In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
He was a man just a simple man
His thoughts and pleasures were few
His bread he shared with his father
That was the life that he knew
And how the snow fell in Kiev today
And how the wind drove the mourners away
Now there is only one man at the grave of Davorian
And this man's heart is to heavy to pray
Nah Nah...
Nah nah...
He was a man just a simple man
Died at the place of his birth
His tombstone shared by the family
A silent place on the earth
An old man stands by the side of the grave
And this man's heart is too heavy to pray
For he is numb with the pain
Of the love that he couldn't share
Until he diead there in Kiev today
Dah dah dah...
Nah nah nah...
He was a man just a simple man
Died at the place of his birth
His tombstone shared by the family
A silent place on the earth
An old man stands by the side of the grave
And this man's heart is to heavy to pray
For he is numb with the pain
Of the love that he couldn't share
And two men died there in Kiev today
Lah lah lah...
Nah nah nah...
Dah dah dah...
Dah dah nah... naaaah
His thoughts and pleasures were few
His bread he shared with his father
That was the life that he knew
And how the snow fell in Kiev today
And how the wind drove the mourners away
Now there is only one man at the grave of Davorian
And this man's heart is to heavy to pray
Nah Nah...
Nah nah...
He was a man just a simple man
Died at the place of his birth
His tombstone shared by the family
A silent place on the earth
An old man stands by the side of the grave
And this man's heart is too heavy to pray
For he is numb with the pain
Of the love that he couldn't share
Until he diead there in Kiev today
Dah dah dah...
Nah nah nah...
He was a man just a simple man
Died at the place of his birth
His tombstone shared by the family
A silent place on the earth
An old man stands by the side of the grave
And this man's heart is to heavy to pray
For he is numb with the pain
Of the love that he couldn't share
And two men died there in Kiev today
Lah lah lah...
Nah nah nah...
Dah dah dah...
Dah dah nah... naaaah
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Kiev Lyrics as written by James Stanley Mc Carty Betty Mary Thatcher
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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This is a heartbreaking song. It's about a man who loved another man who is now dead and how he could not express his love for him. It has the feel of being a long time ago when that was completely unacceptable. Not sure when it was written but clearly it was way ahead of its time.
@yafmenYahoo where did you read this interpretation of Kiev?
@yafmenYahoo This album, Prologue, came out in 1972.
@yafmenYahoo That “love” could also just be platonic or familial. The song talks a lot about his family, that “old man” could be his aforementioned father. Maybe he regrets not loving his son enough while he was alive, instead settling for a boring, “simple” life. The rest of the song is about the tragedy of living such a static, unremarkable, unmemorable life, so I feel like this is an extension of that.
It sounds depressive as if this were written yesterday...