thanks to nmsv, alyssa, jc90, Silverspira, lumberjack2, uwwedoogie (for the banner) and many others here they are: (read the full article for the whole song!)

After you've read, sang to or plagarised them, you can discuss the Violet Hill lyrics here

Was a long and dark December

From the rooftops I remember

There was snow, white snow

Clearly I remember

From the windows they were watching

While we froze down below

When the future's architectured

By a carnival of idiots on show

You'd better lie low

If you love me

Won't you let me know?

Was a long and dark December

When the banks became cathedrals

And the fog, became God

Priests clutched onto bibles

Hollowed out to fit their rifles

And the cross was held aloft

Bury me in armor

When I’m dead and hit the ground

My love's opposed but unfolds

If you love me

Won't you let me know?

I don't want to be a soldier

Who the captain of some sinking ship

Would stow, far below

So if you love me

Why'd you let me go?

I took my love down to violet hill

There we sat in the snow

All that time she was silent still

So if you love me

Won't you let me know?

If you love me,

Won't you let me know?

And it’s quite positive…

It’s been out for a total of three hours, but that’s been plenty long enough for Gigwise readers to say exactly what they think about Coldplay’s new single ‘Violet Hill’. Taken from the band’s forthcoming fourth album, ‘Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends’, the song sees the band take a new, more experimental direction compared to previous releases.

Music fans started sending us their feedback within minutes of the song airing on BBC6 Music and the majority of it has been positive. “Good to see they are changing things around a bit. I think its great… Can’t wait for the album,” said Gframps.

Meanwhile, Andrew said: “It’s very different for them, but I have to say that I am impressed. It will be a hit this summer, ”If you love me, why don’t you let me know!!” can’t wait for more!”

Not all the feedback has been quite so good, however, with one listener saying they weren’t sure whether it was “good or bad” that the song reminded them of Oasis. James was also unimpressed, saying it sound like “dad rock”. “More clunking, overrated music from Coldplay,” he said. “Three years away has led to no creative spark.”

Meanwhile, Mike said: "I love the song. I’ve been on the coldplay website 3 times a week since they announced they were a month away from finishing the album. I was one of those people that was on the site at 7:05 refreshing the page until the website siezed to function at 7:12. around 7:30 EST i finally heard the song and i think its great. I don’t think its epic or even that much different from the Coldplay sound, but i love the direction coldplay has taken and look forward to the rest of the Album."

More on this here

Coldplay wanted to "get better rather than bigger" with their new album, singer Chris Martin has said.

The band came into Radio 1 to give first single Violet Hill its world exclusive first play. Chris Martin says this record is shorter than the ones they've released in the past. He said: "I think you can say what you like about our record, but its brevity is its strongest feature."

Violet Hill is available as a free download for one week. But Coldplay's website briefly crashed after it was released. Speaking about the rest of the album, Martin continued: "It's colourful and it's short which is what these things should be. The intention was to try and be good and get better as opposed to bigger."

The album is Coldplay's fourth studio effort and the follow-up to 2005's X&Y, which went to number one in 22 countries.

Other tracks on the album include Life In Technicolor, Cemeteries Of London, Strawberry Swing and Death And All His Friends. Lead singer Chris Martin said: "We felt incredibly hungry to prove why people have heard of us. I wanted it to be OK to be that 16-year-old who says they like Coldplay in the playground. Hopefully with this record they won't get teased so much."

Discuss Violet Hill in our Coldplay forums here

Coldplay's free download offering proved to be no shrinking violet when it went live on the band's Web site today (April 29).

The site slowed to a halt soon after new song "Violet Hill" -- which has a harder, more experimental sound than previous Coldplay releases -- was made available just after midday U.K. time. After several attempts, downloaders managed to obtain a copy of the track, the first from the upcoming album "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends." The Web site asks for the user's email and postcode details, after which an automatically-generated email is sent to the downloader's inbox.

The email contains a link to the free MP3, which pops-up on the desktop within a zip-file. The URL apparently expires in six hours. EMI could not be immediately reached for comment.

The track will get a conventional paid-for digital release on May 6, ahead of the album's release June 12."Violet Hill" was given its world exclusive first airing on Jo Whiley's BBC

Radio 1 show today, with Coldplay's Chris Martin on hand. During his lunchtime conversation with Whiley, Martin revealed that the band would also play a free concert in Barcelona, Spain, but did not disclose the venue or date of the gig.

As previously reported, the band will support the album with free shows at London's Brixton Academy on June 16 and Madison Square Garden in New York on June 23.

