Birds (Song and Video out now Jan 2) pg 17 for Vid

[gai]

Live from my iTunes yes :p

 

Nah, I havent listened to this song live gai lol

lol! for a minute there i was like, what the hell did i miss?

[NMFWTTG__]

What do you think about the end of the song?

The way to end the song with a sudden silence to tie the next song..

[ulwanmokhtar]

I always loved Coldplay 2nd track straight head but it turns out hard for me with Birds. I don't know why.

 

But after listening to it like many many times, I've got used to it. Still, not as strong as Coldplay's previous 2nd track.

[42JTR]

God I love this song.

I fucking love this song.

I love this song so damn much, I love love love love love love love it. I could write on and it still wouldn't be enough.

 

I swear to God, I will cry my ass off if they don't play this live next year. I need to hear this live. I just need to. It's absolutely divine. Fuck, I am literally grateful for this song.

Wow, you just nailed it[emoji108]

I would literally just go to a concert just to hear this one live and die in peace.

 

Verstuurd vanaf mijn ONE E1003 met Tapatalk

[A Rush of Magic]

Yeah I think it's called the AHFOD tour....I was just saying What If

Spot the pun

[Sparky]

I'm still bitter that they've never played it.

 

Just that one super low quality soundcheck :( They rated it so much when X&Y was released. Still very baffling!

 

I really like how Birds ends actually. Abrupt but it somehow works :P

[Jedi Leo]

I love how he enunciates the "what if" part of that sentence in this song..it seems like it might have taken a while to make it work in there hehe

[Jedi Leo]

Been paying a bit more attention to the lyrics now that I wrote them down in the iTunes song file :)

 

I am particularly feeling this song cuz for me its about something wonderful you want to go with but at the same you hesitate. I really love:

 

and we’ll be birds

flying free

holding on in the mystery

fearless together

you said ‘we’ll go through this together’

 

I like that cuz it conjures up an imagine of two people holding on together through trying to solve life´s puzzles (this got me thinking to X&Y actually haha) and going through things together even if its hard. I am trying to kinda learn this lesson myself as I tend to retreat by myself when something makes me uncomfortable and shut people out if it gets too painful.

[LifeInTechnicolor]

Easily the best song on the album for me. Absolutely love it. Hope they play it live.

[Ghost0012]

10/10 shows how good this album really is

[Ghost0012]

one of Chris's best vocals in years!!!!

[getithom]

I think my favorite part of the song is the release of energy leading into the chorus. Someone said this when the album first came out, but it feels like you're jumping off a cliff in sheer joy.

[Jedi Leo]

I think my favorite part of the song is the release of energy leading into the chorus. Someone said this when the album first came out, but it feels like you're jumping off a cliff in sheer joy.

 

I agree! I love that last part even though the "cool" ending feels like you're hitting cold water after that fall off the cliff lol

[HowCouldIForget]

"Come on and raise this noise

for the million people

who got not one voice."

 

Considering what Chris said about them being two lovers like "from Israel and Palestine," I'm convinced he is talking about Palestine here. Their video supporting Palestinian freedom got taken down on FB because of how many reports it got and I looked up Palestine's pop. out of curiosity- 1.7 million. They certainly don't have a voice. I doubt it's a coincidence and it makes the song even more meaningful- to me at least.

[I ran away]

"Come on and raise this noise

for the million people

who got not one voice."

 

Considering what Chris said about them being two lovers like "from Israel and Palestine," I'm convinced he is talking about Palestine here. Their video supporting Palestinian freedom got taken down on FB because of how many reports it got and I looked up Palestine's pop. out of curiosity- 1.7 million. They certainly don't have a voice. I doubt it's a coincidence and it makes the song even more meaningful- to me at least.

 

I love your interpretation, and it would make me appreciate them more if it's true :D

Because Coldplay used to be a band speaking out against war and violence, and I liked them for it ! :)

[nvdmm]

"Come on and raise this noise

for the million people

who got not one voice."

 

Considering what Chris said about them being two lovers like "from Israel and Palestine," I'm convinced he is talking about Palestine here. Their video supporting Palestinian freedom got taken down on FB because of how many reports it got and I looked up Palestine's pop. out of curiosity- 1.7 million. They certainly don't have a voice. I doubt it's a coincidence and it makes the song even more meaningful- to me at least.

That is most likely the case. I couldn't be more proud of the boys when they did the Facebook video. We all know of their intentions deep down and if it was entirely up to the band themselves they would have never taken it down.

 

Superb song and great lyrics. Probably one of the best Chris has written in years.

[Strawberry Swinger]

If A head full of Dreams was an Album full of Birds, I wouldn't mind. Literally one of the three songs on the album that I love.

[Strawberry Swinger]

Wow... I didn't know that site existed, but thanks!

 

Either way, songs like High Speed, Daylight, were played on their respective albums' tours, but not much. They don't play those songs anymore which is a shame.

 

The setlist so far looks like Coldplay's greatest radio hits (i.e. Viva, Paradise, Fix You, ASFOS, Yellow, Clocks, etc.) with about 6-8 tracks from AHFOD.

