Guest howyousawtheworld Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 I think this song is basically about Martin's (or someone elses) quest for knowing the afterlife. What will the afterlife be like for him? When listening to the song you get a very vivid image of Victorian London ( you know, Oliver Twist London). The use of ghosts as the subject is a particularly clever idea by Chris Martin. The line that interests me most in the 1st verse is that of "Through the dark streets they go searching". Now we know he's describing ghosts here in the dark deserted night of a Victorian London but what are they searching for. The second line "To see God in their own way". It probably suggests a search to find out what is beyond life. It may not be a literal ghost story but rather the ghosts here represent spiritual afterlife, and Chris Martin 's and I guess all of us wondering what happens beyond our deaths and whether, as some of us believe, we will encounter God or our own image of God. Now Chris Martin has stated before that he ain't Christian, but he does believe in God. So like some on this earth, does he have his own image of God that doesn't relate to that of any religion. This certainly suggests that this ain't a religious song, as it doesn't apply to any religion. The second verse with it's line "So we rode down to the river" is intriguing particularly the use of the word river. A river takes us one way or the other. It's a journey to be more precise. This journey is to find out what is "out there" and the line "For the curses to be broken" hints at a desire to know the truth right now. Not knowing what is beyond life is like a curse all of us have to endure as we can never be certain. But what of the revealing line "There are ghost towns in the ocean, The ocean"? This is perhaps Chris Martin's way of saying "It's just not me in this place that will wonder, it's everywhere, even in the deep abysses of the ocean where many experiences what is beyond life". The third verse and it's constant cry for God is the writers way of telling us "Come on God, show yourself!". Why does he think this? Because he can get the answers to his afterlife, he can stop the questioning but despite God being everywhere in his mind (from the houses, to his garden to his head), it just won't reveal anything about the afterlife. No matter how much he wants to know and no matter how close he is to God, he just cannot find out. This is revealed in the line "but I don't know what he said". "For my heart it wasn't open" possibly states Martin's reluctance to pledge his faith in a religion so he wouldn't have to worry, but he just can't. The last line "There's no light over London today" is a great line to end the song. No light suggests no revelation of what will be beyond life for Martin. Why London you ask? Well this song is beautifully covered in a style of an old English folklore tale, hence the reasons for the ghosts and witches and of course London. On the face of it, it looks like a ghost story but Martin has cleverly used this fact to cover his questions and lack of any knowledge of what he will experience beyond death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdwaldy Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 wow. thats freaking amazing. and makes complete sense too. Chris has said he believes in God multiple times, but you're like 100% right. Great interpretation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest howyousawtheworld Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 wow. thats freaking amazing. and makes complete sense too. Chris has said he believes in God multiple times, but you're like 100% right. Great interpretation. Oh wow. Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bohemiandaisy Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I love this song. It has a storytelling quality to it, which I love and can be rare in music these days. I agree with you 100%-it has a Dickens quality to it. And I love that about it. I just imagine carriages careening through the foggy streets of London after hours approaching cemeteries.:) I agree with you that someone in the band has been thinking about that nagging question: what lies for us after we are deceased? 42, Death and all his friends also show a preoccupation with death and the afterlife as well. I would say it's actually a focal point of this album. Viva La Vida-long live life...or...you could choose death? Eh, this may be rubbish but thats how I interpret it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyBellaStrawberry Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I love the song and thought the same you did :) Coldplay is a genius :wacko: (and so are you for thinking so much :p) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks22 Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Thank you for the great interpretation....very hard to do this with Coldplay songs in general. I like these lyrics because it creates whole images in your mind and you because you cannot be 100% sure about the meaning of some lines. Even Chris is not so sure about all lyrics on VLV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest howyousawtheworld Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 That's the good thing about Coldplay's lyrics. A lot of them are quite ambiguous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jelle Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Beautifull song, never thaught about it that way! :embarassed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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