Discuss Violet Hill in our Coldplay forums here

A huge reminder that Coldplay will premiere the first single (Violet Hill) from their fourth album, ‘Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends’, later today on BBC6 Music, which will then open the floodgates for thousands of other radio stations to be allowed to air the track.

‘Violet Hill’, which is released in May, will be given its first play on George Lamb's show on BBC 6 Music, which airs between 10am and 1pm (BST). The track will then be available to download via Coldplay.com at 12.15pm BST (worried about timezones?)

Coldplay’s much anticipated new album features ten tracks and has been produced alongside Brian Eno. Speaking about the album, the band said that they “weren’t afraid to try anything” and that, as a group, they were still “obsessed with making songs that can be sung to the rafters”.

More on the BBC6 Music story here. For those who live outside the UK you can listen to the BBC6 Music webstream via the Coldplaying toolbar - which you can download here prior to today's track premiere. If you have any problems with the toolbar please log them here as soon as possible.

Track transitions from stomping guitar chords to hushed vocals, indicating the rest of the album's atmospheric sound... (report MTV)

By the time Tuesday morning (April 29) rolls around, you're going to know what we're talking about. That's when Coldplay will post "Violet Hill" — the first single from their upcoming Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends album — on their official Web site for free download. (It's scheduled to happen at exactly 7:15 a.m. ET, FYI.) The move is rare for a band of such stature, not to mention a band of such major-label-tude. And while we applaud such forward thinking, we're also figuring that most Coldplay fans don't want to wait until Tuesday morning to climb "Violet Hill," so we're going to give you a preview right now.

And no, we haven't swung some sort of streaming deal with Capitol Records. Rather, this is a written preview of the track, which MTV News was lucky enough to hear last week — along with the rest of Viva — at the EMI headquarters here in New York. We're not allowed to write about the entire album just yet (suffice to say security is tight on this one), but we figured the time was right to dish some details about "Hill."

And while we realize that reading about a song doesn't compare to actually hearing it, what else are you gonna do for the next 15-odd hours?

Read the full article here [thanks IneedYou23]

Chris Martin has reportedly revealed he hired a former bakery to become Coldplay's new headquarters.

He hired the site in Primrose Hill, north west London, to deflect attention, the NME reports. Chris told the music weekly he chose the building because it was so unappealing. "I used to walk past it every day," he told the magazine. "For years I used to walk past it and think: 'What an ugly place'. Then, one day, a To Let sign appeared outside. I thought: 'Hmmm, that place is so ugly, I bet no one would bother us if we move in there'."

Guitarist Jonny Buckland added: "It's the first time we've had a proper band home since we were rehearsing in my student bedroom in 1999."

Martin also explained how Coldplay ended up working with Brian Eno, who produced 10 tracks on the band's new album. "It was Brian's idea," he said. "I would often meet up with him for tea and start playing tabla machines ... and that just turned into a year's worth of production."

Next week's NME contains a free 7in single featuring Violet Hill and a second song A Spell A Rebel Yell, which is exclusive to the vinyl.

More on this here

EMI begins the roll-out of the media campaign for the new album this week, as the major gears up for the first significant release under its new A&R structure.

EMI will hold listening sessions for Viva La Vida this coming Wednesday and Thursday at Abbey Road Studios for journalists from long-lead publications. The listening sessions follow the announcement last week of a new UK A&R structure in which managing directors Miles Leonard and Ferdy Unger-Hamilton were promoted to president of A&R labels for Parlophone and Virgin respectively. EMI Music UK senior vice president Mark Collen, who oversees the Angel label, and Terry Felgate, managing director of EMI Records, will also be changing roles but details have yet to be finalised. A source says that the pair are “considering other senior roles”.

Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends comprises ten tracks produced by Brian Eno and Markus Dravs.

More on this here

Today is an exciting day for Coldplay fans around the globe; not only have they confirmed free shows in London and New York, but they’ve also unveiled the album artwork to ‘Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends.’

The band have used a classic painting by French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix from 1830 called ‘Liberty Leading The People’ (La Liberté guidant le people). It depicts the a woman personifying Liberty in the French Revolution leading the army in their march over dead bodies holding the French tricolour flag aloft. It’s currently on display in The Louvre in Paris.

Coldplay aren’t the first band to use the image on an album cover. In 1999 Japanese rock outfit Dragon Ash parodied the cover on the sleeve to their album ‘Viva La Revolution.’

Coldplay are to play two free shows to celebrate the release of their new album 'Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends'.

The band will play London's Brixton Academy on June 16, and New York's Madison Square Garden a week later (June 23). Fans are advised to keep checking the band's official website www.coldplay.com and not to contact the venue box offices, as no tickets will be made available for sale.

