Fan song theory time!

[SprayCanSoulGuy]

Do you think that A Spell A Rebel Yell might've been sung from the point of view of the Violet Hill soldier's wife?

 

"All I want in this world, is for you to come home"

 

"Soldier, come home to me. You've been away from me so long"

[Guest diogo_sg]

Maybe. That's a nice interpretation of this song [emoji6]

 

"I live to see the world"

[I ran away]

It certainly touches upon the same theme as Violet Hill ! By the way, do the lyrics actually say "As far as i can see" or "As far as eye can see" in the beginning ? The latter would imho be more beautiful !

[42Escapist]

I think that's a connection to Violet Hill for sure! A Spell A Rebel Yell is the soldier's wife pleading for him to come home soon. I think the whole Viva era is a narrative about a soldier who leaves his family to go fight in a war... each and every song is part of a long storyline.

[SprayCanSoulGuy]

I think that's a connection to Violet Hill for sure! A Spell A Rebel Yell is the soldier's wife pleading for him to come home soon. I think the whole Viva era is a narrative about a soldier who leaves his family to go fight in a war... each and every song is part of a long storyline.

 

YES! :D

At the end of Violet Hill he has come home and takes his wife down to Violet Hill. But there she doesn't want to say a thing other than asking him if he loves her. Because he's been away for so long, she might've lost feelings for him.

[Guest diogo_sg]

I think that's a connection to Violet Hill for sure! A Spell A Rebel Yell is the soldier's wife pleading for him to come home soon. I think the whole Viva era is a narrative about a soldier who leaves his family to go fight in a war... each and every song is part of a long storyline.

How does VLV connects to that storyline, exactly? It's about a king who has lost his kingdom! It doesn't have anything to do with soldiers imo. Unless the soldier was one of the revolutionaries waiting for the king's head on a silver plate.

 

"I live to see the world"

[I ran away]

Tbh i don't see much of a storyline there. The same theme, yes; the same story, no.

[Guest diogo_sg]

Tbh i don't see much of a storyline there. The same theme, yes; the same story, no.

Are you talking about the album or the song?

 

"I live to see the world"

[Regi]

I like the theory that I read on this thread about vlvodaahf album

 

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78605

The secret story behind Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

[Guest diogo_sg]

I like the theory that I read on this thread about vlvodaahf album

 

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78605

The secret story behind Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

Though I disagree with a few things and my interpretation is very different, that's a beautiful way too look at this wonderful album [emoji5]

 

"I live to see the world"

[The Adversary]

I don't think any interpretation is 'wrong' or 'right'. It's not black and white like that, Music is an art form and like any art form is open to multiple interpretations. Although I don't necessarily view VLV as a concept album, certain overarching themes and motifs are present such as war, revolution, dialectic change etc. Although I think the most literal interpretations are best for most of the songs (Yes being a song about a man's lust and desire, Violet Hill being an anti war protest song, VLV being told from the point of view of King Louis XVI etc) I also like to think of the battle like imagery as a poignant metaphor for Coldplay themselves, as they battled to push themselves to new limits an attempt to innovate a new sound/image for themselves. While the motif of revolutions symbolizes a radical departure from their past records.

[Guest diogo_sg]

QUESTION:

Do you consider GS a concept album?

 

MY ANSWER:

I do. It tells the story of a man who's lost the love of his life and now he struggles to deal with that loss.

Here's my interpretation:

 

** Always In My Head **

She's gone. Yet, he can't stop thinking about her and that deprives him from resting. He wanders around like if he's dead inside ("My body moves, goes where I will"). His heart stays still.

 

** Magic **

He doesn't want anyone else but her. There was/is magic when she's around and he doesn't want to lose that.

 

** Ink **

He tries to keep her inside. He tries to keep her close to him. But it's becoming too hard to catch her ("I see the road begin to climb").

 

** True Love **

It's hopeless. She is gone for good. But he still loves her and he wants her to love him back, even if that isn't true ("Tell me you love me, if you don't then lie, oh lie to me and call it true love").

 

** Midnight **

He's lost without her. He doesn't know what to do, where to turn. He begs for something to guide him through the despair ("Leave a light, a light on").

 

** Another's Arms **

She has found someone else. It's painful for him. The world is meaningless for him now. Living is a constant torture. And her ghost haunts him everyday (the female voice).

 

** Oceans **

He talks to love. He remembers when he said to it "Wait for your call, love". But, he realizes that such call never came. He's ready for it, yet it won't come. Love came once, but left him at one point. He finds himself alone in the world.

