I disagree, no songs are just... Songs.

 

All songs have an inner meaning, no matter how simple. But thats just my opinion.

I really doubt that Viva is about Jesus, that is frankly ridicolous. It has some resemblance to the story of Napoleon, but in the end it feels like life. Greed and power will always come over love.

I disagree, no songs are just... Songs.

 

All songs have an inner meaning, no matter how simple. But thats just my opinion.

 

I didn't want to was it hasn't a meaning

:DHi! well just found this thread...and when I saw it I thought: It was the same thing I Ithought the first time I heard VLV! It's about Jesus! well I've read the bible a lot of times and this is about him....^^ and also Chris has this kind of references cuz his family is Cristian...that's why I love this song so much!:D

:DHi! well just found this thread...and when I saw it I thought: It was the same thing I Ithought the first time I heard VLV! It's about Jesus! well I've read the bible a lot of times and this is about him....^^ and also Chris has this kind of references cuz his family is Cristian...that's why I love this song so much!:D

 

:rolleyes:

They´re not catholic, catholics Dont read bible and I Think Coldplay gone christian and I Love that

They´re not catholic, catholics Dont read bible and I Think Coldplay gone christian and I Love that

They´re not catholic, catholics Dont read bible and I Think Coldplay gone christian and I Love that

 

:laugh3: I could never picture them as christian with all that political correctness they have.

I think the song is about Herod the Great himself : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great

 

Herod used to rule the world : he was a very successful King.

Then in the morning he slept alone : afraid by the plots, he ordered to kill his wife. Once she was gone, we can suppose that for Herod there was never an honest word.

 

The Roman made him King of Israel, for them. So "he heared Jerusalem bells ringing", calling for him, and at the same time, "Roman cavalry choirs were singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield, My missionaries in a foreign field."

 

No ? Well that's my interpretation, do what you want with it !

I think the song is about Herod the Great himself : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great

 

Herod used to rule the world : he was a very successful King.

Then in the morning he slept alone : afraid by the plots, he ordered to kill his wife. Once she was gone, we can suppose that for Herod there was never an honest word.

 

The Roman made him King of Israel, for them. So "he heared Jerusalem bells ringing", calling for him, and at the same time, "Roman cavalry choirs were singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield, My missionaries in a foreign field."

 

No ? Well that's my interpretation, do what you want with it !

 

Better and more interestng than the Jesus explanation. :thinking:

how do you get to the name "Viva La Vida" from all these meanings?

 

Well, "Viva La Vida" means Long Live Life of Live life Long. It could mean Jesus giving us eternal life, but I'm not entirely sure.

Well, Viva La Vida means "Long Live Life" or "Live Life Long." It might mean Jesus giving beleivers eternal life, but I'm not entirely sure.

the song can be about us,sinners... there is hope:I know saint peter wont call my name but wait! that was when i ruled the world...sin ruled us

They´re not catholic, catholics Dont read bible and I Think Coldplay gone christian and I Love that

 

are you really saying that Catholics do NOT ever read the bible??

For me talks about the big becoming small, and discovering that its not so important to be big. And that happy music enhances it.

 

Its just an opinion.

Perhaps the song is about King Nebuchadnezzar from the Book of Daniel?

 

At the end of the twelve months he [Nebuchadnezzar] was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

Why do u believe that being religious means you are delusional?

 

I think there is a possibility that that statement is delusional.

I think it is clearly jesus for multiple reasons!

- in the video, the singer has a red stripe on one of his ribcage, If you read the bible, you know Jesus was cut on his ribcage as he was hung on the cross. probably not a coincidence.

- when he says "it was the waking of wild wind, blew down the doors to let me in" is when the Holy Spirit returns to the apostles as wind and blows down the doors and windows.

And then "people couldn't believe what i'd become" is that he resurrected.

And as another user said

"I used to rule the world

Seas would rise when I gave the word

Now in the morning I sweep alone

Sweep the streets I used to own

 

"All catholics should know that Jesus Christ gave the word and he controlled the seas - I think that the line now in the morning I sweep alone clearly means that Jesus Christ was betrayed and had to endure many things alone! The first verse is talking about a decline from wealth and fame to a nobody, just like Jesus Christ experienced on his life! He used to be a king, but he had to die for all human beings..So on a certain way he turned over his kingship (I used to rule the world). Clear reference of someone giving God kingship over his life.

 

I used to roll the dice

Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes

Listen as the crowd would sing,

"Now the old king is dead, long live the king!"

One minute I held the key

Next the walls were closed on me

And I discovered that my castles stand

Upon pillars of salt, pillars of sand

 

 

The line upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand, possibly is a reference to the sermon on the mount where Jesus speaks of a wise man building is house on a rock while the foolish man builds his house on the sand, only to be washed away.

 

Those days, there were different kings! Ones thought the king was Jesus Christ himself, others thought the king was the Roman authority and other thought the king was the Jewish priests.

 

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing

Roman Cavalry choirs are singing

Be my mirror my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain

Once you know there was never, never an honest word

That was when I ruled the world

 

Jerusalem bells and Roman Cavalry, it's obvious it's a biblical allusion. I think the line Be my mirror my sword and shield, it's a praying to God for strength. Also, the line my missionaries in a foreign field, has to do with the idea of taking the message of God and Jesus Christ all around the world. Finally, never an honest word, meaning the betrayal to Jesus Christ and his subsequent death.

