Posted on 03/07/2014 6:25:50 PM PST by WXRGina
"Roads to Moscow" World War II history in the song
Song on You Tube: Roads to Moscow by Al Stewart
Lyric:
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
I listen to this song often. Amazing work across the board. No one knows it. I think it was too long for FM radio in the 1970s, but surely one of the great works of pop music of that decade.
Talk about your timely posts!
Great history, lyrics, and imagery. I’ve probably listened to this a couple hundred times, and the ending chills me every time...
Yes, this is a chilling gem. Not many people know it. We also listen to this one over and over again.
Those who don’t know history... you know.
But, hey! Bravo to Al Stewart for his immense research in creating this masterpiece!
Al Stewart sings about the Eastern Front in WWII and the Gulag, Hitler’s 1934 purge of the Storm Troopers (”The Last Day of June, 1934”), Basque terrorism (”On the Border”), etc.—not the normal subjects of rock and roll songs.
This is not a song for low-information types.
I’ve heard the claim that this is essentially the tale of Alexander Solzhenitsyn during the war.
HAHAHAHAHA!!! Yes, you're right! You made me laugh. :-)
Yes, that may be. The top link above is from Al Stewart’s site, and he breaks down the lyric with historical explanation. Good stuff! (well, not really “good,” but you know what I mean)
“running like a water color in the rain”
Year of the cat
guy could write some songs...
“Year of the Cat” is one of my all-time favorites (how could it NOT be?).
IMO, one of the best songs ever written yet not much commercial appeal. It’s almost eight hours long with amazing high and low notes that you can truly enjoy in a full stereo mode. A true masterpiece.
The main character in the song fights for dear mother Russia in WWII only to have been briefly captured by the Nazis and, because his life is disposable to the Kremlin and he might possibly have been converted to a spy, the rest of his life is spent in a cold, soulless gulag with other prisoners. He really doesn’t understand what his country has done to him.
Oops. Eight minutes long, not hours. For the main character, it probably seemed like eight years.
IMHO as great as Year of the Cat is, I like Time Passages even more.
Yes, it’s an intense, under-appreciated masterpiece, and heart-wrenching in the end. It’s sickening to imagine the song’s character’s fate, the faithful soldier betrayed by his country.
I knew what you meant. :-)
Yes, it's a "sibling" song and just as good.
“Time Passages”....I’m with you dfwg.
I love this song; it’s so haunting.
I also love “On The Border”! Lovely guitar work in that one!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.