Meanwhile, the release of the record, the follow-up to 2005's 'X&Y', has been brought forward four days in the UK to bring it into line with global release dates. The release date is now June 12.

As previously revealed on NME.COM , Coldplay will release the first single from the album free with the NME. The 7-inch vinyl will include the single, 'Violet Hill', backed by another song, 'A Spell A Rebel Yell', which won't be available anywhere else. To ensure you get your copy of the exclusive Coldplay vinyl you can pre-order your issue from NME.COM at the NME online shop.

The single can also be downloaded from Coldplay's website from 12.15pm tomorrow (April 29).

Coldplay's new single, Violet Hill, will be available as a free download exclusively from Coldplay.com for one week starting tomorrow, Tuesday April 29th, at 12.15pm UK time. This is a full week ahead of the single's conventional paid-for digital release, on Tuesday May 6th.

Then, on Wednesday May 7th, there will be a free limited edition 7-inch vinyl of 'Violet Hill' on the cover of NME magazine, backed by the exclusive B-side, 'A Spell A Rebel Yell'. You can pre-order the issue by clicking here.

Free gigs in London and New York

Also tomorrow, Coldplay.com will announce preliminary details of two free shows which the band will play in June, one at London's Brixton Academy and the other at New York's Madison Square Garden. Full details of how to win tickets to both will be revealed on Coldplay.com in the next few weeks.

Album release details

Coldplay's fourth album, 'Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends' is out in June. The release dates are as follows:

UK - June 12

USA & Canada - June 17

Japan - June 11

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Ireland - June 13 Australia/NZ - June 14 ROW - June 16

More on all this update here [thanks twistedlogic149]

Set your ‘Clocks’ because Coldplay will be performing on TODAY and answering your online questions

Following news that Coldplay will be performing on Today on June 27th 2008, the show has announced that they will be airing questions fired to the band. You can now submit your questions online here.

Curious about the meaning behind their new album? Do you wonder what they do before a show? E-mail your questions for the band! Don't forget Coldplay will hit Rockefeller Plaza the morning of Friday, June 27th for a live performance on the Today show.

Have you already sent in a question for the band? Why not share it with the Coldplaying messageboard (and read all the other submissions) here [thanks WCfan]

Chris Martin is rumoured to working on new material outside of Coldplay with cheesy dance trio Cascada.

The news was revealed by Jo Whiley on Radio 1 this morning (April 25) but has caused confusion with fans after she first said that Martin had left the band. Following a number of phone calls from Coldplay followers Whiley was forced to clarify the situation, saying that Martin is in fact working on material for another project. The material is believed to be for German three piece although no official confirmation has yet been forthcoming.

Jo Whiley also confirmed a world exclusive of Violet Hill for next Tuesday morning and also gave the following new song reviews:

Reign of Love - "This is a very lovely, sweet song, which is very gospel like"

42 - "This is an excellent song, a potetial single, but then again, every song on this album sounds like it could be a single, there is so much strong material on here, I think this album could be a classic in years to come"

Yes! - "This is a very dark song, very menacing and brooding, which is different."

Viva la Vida - "This song is just brilliant!!"

More on this here. If you missed Jo Whiley's show you can download the relevant audio here [thanks Age Six Racer & Fixed]

XFM will be giving Coldplay’s brand new single its first play next Tuesday (April 29) after 12 noon, plus get the full history of the track and album so far.

‘Violet Hill’ is the first single to be taken from the ‘Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends’ album, which is released on June 16. And if you listen to Xu on Tuesday (April 29) after midday you'll hear Gareth give ‘Violet Hill’ its very first spin. Plus, keep your eyes and ears locked on to XFM Online and on air for the most exciting Coldplay news you'll hear all year on Monday… We can say no more. Yet.

It was revealed by Italian media that the band recorded the video for ‘Violet Hill’ in Sicily, Italy, earlier this month. Rolling Stone Online claims ‘Violet Hill’ was at first considered to be a promotion-only single, however it will still feature on ‘Viva La Vida’. The website also had a first taste of the new single: "Opening with a jagged distorted guitar riff, the song announces a new template: The stalking, bluesy beat beat fits nicely with Martin’s earthy vocals and plaintive lyrics – ‘If you love me, won’t you let me know?’”

More on the XFM story here. For those who live outside the UK you can listen to BBC6 Music and XFM webstreams via the Coldplaying toolbar - which you can download here prior to next week's news announcement and track premiere. If you have any problems with the toolbar please log them here as soon as possible.

It has been announced today that Coldplay will premiere the first single from their fourth album, ‘Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends’, next Tuesday (29th April) on BBC6 Music, which will then open the floodgates for thousands of other radio stations to be allowed to air the track.