 

I know St. Peter will call my name, referring to the fact of being admitted to heaven!

 

It was the wicked and wild wind

Blew down the doors to let me in

Shattered windows and the sound of drums

People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait

For my head on a silver plate

Just a puppet on a lonely string

Oh who would ever wanna be king?

 

This could be a reference to John the Baptist of the New Testament.

In The Book of Mark, John is noted as the one that comes before Jesus to announce His coming to Earth. A lot of people thought he (John) was going to be their Messiah, however he corrected them and told them that it was the One after him that would fill that role. I, also, argue that point because it is said somewhere that John's head was brought to king Herod on a Silver Platter."

 

I love that this song can be interpreted in so many ways and apply to different leaders I think when you are knowledgable about one subject though, you only see it with that filter. In my personal opinion, it seems that Jesus being the subject has the most evidence. No matter what religion you follow its so important to learn about them all because they have impacted our world greatly!

viva la vida

 

This song is about a man who used to rule the streets.

• 
  

"Seas would rise when I gave the word." MotherFuckers would die when I gave the word and there would be tears from my enemies family and friends.

• 
  

Now "in the morning I sleep alone, sweep the streets that I used to own" Now I have lost it all - money, hoes, family all swept from me.

• 
  

"I used to roll the dice" Literally & Figuratively I used to roll the dice taking MF's money rolling dice and rolled the dice with my life and others around me. All feared me. I killed the old leader, now I am the New Leader.

• 
  

"one minute I held the key.."And I knew all this could be taken any day really fast, just like it all came to me real fast. I had it all, now I'm in prison.

• 
  

"I hear..."Now I'm in prison,now I'm reading the Bible reflecting on all the bad I have done. All my homeboys out there still grinding. I knew all along this way of life was wrong, but I could not help it. It was the cards I was dealt and I played them cashed it all in. Living like a King - that was when I ruled the world.

• 
  

"It was a wicked wind..." The FBI came busting in my house, bullets came thru the window and walls, shattering some of my homeboys and still we went out in a blaze - why didn't I die, I should have. People could not believe what had happened. It was like an apocalypse, it was my apocalypse.

• 
  

"Revolutionaries wait..."All the police and those that abide by the law want me dead for all the wrong I have done. To make an example out of me so that others wouldn't want to be the King of the streets. Who wants to end up hung for all the see? NO, not even those who run the streets. I know I did bad and now I pay the ultimate price - St Peter won't call my name.

mmmm actually this reminds me more to king saul...

if you read all of king sauls death it relates a lot like a lot to it,

well, as you all say haha it might have different meaning to everyone, but I gone mindblow when I related every single lyric of the song with saul X')

SAUL was the king of Israel because the people wanted a bone and flesh king, so God put Saul as king, well that doesn't relate the part that does is in his death.

he was in battle and people soooo wanted to kill him, by that time he wasn't a "king" for complete anymore cause David was already blessed from God to be the new king. Saul disobeyed God and obviosuly he felt deep quilt , he ended up loosing it all.

It relates even in the place: I hear jerusalem bells are ringning" and all those parts... I relate it as if Saul could already be expecting his own death. He killed himself before they would catch him first...and when they did, already dead they cut his head.

 

so...yup, this is why I relate it to SAUL :P

Hi everyone, sorry for being a couple of decades late to the party! 😅 I am an Italian school teacher, and I’ve only recently started improving my English.

Today, during our end-of-the-year staff meeting, the principal made us dance to Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” while the English lyrics were scrolling on the interactive whiteboard. I was completely stunned staring at the words, which I had never truly analyzed before. Once I got home, I reflected deeply on what the meaning of the song could be, and it seems to me that the common interpretation people give is completely different from what now appears obvious to me.

The lyrics talk about a fallen king: at the beginning, he speaks of his past power, but the core of the song, in my opinion, is when he says he used to hear the crowd singing, "Now the old king is dead, long live the king!" right before speaking about that very same crowd wanting his head on a silver plate, and how during his reign there was never an honest word. It’s a reflection on the nature of temporal power, human hypocrisy, and fickleness.

I paused for a long time on the line: "Be my mirror, my sword and shield, my missionaries in a foreign field." These words didn't seem to fit well with the rest of the text until I had an epiphany: these words are being sung by the Roman cavalry choirs, which stand in direct contrast to the words sung by the crowd when the old king died. The Roman cavalry represents God's army, chanting hymns.

When he was king and ruled the world, that was the time when there was never an honest word. But now, he feels a calling—the salvation that comes from God. This is why he doesn't care about the past anymore; he doesn't look back like Lot’s wife, who turned into a pillar of salt. And that is why the song is called “Viva la Vida” (Long Live Life).

The king realized that worldly power means nothing, that it is just dust. What truly matters is God’s mercy. The Jerusalem bells are the bells of salvation. Falling from the throne is not a tragedy; it was the way the king could finally hear the voice of God and be saved.

As for the line stating that the fallen king knows Saint Peter won’t call his name, it means that this man will keep on living. A long time will pass before Saint Peter calls him. Saint Peter won't call him anytime soon, granting him instead the chance to live a long life of atonement and Grace, a life in which he can truly thank God for the gift of life.