 

** A Sky Full of Stars **

When we look at the sky, we don't see the actual stars. We see the light they had years ago. We see their ghosts. So, A Sky Full of Stars is actually A Sky Full of Ghosts. That's how he sees her. But he no longer sees her as a haunting, he sees her as a guide. She lights up his path. He delivers his heart to her and she helps him moving on.

 

** Fly On **

The final realization: he realizes that love is like a flock of birds. Sometimes it's here, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes we have to chase it. Sometimes we don't.

 

 

I could've expanded my interpretations a lot, but that would be too boring to read.

Anyway, what do you think?

 

"I live to see the world"

[beastwars]

I definitely think there's a concept beneath the songs of VLVODAAHF, too many references, too many allegoric things, even the metrics of the album are meant to be various and numbers always mean something. If I had the time I'd study it to give a good interpretation like the one mentioned in that thread.

Talking of GS instead, my interpretation is slightly different from diogo_sg's one

 

ALWAYS IN MY HEAD: I imagine it to be a love declaration made by him for her. His body can't resist to her's, he just can't live without her and he tells her.

 

MAGIC: This is the song that let the man explain to people and to his love about all the bad moments they lived together that they managed to get through. The last verse explain it very well

 

INK: Between this and Magic there's the breakup. Here's where he remembers their first moments. They were young and they did things like tattoos and writing on walls or woodcuts. These are tough moments because he still feels for her.

 

TRUE LOVE: This is simply him begging her on his knees in a desperate attempt to have her back, but it doesn't work. The final solo is he crying while she runs away from him.

 

MIDNIGHT: Darkness time for his mind. I see him watching the storm outside at night behind the glass of the window of his apartment on the top floor of a building. It's like a prayer to God or to his fate: "this is the worst I ever felt... please, I believe there's still hope for me to be happy in my life without her. Make sure this will happen as soon as possible"

 

ANOTHER'S ARMS: It's still night, he can't sleep. Suddenly, a terrible thought comes in: "Maybe she left me because she has another guy". The sensation to have body contact with her pervades him as he softly falls asleep. Then he abruptly wakes up and realises he's alone.

 

OCEANS: The following days he tries to call her. He wants to meet her again to tell her he changed for good. But as he doesn't receive any reply, the sense of loneliness become so big.

 

A SKY FULL OF STARS: His friends take him to the disco and try to make him feel better and have fun. The place is very crowded (there's Avicii playing :D ) and the gloaming wristbands of the people seem like the stars of the night sky. He still thinks of her so much that he believes he saw her among the people. No, wait, she's truly there! And she's beautiful, dancing alone and free with a big smile on her face. He goes where she stands as the music ends to talk.

 

O (FLY ON): As they get out of that place, he peacefully leave her free, wishing her to be happy for life. Then he gets back home, less nervous and sad than before thinking "Goodbye, one day we will be back together, flying like those birds in the sky, among angels. I'll never forget you" (He will never let go the memory of them together away)

 

 

 

------

 

ALL YOUR FRIENDS is a homage to people who died in WW1, it doesn't fit with the concept. Same thing for O (PART 2/REPRISE) that is only an instrumental.

GHOST STORY could have been on the album after Another's Arms, with him blaming himself for wasting time still loving a person who doesn't love him.

[The Adversary]

Yeah, It's quite obvious GS and MX are concept albums considering Chris has said this (A little more obvious with MX considering there was a series of comics and all :rolleyes:)

 

I personally dislike concept albums on the basis it ruins personal relation and interpretation of the songs, As Noel Gallagher says it ruins the listening experience. There's no discovery whatsoever.

[Guest diogo_sg]

I definitely think there's a concept beneath the songs of VLVODAAHF, too many references, too many allegoric things, even the metrics of the album are meant to be various and numbers always mean something. If I had the time I'd study it to give a good interpretation like the one mentioned in that thread.

Talking of GS instead, my interpretation is slightly different from diogo_sg's one

 

ALWAYS IN MY HEAD: I imagine it to be a love declaration made by him for her. His body can't resist to her's, he just can't live without her and he tells her.

 

MAGIC: This is the song that let the man explain to people and to his love about all the bad moments they lived together that they managed to get through. The last verse explain it very well

 

INK: Between this and Magic there's the breakup. Here's where he remembers their first moments. They were young and they did things like tattoos and writing on walls or woodcuts. These are tough moments because he still feels for her.

 

TRUE LOVE: This is simply him begging her on his knees in a desperate attempt to have her back, but it doesn't work. The final solo is he crying while she runs away from him.

