What is a strawberry swing?

[chuck kottke]

The Strawberry swing could be a swing (dance), and the music sounds like an Appalachian folk song..or possibly Native American? Sort of, but then it has the sound of Chinese traditional instruments a bit..:\ Oh who knows where they came up with it - ask this Martin fellow!:laugh3:

[RICK8]

Ah so it must be about a dessert.

[Guest LiquidSky]

I love this song but I am also confused about the title maybe he's talking about a place? :huh:

[chuck kottke]

The place - could be in the foothills in the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, or the Catskills.. and a lot of the folk music here is derived from folk music from Scotland, Ireland, Wales (which all goes back to ancient tribal songs - Celtic, Gaelic, Picts, etc.)and some old English, as these were the families that first went inland to the mountains.. But I think if you look at it musically, it could as well be played on a hammer dulcimer, harpsichord, mandolin, etc. by more traditional musicians. But somehow the instruments sound like Chinese traditional instruments as well - the tuning, the twanging, something about the sounds..:)

[Deedee]

Where did you get your lyrics from, DeeDee?

 

If they're from Japan then please trust me, there's nothing official there about capitalisation or spelling or anything really (though it might be pretty close)!!

 

If it's from another place - especially from any English-speaking countries, please share!! :)

As a matter of fact, they are. Wow, I thought they were the official ones (that is what I was told). So now I understand why they were different/wrong. Thanks for the clarification ;)

 

As Romy says, is hard to translate the lyrics sometimes, esp when they talk about things that can have such different meanings, like this song :(

[Tonsu]

As a matter of fact, they are. Wow, I thought they were the official ones (that is what I was told). So now I understand why they were different/wrong. Thanks for the clarification ;)

 

As Romy says, is hard to translate the lyrics sometimes, esp when they talk about things that can have such different meanings, like this song :(

 

Well, they are official in Japan! They've been cleared by the record company, people who work directly for the band, and even the guys themselves may have checked tham - Japan is such an important market for them. So I'm sure they're REALLY close and may even be perfect.

 

But at the same time mistakes do creep in sometimes between all the people who work at the record companies in Japan (many of them are not fluent in English) so we cannot assume they are 100% right, alas (especially with 'minor' things like capitalisation) :(

 

If strawberry swing wasn't a place (either a real name or a nickname, it doesn't really matter) then it would have 'the' in front of it, I'm pretty sure. So why not go with that??

[tylerb]

Its obvious. Lets look at it, coldplay kicks what? Ass, right. Strawberries = kick ass. What else kicks ass? Swings. So this is an obvious song about the begginings of the band and the band itself.

[A RUSH OF VIDA]

who knows

[emedy]

It's a metaphor for the perfect moment with your children, in the park on a bright summer's day, and it's beautiful :)

 

i thought about the same thing:stunned:

[Fixed]

A strawberry swing is best taken after a few mojo filters.

[yeahhright]

Cold, cold water bring me round

Now my feet won't touch the ground

Cold, cold water what ya say?

 

For some reason whenever I hear these lines I think of chris lying on the ground being splashed with cold water and waking up being delirious.

 

For me this is what the song is about. Waking up and realizing that the world can be a beautiful place, especially when your in the company of loved ones.

 

Just some thoughts....

 

Perfect perfect perfect! I never even thought of it that way until I read this but it goes so perfectly! That and the metaphor idea about it being the "perfect moment with your children in the park on a bright summers day" I believe are what they are trying to get across with this song.

[strawberryswinger]

isn't it that thing in parks where kids (and not kids) play? and strawberry-coloured :laugh3:

[kruthika]

strawbeery swing

 

i think its about two kids enjoying their time on swings and they get separated due to war

[chuck kottke]

It's actually the strawberry moon when the natives dance; a type of swing dance done during the month of the strawberry moon..:P

[technicolor24]

I think Coldplay's lyrics are like poems, so everyone can interpert the meaning of 'Strawberry Swing' differently.

[ivet]

Before the album came out I thought Strawberry Swing was gonna be a dance that went with the song. LOL, I thought they would go all Soulja Boy on us!:laugh3:

 

:laugh3::laugh3:

LMAO, that's funny!

[Syn]

So who`s sitting on the strawberry swing?

[tauiwi]

They were.

[walkryfe]

according to derrida, you are all right, and all wrong, all at once. it means what you think it means just as much as whatever it meant to coldplay (originally). i kind of agree with derrida, so i guess i will just speak for me. i think it's about really great sex with someone you love, on a really nice day, that you recall while you are lying left for dead in a the middle of a battlefield, and someone splashes water on your face and there you are, back in hell again to face the next attack, wondering if you will ever make it home... or something like that.

[century-letters]

To whoever said something about Strawberry Fields Forever, that's exactly what I thought when I first saw the title 'Strawberry Swing'.

[I Bloom Blaum]

Could there be a connection between that and Strawberry Fields Forever??

 

Yep, you've got it exactly right. I recall in an interview Chris gave that he mentioned the song's title was a tribute to The Beatles. ^^

 

Of course, that doesn't mean Strawberry Swing isn't just a Beatles tribute, it probably means everything else that you guys said as well, IMO.

[mattaio26]

I feel that this song is talking about the journey to the moment when you achieve perfect harmony and happiness with the one you love; and along this journey there are battles and trials that they have to go through to get there. In the beginning Coldplay sings about how they view people sitting on this strawberry swing and see how they are extremely happy with it, and even through there was fighting all around them, they don't care because they have each other. Then as the end of the song comes 'round they finally reach the point of true happiness, and all that they want is each other.

 

This could just be me over analyzing again, but I kinda like it

 

I think Coldplay's lyrics are like poems, so everyone can interpret the meaning of 'Strawberry Swing' differently.

 

This is one of the reasons that I love Coldplay so much, they affect everyone in a totally unique way

[mhs10er]

Hahahahah....this is exactly what Coldplay wanted to happen. I recall in the interview on 60 Minutes, they showed the list of rules for the band. One of them was to keep things a mystery. They never really reveal much about a song because if you know what its about....then your interpretaions don't matter and then the song isn't very personal, and then you just get bored with it.

 

My interpretation is just having a perfect day with someone you are in love with and just having the perfect picnic under a tree with a swing atop a hill. And of course, butterflies would be flying around.

 

I actually experianced this with one of my ex's. We went to a park and had a picnic. I had my ipod and my speakers and we listened to this song and just got lost in it.

[The Final Track]

I experience it as a look back at childhood summers, but that's probably because I can relate to it easily.

[Macintosh]

Well... Strawberry Swing is the best thing in the world!