Soulful music, great chemistry and inspiring lyrics are Coldplay's trademarks. Great storytelling seems to be woven into their musical genius. The meaning is lost under the melodic strings, this article is an attempt to dissect four of Coldplay's most intricate songs.
1. Viva la Vida
"Viva la Vida" is a modern rendition of the French revolution which is narrated from King Louis XVI's perspective. The monarchy was finally overthrown and the King was imprisoned. Before he was taken to the guillotine, the king was supposed to give one final speech to his people. As he began to speak, the French masses booed and played the executioner's drums louder to drown the sounds of his words. This song is a poetic interpretation of this long lost last speech.
"One minute I held the key, Next the walls were closed on me," Louis XVI was a powerful, young leader at 19 years old, he succeeded a grandfather who was known for debauchery. King Louis XV's death was viewed as a relief.
"And I discovered that my castles stand, Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand," this line insinuates that the very foundations of the new regime were unstable.
"Shattered windows and the sound of drums, People couldn't believe what I'd become."- the people saw potential in the new king, his early reign was one of reform. As time passed and the country was left neglected again, the French masses demanded a new order through the revolution.
"Just a puppet on a lonely string, Oh who would ever want to be king?"- King Louis XVI is the most powerful and most powerless person in that crowd during the revolution. He wonders why anybody would ever want to be king, this song is not a plea for help. Reform is inevitable, the king accepts his well-deserved fate as and looks at his kingship as a burden. This lyrical masterpiece greatly humanizes the fallen leader.
Coldplay - Viva La Vidawww.youtube.com
2. Atlas
Atlas was a Greek mythological character, he was cursed by Zeus after the battle of Titans to hold up the heavens on his shoulders for all eternity- "I'll carry your world."
"Some saw the sun, Some saw the smoke
Some heard the gun, Some bent the bow"
Living out this sentence, Atlas is forced to witness the wars of different eras from bending bows to firing guns. Seeing the sun refers to the peaceful times and the smoke refers to violence.
"Caught in the fire, say oh, We're about to explode''- Atlas is visibly frustrated and would like to see the violence end, the world is on the edge of self-destruction. He would like to see some peace while he is carrying our world.
Written for Catching fire from the Hunger Games series, this song also beautifully depicts the mutualistic relationship between Katniss and Peeta, as they share the weight of the world.
Coldplay - Atlas (Hunger Games: Catching Fire)(Lyric)www.youtube.com
3. Violet Hill
This song applies to any war-torn country, past, present and future. It fits perfectly into Viva la Vida narrating the story of the French revolution. Narrated from a soldier's perspective, it highlights religious hypocrisy. "Violet Hill" refers to a snowy hill turned violet from the blood of those who died in the war.
The recurrent line "If you love me, Won't you let me know?" shows the soldier's desperation to be with his lover before his possible death. The 'banks becoming cathedrals', says that religion has clouded humanity's better judgement. It could also describe the desperate financial situation of war-torn times, banks are to be worshipped.
"I don't want to be a soldier, With the captain of some sinking ship."- implies that there are no winners in a war. "When the future's architectured, By a carnival of idiots on show," points to both the perpetrators and the media who facilitate the show, the future of the world seems bleak.
Coldplay - Violet Hill (Official Video)www.youtube.com
4. The Scientist
There are three well thought out and intriguing aspects to this song- the title, the video and the lyrics. The video is famous for its reverse chronology with the chorus ending on a perfect line, "let's go back to the start." There are several religious interpretations, sparking off the religion vs science debate, which I am going to stay away from. The Scientist is Dan Keeling, the A&R man who signed the band to Parlophone.
This is a song about any broken relationship, where we would desperately go back to the start to set things right again. According to the video, the protagonist may be a scientist by profession who loses his girlfriend in a car crash and wishes that he had given her more of his time. He hopes that she will come back to haunt him.
"Running in circles, coming up tails, Heads on a science apart"- A dog chasing its own tail and flipping a coin multiple times to get only the outcome of tails, are futile events. Here, heads on a coin is a positive outcome which the scientist is trying to achieve with his repository of knowledge.
Love seems to be a gamble with no logical explanation, it is only a matter of time till we find the right wormhole to go back to the start.
Coldplay - The Scientistwww.youtube.com