 

MIDNIGHT: Darkness time for his mind. I see him watching the storm outside at night behind the glass of the window of his apartment on the top floor of a building. It's like a prayer to God or to his fate: "this is the worst I ever felt... please, I believe there's still hope for me to be happy in my life without her. Make sure this will happen as soon as possible"

 

ANOTHER'S ARMS: It's still night, he can't sleep. Suddenly, a terrible thought comes in: "Maybe she left me because she has another guy". The sensation to have body contact with her pervades him as he softly falls asleep. Then he abruptly wakes up and realises he's alone.

 

OCEANS: The following days he tries to call her. He wants to meet her again to tell her he changed for good. But as he doesn't receive any reply, the sense of loneliness become so big.

 

A SKY FULL OF STARS: His friends take him to the disco and try to make him feel better and have fun. The place is very crowded (there's Avicii playing :D ) and the gloaming wristbands of the people seem like the stars of the night sky. He still thinks of her so much that he believes he saw her among the people. No, wait, she's truly there! And she's beautiful, dancing alone and free with a big smile on her face. He goes where she stands as the music ends to talk.

 

O (FLY ON): As they get out of that place, he peacefully leave her free, wishing her to be happy for life. Then he gets back home, less nervous and sad than before thinking "Goodbye, one day we will be back together, flying like those birds in the sky, among angels. I'll never forget you" (He will never let go the memory of them together away)

 

 

 

------

 

ALL YOUR FRIENDS is a homage to people who died in WW1, it doesn't fit with the concept. Same thing for O (PART 2/REPRISE) that is only an instrumental.

GHOST STORY could have been on the album after Another's Arms, with him blaming himself for wasting time still loving a person who doesn't love him.

That could make a nice film [emoji4]

 

"I live to see the world"

[Guest diogo_sg]

I personally dislike concept albums on the basis it ruins personal relation and interpretation of the songs, As Noel Gallagher says it ruins the listening experience. There's no discovery whatsoever.

Off-topic:

Though I like concept albums (MX's storyline is fantastic imo), I hope AHFOD isn't one. I want each song to tell its own story.

 

"I live to see the world"

[The Adversary]

Off-topic:

Though I like concept albums (MX's storyline is fantastic imo), I hope AHFOD isn't one. I want each song to tell its own story.

 

"I live to see the world"

 

I agree. I'm conflicted on whether AHFOD will be a concept album because Chris has said that AHFOD "will be the day to GS night" and that would suggest a continuation of a story but on the other hand they're not really known to do the same thing twice.

[Guest diogo_sg]

I agree. I'm conflicted on whether AHFOD will be a concept album because Chris has said that AHFOD "will be the day to GS night" and that would suggest a continuation of a story but on the other hand they're not really known to do the same thing twice.

That's true. Yet, the title seems like the title of a story imo. So it's likely to be a concept album once more. I might (am) be wrong.

 

"I live to see the world"

[myl_oxyl_oto]

I'm going to start with Parachutes.

 

Don't Panic: guy's friends have all left him and he's all alone except for one.

 

Shiver: about liking her as a friend but is opening up to the possibility of a relationship

 

Spies: his feelings for her are restless and he fears that there are spies everywhere who are willing to jump on their friendship and destroy it at any moment

 

Sparks: things are just not the same after she realizes that he loves her

 

Yellow: quite obvious that it's his declaration of love to her

 

Trouble: about realizing that it's too late to retract his statement and wanting things to go back to normal

 

Parachutes: same as Shiver

 

High Speed: things are going haywire (Can anybody fly this thing before my head explodes?) and he wants to gain control of their friendship and restore it to normal

 

We Never Change: he wants to be with her and fly, and he understands that she doesn't reciprocate his feelings for her, but we never change, do we?

 

Everything's Not Lost: you can live life peacefully and understand that there is heartbreak in life but there are always silver linings to them.

 

Life is For Living: years later he's in a consistent relationship with someone else and finally tells her that live is for living and that he doesn't want to live it alone, and they get married. happy ending, no?

 

alternate for Life Is For Living: he's gotten over her but still has this ONE glimmer of love for her, and the album ends at a cliffhanger.

[Guest diogo_sg]

I'm going to start with Parachutes.

 

Don't Panic: guy's friends have all left him and he's all alone except for one.

