Al Stewart, Roads to Moscow (1973) From Past, Present and Future

Al Stewart, Roads to Moscow (1973)

from the album Past, Present and Future

Scottish singer song writer, Al Stewart, is no doubt a master of historical narratives. There is a line through his large catalogue testifying his inspiration and ability to cooperate history into stories. His is an interpreter, writing from knowledge, incorporating the feelings, the unseen history, which the classic science often try to escape.

The historical narrative of Al Stewart is subjective, not meant as the opposite of objective, but seen and experienced through the individual part. In this song we hear the unknown Russian soldier, trying to get back to his “comrades” through the land, that the Wehrmacht already has occupied. Stewart has been applauded for taking another view and letting a Russian soldier tell his story of the first days of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941.

The other perspective of WWII

In the popular culture connected to the western hemisphere there is an overwhelming American and British perspective on WWII, although the German film industry has contributed with several productions for the last decades. Especially Wolfgang Petersens masterpiece, Das Boot from 1981, was a revelation and an international blockbuster viewing the war from the German side. Later followed movies like Joseph Vilsmaiers Stalingrad from 1993 and the masterpiece, Der Untergang (2004), directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel.

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 our knees
And all that I ever was able to see

(https://alstewart.com/songs, this page is really good, thanks to Al Stewart and his folks)

Later in the song the young Russian soldier is part of the battle of Stalingrad, where he and The Red Army defeated the Germans in the furious winter of 1942-43 and continued to advance. In the endgame the Russians ran over the ruins of Berlin, May 1945.

Do not expect mercy, Ivan!

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

But is this the end. The Red Army was notoriously famous for the uncompromised discipline, that was exercised. The human resources seemed to play a minor part compared to the military hardware, when the generals should move forward. For a long period the Russian soldiers were paired two and two with one storm rifle. If on died, the other picked up the weapon and moved forward.

If you got caught as POW, you were in deep trouble after the war, Listen carefully to the last verse of Roads to Moscow. What is the fate of the soldier? Who believes he is coming back to his family?

Great song, great album.