tells one story, but the story repeats throughout history in various ways. The song describes a single historical story, but the lessons learned from that story were not learned well enough to keep them from happening again and again.
Here's a more detailed synopsis of the story in the song:
"Kings" describes a hypothetical meeting of people toasting the memory of King Richard Coeur de Leon, who died in 1199, as well as the conditions among the common folk at the time. There is a glaring disconnect between the "greatness" in the memory of "good" King Richard and the lot of the impoverished lower classes. It's juxtaposed as an ironic statement, that when we elevate a person such as Richard, we might, knowingly or not, forget or ignore the dark side of their legacy.
He never learned to speak English, though he was born and spent most of his childhood in England. He was regarded by some to be a great king, but of his 9-year reign, he spent less than one year in England. The rest he spent "plunder[ing] far and wide" in the 3rd Crusade, and he spent a few months in captivity.
When they raise a glass to "Good King John," who is remembered as a rather incompetent king, and historians believe he killed Arthur, his young nephew and potential rival to the throne of England, that is another ironic juxtaposition. But there was good in John's reign. He agreed with the barony that the king is also subject to the law (Magna Carta, a concession to get funds for his wars in France), though the gesture has more meaning today than it did during John's reign.
Bottom line: Nobody is all good or all bad. Raise a glass!
Good lyricists, and good artists in general, rarely restrict the meaning of their works. If the literal meaning of this song resonates with other parts of life, then the artists have accomplished their goal. "Kings" tells one story, but the story repeats throughout history in various ways. The song describes a single historical story, but the lessons learned from that story were not learned well enough to keep them from happening again and again.
Here's a more detailed synopsis of the story in the song: "Kings" describes a hypothetical meeting of people toasting the memory of King Richard Coeur de Leon, who died in 1199, as well as the conditions among the common folk at the time. There is a glaring disconnect between the "greatness" in the memory of "good" King Richard and the lot of the impoverished lower classes. It's juxtaposed as an ironic statement, that when we elevate a person such as Richard, we might, knowingly or not, forget or ignore the dark side of their legacy.
He never learned to speak English, though he was born and spent most of his childhood in England. He was regarded by some to be a great king, but of his 9-year reign, he spent less than one year in England. The rest he spent "plunder[ing] far and wide" in the 3rd Crusade, and he spent a few months in captivity.
When they raise a glass to "Good King John," who is remembered as a rather incompetent king, and historians believe he killed Arthur, his young nephew and potential rival to the throne of England, that is another ironic juxtaposition. But there was good in John's reign. He agreed with the barony that the king is also subject to the law (Magna Carta, a concession to get funds for his wars in France), though the gesture has more meaning today than it did during John's reign.
Bottom line: Nobody is all good or all bad. Raise a glass!