Al Stewart – Nostradamus

I’ve always liked story songs, and this one spans a lot of time and ground. The song hits over 9 minutes, but it builds all the way. The bass doesn’t kick in until after the two-minute mark.

This 1973 song is like a book pulled from a shelf in some old library. Along with a story, you have a great melodic backing. This was Al Stewart before his radio hits, before Year of the Cat made him a star. He was still a cult artist at this point. I was really impressed by the lyrics and music alike. It’s not a song that you play at a party, but one that you listen to.

It was on the album Past, Present, and Future, and it isn’t an easily accessible album, and that is part of the charm. It’s more intellectual, with Stewart going with his passion rather than being commercial. His inspiration for this song came from British scholar Erika Cheetham, who wrote books interpreting Nostradamus’s prophecies.

Stewart sought out Cheetham, and they became friends. Stewart and Cheetham would go over prophecies that Nostradamus made. He included prophecies about historical figures like Napoleon and Hitler in the song.  He said that he focused on the idea of prophecy itself, the tension between fate and free will. The sense that history moves in cycles… So yes, it is interesting. I’ve gained a whole new respect for Al Stewart, the songwriter.

All songs on this album have historical themes, each song representing a decade of the 20th century. John Anthony was the producer, and he went for more of an atmospheric sound to go with the lyrics. It worked because the lyrics get center stage, but the music is very strong. Stewart’s fans like this album, and in 2015, he performed the entire album at the Royal Albert Hall.

The album peaked at #133 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1974.

Nostradamus

In the east the wind is blowing the boats across the seaAnd their sails will fill the morning and their cries ring out to me

Oh, the more it changes, the more it stays the sameAnd the hand just re-arranges the players in the game

Oh, I had a dreamIt seemed I stood aloneAnd the veil of all the yearsGoes sinking from my eyes like a stone

A king shall fall and put to death by the English parliament shall beFire and plague to London come in the year of six and twenties threeAn emperor of France shall rise who will be born near ItalyHis rule cost his empire dear, Napoloron his name shall be

From Castile does Franco come and the Government driven out shall beAn English king seeks divorce, and from his throne cast down is heOne named Hister shall become a captain of Greater GermanieNo law does this man observe and bloody his rise and fall shall be

Man, man, your time is sand, your ways are leaves upon the seaI am the eyes of Nostradamus, all your ways are known to meMan, man, your time is sand, your ways are leaves upon the seaI am the eyes of Nostradamus, all your ways are known to me

In the new lands of America three brothers now shall come to powerTwo alone are born to rule but all must die before their hourTwo great men yet brothers not make the north united standIts power be seen to grow, and fear possess the eastern lands

Three leagues from the gates of Rome a Pope named Pol is doomed to dieA great wall that divides a city at this time is cast asideThese are the signs I bring to youto show you when the time is nigh

Man, man, your time is sand, your ways are leaves upon the seaI am the eyes of Nostradamus, all your ways are known to me

Man, man, your time is sand, your ways are leaves upon the seaI am the eyes of Nostradamus, all your ways are known to me

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

34 thoughts on “Al Stewart – Nostradamus”

  1. Pingback: Al Stewart – Nostradamus – MobsterTiger

  2. I didn’t know any Al Stewart songs until 1976 when I landed in Italy and met some British bartenders over there. I became a big fan of his music, and the bartenders had a whole catalogue of his work going back to when he first recorded. I found it all quite good and came back to the U.S. with several of his albums and showed my family and friends his talents beyond what the radio played at the time.

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  3. A unique but really talented writer and storyteller. I like ‘Roads to Moscow’ from that album. I once tried to read Nostradamus but I think the translation wasn’t that good and it seemed dense and non-specific. I wonder how close to his original writing the lyrics came? Well, time to set aside 9 minutes and listen…

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    2. I just about missed this post Max. You did your homework. Typical Max take with to the point intel. The song actually starts to swing at the time you mention. But yeah I love that history stuff also. ‘Roads To Moscow’ is another good one Dave.

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      1. It was one of the hardest posts I’ve ever written…I tried to at first explain the lyrics…I got finger twisted trying to type it out…finally I thought I would do the highlights.
        What a wonderful written song…it’s great to include all that he did. You probably thought I was going to do…Year of the Cat didn’t you? When I first heard this…I had to do it.

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      2. I was listening to a program about Nostradamus. It was all about the coming New Year and the predictions people make. Such a cool song and album. ‘Road To Moscow’ that Dave Mentioned stirs up some emotions. Al can pen a tune and lyrics.
        I had no idea what you’d post. I’m sure your readers would have bit on “Cat” but maybe they’ll give this a go. Kinds a cool it was one of your ‘hardest” to write up. You did a great job Max. I just checked out the musicians that worked on the record. Some surprising names.

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      3. Al was or is a ‘musician’s musician’ and a really unusual story-telling lyricist. I heard him once say something like he wasn’t interested in writing about subjects others have already beaten into the ground. I would actually like to dig into his discography a lot more

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  4. I’ll check this out……I went through high school listening to a lot of Chris de Burgh, and Alan Parsons’ Tales of Mystery and Imagination, and I Robert… while drinking a lot of Southern Comfort if I’m remembering correctly?

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  5. I recall reading Nostradamus back in the 80s. Interesting but a tad unnerving at the same time.

    (Looks like I’ll be on WP hiatus till after Christmas now, sorry Max but invitations given for family/friends gathering for Christmas celebrations are more than happily accepted.)

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      1. Priest fanbase was split over the whole record in general. I actually never bought it myself. Not that I didn’t want to but the fact we were racing three teenage girls at the time and money was tight lol. Sacrifices had to me made….haha

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      2. Wow…. it’s different to me…let me tell you why…I only know British Steel the most…and this was a totally different animal….yep raising kids will make the going to concert thing a luxury instead of a must.

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  9. I love both this song and Al Stewart very much. I have seen him live many times and have managed to see him once a year over the last few years and ge still has it. Several years back, I did a deep dive and listened to his entire catalog, chronologically on CD, and really enjoyed it. And let’s face it, “Year of the Cat” is one of the most beautifully arranged songs of all time. And here’s a link to my favorite personal Al Stewart experience:

    https://musiccitymike.net/2018/08/22/classic-concert-al-stewart-the-bluebird-cafe-nashville-tn-june-6-2003/

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  10. When Year Of The Cat came out, I did circle back and listen to some of his prior work. I really like Al Stewart’s body of work, Max. His lyrics are masterful, and he delivers his words with such style. I’m pretty sure Year Of The Cat is one of my most played songs that I have picked on the playlist to play “out of order.” Sometimes, I am just in a Year Of The Cat mood and it must be played!

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