Reading again the lyrics of Viva La Vida just after ending a book about Louis XVI (Louis Vincent - and Stephan Zweig with Marie-Antointte) makes everything clear to me: THE SONG IS OBVIOUSLY HIM!And let me tell you why:
- "I used to rule the worldSeas would rise when I gave the wordNow in the morning, I sleep alone"
Well after reading this part, we are sure about the fact that we're talking about someone who used to rule, a king. But that's too obvious and I didn't mention this part to say this, because what that catched my intention is the "now in the morning, I sleep alone". That's Louis XVI in his last moments, captured in "La conciergerie", where he spends his last days before the trial. He's seperated from his Family, (the Queen and their 3 children). He is alone and he's thinking about what he had become.
- "Listen as the crowd would sing:"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"
This part refers to when Louis XVI had become a king when his grand father Louis XV, died with the smallpox. He was waiting with Marie-Antoinette in a parlor (the heir apparent wasn't alowed to enter the room of the dying king in order not to get affected. He was going to be king) when the courtiers came running to them and screaming all over the castle after hearing that the king passed away in his chamber : "The old king is dead! Long live the king". That's when Louis XVI fell on his knees and said his famous prayer: "Dear God, guide and protect us. We are too young to reign."
- "One minute I held the keyNext the walls were closed on meAnd I discovered that my castles standUpon pillars of salt and pillars of sand"
For me it refers to when Louis XVI became a king, and started to reign and discovered how bad was the situation of the country, he was trapped. He became the king [of a nation in decadence]. That bringed absolute power (restaured at the time of Louis XIV), but also a lot of responsibilities, and a hope of change from the people of France, who were living in misery for so long and to who God bringed a new young king full of good intent. (Louis XVI ruled at 19 years old, and succeed at his grand father who was well known for debauchery, and also for his negligence of the affairs of the country in his last years. His death was like a relief for the people at that time.)
"My missionaries in a foreign field"Louis XVI was recognized to be a learned king: he was reading a lot, and passioned by the geography and the maritime navigation. He was sending missionaries to discover and to study foreign countries.
"For some reason I can't explainOnce you go there was never, never an honest wordThat was when I ruled the world"
"Shattered windows and the sound of drumsPeople couldn't believe what I'd become"
They say that the history is always written by the winners, and that's true. After the revolution, the king was falsely remembered to be "weak, without personnality, dominated by his woman, stupid, fat, a good for nothing" (and even to be a tyrant and a despot which was hard to imagine, all the people who knew truely the king knew that he could has been anything but a tyrant), this is how the revolutionnaries wanted the king to be remembered, all in order to save and defend the Revolution. But the truth is that Louis XVI loved his people to the much that he didn't want to spill blood even when the times got hard, he believed in a revolution (but a monarchic one, that's why somehow, he led the revolution). That's maybe the fault I reproche him: he could had spilled blood and mainted the order of the country but he didn't, that was the safetest option for him but he didn't want to do it, but badly the times never forgive the powerful nations that wants to get weakned. Blood had to be spilled at that time anyway, so he payed with his own, he was heard to say when about to get guillotined, 'People of France, I am innocent, I forgive those who are responsible for my death. I pray to God that the blood spilled here never falls on France or on you, my unfortunate people ...' When he tried to speak to the crowd and say these words, he was cut short by a roll on the drums.)I've said all of this just to talk about the part when CD say "Once you go, there was never, never an honest word " it's like the king is disappointed to see how misunderstood he was : There's no recognition of all the efforts he tried to do (and yes, unlike all what was commonly thought, he did! He was encouraging the science at his time but most of all, it's thanks to him that the united state got the independence I don't wanna talk about this cause I'm not gonna stop if I start haha), everybody is pointing him, they are lying about him, he feels betrayed by his people.
- "Revolutionaries waitFor my head on a silver plateJust a puppet on a lonely stringOh who would ever want to be king?"
This part confirms more than ever what I have said: this song is REALLY about Louis XVI. We're talking about "revolutionaries" "head", but most of all (which is for me a great way to end the song!), the "who would ever want to be king?" part which refers the "label" they gave to Louis: "Louis XVI, l'homme qui ne voulait pas être roi" (Louis XVI, the man who didn't want to be a king).
Good lyrics are good lyrics.
