It seems to be a song about personal principles. The chorus is the protagonist's principles.
The kingdom is invaded, forcing the thief, king, and protagonist to escape. They lose everything and everyone. This influences the protagonist's principles: He has contempt for anyone who isn't 100% against his enemies.
The three characters take refuge in the forest. The king feels disillusioned and guilty, so he abandons his principles. The characters realize that they are equal, so the narrator adds a new set of principles: There is no reason to bow to anyone, because even a king is flawed and human and equal. Finding that the thief was not that bad of a person and that all his crimes were meaningless now, the protagonist also learns that you should only repent for your own sins (violating your own principles).
The voices of the kingdom's inhabitants as they "fall" reminds us that you can only rely on yourself.
Before the characters go their separate ways, it's foreshadowed that they will find what they are looking for. They go down their "long and winding roads" accompanied by their set of principles (or lack thereof, in the king's case, as he had no longer nurtured the seeds of belief).
Then, the characters meet again. True to their paths, the thief had become a priest, the king had become a tramp, and the protagonist was an older version of himself. There is another hint of nihilism, another reminder of the meaninglessness of all the stuff you don't care about. What matters is what you believe in. Your own Bible, your own spoken word to tell yourself.
The priest had found a very common set of principles in organized religion. Yet, the king's path was not inherently worse; The priest has some jealousy of the tramp's newfound freedom.
This song draws a very clear line between what you believe in and what someone else believes in. It warns you not to believe in someone else's principles and acknowledges the validity of believing in nothing.
It's also worth noting the comparisons between religion and principle that emerge a few times in the song. Your principles are truly the religion of your life, regardless of whether you participate in a religious group.
It seems to be a song about personal principles. The chorus is the protagonist's principles.
The kingdom is invaded, forcing the thief, king, and protagonist to escape. They lose everything and everyone. This influences the protagonist's principles: He has contempt for anyone who isn't 100% against his enemies.
The three characters take refuge in the forest. The king feels disillusioned and guilty, so he abandons his principles. The characters realize that they are equal, so the narrator adds a new set of principles: There is no reason to bow to anyone, because even a king is flawed and human and equal. Finding that the thief was not that bad of a person and that all his crimes were meaningless now, the protagonist also learns that you should only repent for your own sins (violating your own principles).
The voices of the kingdom's inhabitants as they "fall" reminds us that you can only rely on yourself.
Before the characters go their separate ways, it's foreshadowed that they will find what they are looking for. They go down their "long and winding roads" accompanied by their set of principles (or lack thereof, in the king's case, as he had no longer nurtured the seeds of belief).
Then, the characters meet again. True to their paths, the thief had become a priest, the king had become a tramp, and the protagonist was an older version of himself. There is another hint of nihilism, another reminder of the meaninglessness of all the stuff you don't care about. What matters is what you believe in. Your own Bible, your own spoken word to tell yourself.
The priest had found a very common set of principles in organized religion. Yet, the king's path was not inherently worse; The priest has some jealousy of the tramp's newfound freedom.
This song draws a very clear line between what you believe in and what someone else believes in. It warns you not to believe in someone else's principles and acknowledges the validity of believing in nothing.
It's also worth noting the comparisons between religion and principle that emerge a few times in the song. Your principles are truly the religion of your life, regardless of whether you participate in a religious group.