 

Shiver: about liking her as a friend but is opening up to the possibility of a relationship

 

Spies: his feelings for her are restless and he fears that there are spies everywhere who are willing to jump on their friendship and destroy it at any moment

 

Sparks: things are just not the same after she realizes that he loves her

 

Yellow: quite obvious that it's his declaration of love to her

 

Trouble: about realizing that it's too late to retract his statement and wanting things to go back to normal

 

Parachutes: same as Shiver

 

High Speed: things are going haywire (Can anybody fly this thing before my head explodes?) and he wants to gain control of their friendship and restore it to normal

 

We Never Change: he wants to be with her and fly, and he understands that she doesn't reciprocate his feelings for her, but we never change, do we?

 

Everything's Not Lost: you can live life peacefully and understand that there is heartbreak in life but there are always silver linings to them.

 

Life is For Living: years later he's in a consistent relationship with someone else and finally tells her that live is for living and that he doesn't want to live it alone, and they get married. happy ending, no?

 

alternate for Life Is For Living: he's gotten over her but still has this ONE glimmer of love for her, and the album ends at a cliffhanger.

So, in your opinion, Parachutes is a concept album, right?

 

"I live to see the world"

[The Adversary]

Parachutes and AROBTTH are definitely not concept albums (In my honest opinion)

[Guest diogo_sg]

Parachutes and AROBTTH are definitely not concept albums (In my honest opinion)

Neither is X&Y (imo)

 

"I live to see the world"

[myl_oxyl_oto]

Next is AROBTTH:

 

Politik: same guy from Parachutes is living in New York with his wife. 9/11 happens and she's in critical condition. This song is his plea to God for strength, control, love, and much more, and is a plea to his wife to "open up your eyes"

 

In My Place: He starts asking how long he must pain for her, he thinks he didn't take care of her enough and wants her back.

 

GPASUYF: when he works it out he thinks that he's worse than her, and he asks about where we go after dying, but nobody knows.

 

The Scientist: "take me back to the start" he wants to go back to before this ever happened and find a way somehow to make her not get injured so critically.

 

Clocks: he starts to wonder whether he's part of the cure or the disease, whether he's helping or hurting.

 

Daylight: she starts to recover and they slowly break through the daylight.

 

Green Eyes: he's so grateful to God for her recovery that he picks up an acoustic guitar, brings in a few friends, and plays Green Eyes to her.

 

In between Green Eyes and Warning Sign she's discharged from the hospital and comes back home.

 

Warning Sign: her condition suddenly worsens and he realizes that he was looking for excuses to bring her back home. she crawls back into the open arms of the hospital.

 

A Whisper: night turns to day, and he still has questions. he doesn't know whether he should go forwards or backwards and doesn't have any answers.

 

A Rush Of Blood To The Head: she knows she's going to die so she tells him that "we need to go on".

 

Amsterdam: heartbroken by the fact that she's going to die and that she wanted to die alone, he leaves New York and moves to Amsterdam. Meanwhile, she's there and her star is fading. the end of the song basically shows her dying.

[myl_oxyl_oto]

So, in your opinion, Parachutes is a concept album, right?

 

"I live to see the world"

 

to an extent yes

[Guest diogo_sg]

Next is AROBTTH:

 

Politik: same guy from Parachutes is living in New York with his wife. 9/11 happens and she's in critical condition. This song is his plea to God for strength, control, love, and much more, and is a plea to his wife to "open up your eyes"

 

In My Place: He starts asking how long he must pain for her, he thinks he didn't take care of her enough and wants her back.

 

GPASUYF: when he works it out he thinks that he's worse than her, and he asks about where we go after dying, but nobody knows.

 

The Scientist: "take me back to the start" he wants to go back to before this ever happened and find a way somehow to make her not get injured so critically.

 

Clocks: he starts to wonder whether he's part of the cure or the disease, whether he's helping or hurting.

 

Daylight: she starts to recover and they slowly break through the daylight.

 

Green Eyes: he's so grateful to God for her recovery that he picks up an acoustic guitar, brings in a few friends, and plays Green Eyes to her.

 

In between Green Eyes and Warning Sign she's discharged from the hospital and comes back home.

 

Warning Sign: her condition suddenly worsens and he realizes that he was looking for excuses to bring her back home. she crawls back into the open arms of the hospital.

 

A Whisper: night turns to day, and he still has questions. he doesn't know whether he should go forwards or backwards and doesn't have any answers.

 

A Rush Of Blood To The Head: she knows she's going to die so she tells him that "we need to go on".

 

Amsterdam: heartbroken by the fact that she's going to die and that she wanted to die alone, he leaves New York and moves to Amsterdam. Meanwhile, she's there and her star is fading. the end of the song basically shows her dying.

to an extent yes

We two have very different ways to interpret Coldplay's songs and albums [emoji4]

 

"I live to see the world"