 

 

This has been the case ever since Mylo Xyloto.

 

At least VLV tour had Square One, now that sounds like impossible. I wish they were not so lazy about their setlists. :( They really could at least do some rotations...

[Jedi Leo]

Because Coldplay used to be a band speaking out against war and violence, and I liked them for it ! :)

 

They are still the same people imo and they´re still just as concerned about the world as they were before. They just do it differently: AHFOD is a major injection of hope and positivity during a time where the world sorely needs it. Once they used to push things more overtly, like the Fair Trade Oxfam thing, but its very easy when you do that you end up sounding preachy and perhaps even arrogant , shoving things down people´s throat that have nothing to do with the music. (U2 ahem Bono ahem LOL).

 

So I guess its a very fine line to tread. I am very happy with how they do it now to be honest. The links to the things that matter to them are still there to be found and they still use their music to bring something positive to the world whilst not forgetting they are musicians at the end of the day, not politicians.

[gai]

They are still the same people imo and they´re still just as concerned about the world as they were before.

exactly. the reasoning behind the use of obama's snippet in the album clears this up. just that all the baggage of the snippet being by obama clouds the real reason the band had behind it's inclusion.

 

The key to the album may be a sample of Barack Obama singing Amazing Grace at a funeral after a mass shooting in South Carolina in June. “In a situation when he could have gone very revengeful and aggressive, he chose to do that, which was a powerful statement. That’s a good way of looking at life. Gracefully going through whatever you are going through.”

[Jedi Leo]

exactly. the reasoning behind the use of obama's snippet in the album clears this up. just that all the baggage of the snippet being by obama clouds the real reason the band had behind it's inclusion.

 

Yeah I agree! I like their explanation, which is very socially aware but also does not end up like a political statement (do this or that, join this or that organisation). Not that there is anything wrong in promoting an organisation or a way of life you believe in, but its hard to pull off without sounding overly preachy

[gai]

Yeah I agree! I like their explanation, which is very socially aware but also does not end up like a political statement (do this or that, join this or that organisation). Not that there is anything wrong in promoting an organisation or a way of life you believe in, but its hard to pull off without sounding overly preachy

yes! they (mostly chris) has become very self-aware of the champagne socialistic ideal people like them at the very top can come across with when preaching the good. they have definitely pulled back on the preachiness in their charity work since viva. but they continue to do wonderful work, whether on a world-scale (global citizen) or a smaller scale (contributing to many good small causes. we hear of some of them from time to time when the benefactors thank the band on social media). the biggest change in earlier campaigning to now is that they are trying to be a uniting force than a divisive one.

[Jedi Leo]

yes! they (mostly chris) the biggest change in earlier campaigning to now is that they are trying to be a uniting force than a divisive one.

 

I totally agree with this statement especially :)

[gentleparachute]

People who say Chris has lost it, forget that he has just signed up to curate Global Citizen for 15 years! If that is not commitment to a cause and caring / concern for the world at large, I don't know what is... I'm sure if he didn't care he could go do other stuff. I'm sure he asked the rest of the band about it as well, and they would have objected if they were not prepared to commit to potentially performing for this cause once a year for the next 15 years. The disillusioned people also seem to have forgotten the purpose of Chris' original trip to India by himself.

 

The 'dumbing down' of lyrics may have a combination of reasonable explanations:

- Many fans from developing countries may not have great English - the message may get lost if it's too intricate / subtle. The band look like they are focusing more on less developed countries this time round, in keeping with the Global Goals. Many themes and lyrics on this album seem directed to people from these places as well - "half the sky", referencing Umi, "for the people, who got no one voice", "down upon the canvas, working meal to meal / lying in the gutter, aiming for the moon" (these ones' more universal)...

- Some lyrics fit their current genre / interests (eg the notorious XMTS heart lyric and "drunk and high" on HFTW), but if one looks at the rest of the song lyrics, they can still be meaningful

- As some have noticed, he is also referencing a lot of previous songs and eras... they're sort of non-sensical, but all convey the sense of where this album is taking the listener and where the band are emotionally, some develop previous ideas. Examples are Birds / Speed of Sound as previously mentioned, light streaming through broken open window (AHFOD vs UFO), Amsterdam's gloomy "my star is fading" --> out of control vs HFTW's exuberant "shoot across the sky" (same star presumably, now together with another), magic as a metaphor (in Magic vs AOAL), Fun referencing the sun and waves (Ladder To the Sun, Crest of Waves), heart as a gun (Army of One vs HLH and AROBTTH)

[Jedi Leo]

I was actually thinking about lyrics today as I listened to Fun and I thought they were just great, all the metaphors about the ocean and the waters, so another song with good lyrical content imo. People tend to focus on 2-3 sentences and ignore all the rest: viewed generally I cant see a dumbing down of anything, what I can see is more elements of fun and even cheeky things (like "cool" in Birds or the very lighthearted "drunk and high") than previous albums, but thats about it.