‘Violet Hill’, which is released in May, will be given its first play on George Lamb's show on BBC 6 Music, which airs between 10am and 1pm (BST). Coldplay’s much anticipated new album features ten tracks and has been produced alongside Brian Eno. Speaking about the album, the band said that they “weren’t afraid to try anything” and that, as a group, they were still “obsessed with making songs that can be sung to the rafters”.

Meanwhile, XFM announced that big Coldplay news will be announced on Monday 28th April. In their blog, they said, "Keep your eyes and ears locked on to Xfm Online and on air for the most exciting Coldplay news you'll hear all year on Monday… We can say no more. Yet."

More on the BBC6 Music story here. For those who live outside the UK you can listen to BBC6 Music and XFM webstreams via the Coldplaying toolbar - which you can download here prior to next week's news announcement and track premiere. If you have any problems with the toolbar please log them here as soon as possible.

Free exclusive vinyl to be given away with magazine

Coldplay will release the first fruits from their forthcoming new album, 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends', free with the NME. A free Coldplay 7-inch vinyl single will be given away with the issue of NME that comes out on May 7. The vinyl will include 'Violet Hill', a song that will appear on the forthcoming LP. Another song, 'A Spell A Rebel Yell', will feature on the vinyl, and won't be available anywhere else.

Krissi Murison is deputy editor at the NME and she says Chris Martin contacted them direct. "He called up our editor one night from the studio, he said 'I have just written this song and it's the pefect song. NME readers are gonna love it, we have to get it out there.'"

To ensure you get your copy of the exclusive Coldplay vinyl you can pre-order your issue from NME.COM at the NME online shop. The album, the follow-up to 2005's 'X&Y', will be released on June 16.

More on this here [thanks Stuart (Stur27) & Dejan]

Coldplay will be performing on the opening day at the outdoor Summer Festival in Quebec on 3rd July, according to French media. Coldplay are rumoured to be playing at the Plains of Abraham which is the biggest of the open field venues. Other bands playing include Linkin Park and Yes.

For those who speak French:

Coldplay donnerait un spectacle au Festival d'été de Québec

La formation britannique Coldplay donnerait un spectacle en ouverture du Festival d'été de Québec, le 3 juillet prochain, selon une information rapportée par le réseau TVA lundi soir. Le spectacle aura lieu sur les Plaines d'Abraham. Les détails du contrat seraient finalisés d'ici peu, toujours selon TVA. Le Festival d'été doit confirmer la nouvelle dans quelques jours. Coldplay fera la promotion de son quatrième album studio, un opus intitulé «Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends», dont la sortie est attendue le 17 juin prochain en Amérique du Nord. Ce titre est un hommage à la peintre mexicaine Frida Kahlo. Produit par Brian Eno, cet album succèdera à «X&Y» paru en 2005.

More on this here [thanks Max & Marcoldplayer]

1Live, a German Radio Station, has announced an exclusive Radio Premiere next Tuesday (29th April) of Coldplay's new single, Violet Hill.

For those who speak German:

Coldplay melden sich mit neuem Album zurück

Wie 1LIVE exklusiv erfahren hat, wird die brandneue Single von Chris Martin und Co. nächste Woche Dienstag, also am 29.4., Radiopremiere haben. "Violet Hill" heißt der Song, und den hört ihr dann natürlich zuerst in 1LIVE. Das neue, vierte Album von Coldplay wird "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends" heißen und kommt am 13. Juni hinterher. Dabei hat Produzent Brian Eno auf dem Album sogar des Öfteren zwei Songs zu einem zusammengemischt, so dass man eigentlich von einem Dutzend neuer Songs sprechen kann.

More on this here [thanks Elm]

Rolling Stone have hinted today that 'Violet Hill' - the first single from Coldplay’s upcoming album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - will be released to radio on May 5th. This comes a day after Coldplaying revealed that the single will be available through internet download only, the week after radio play.

Meanwhile, the Barcelona premiere we reported earlier has been confirmed by other spanish local media, and some Spanish radio stations. The media will obviously be there, and it seems that a few invitations will be reserved for fans as well.

Unconfirmed reports are also emerging is that Coldplay have been signed up to play in one of the big summer European festivals. If we get more on this, we'll bring it to you before you can say "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends".

Finally, if you live in the UK and want to take advantage of a pre-order deal for Coldplay's new album, CDWOW are offering the CD for a limited pre-release price of £6.99. This is the lowest pre-release price found so far - Amazon @ £10.43 including delivery and Play.com @ £8.95 were the cheapest previously found.

More on the radio play news here

Coldplay's new single, Violet Hill, will be released as an internet download in three weeks time, according to Chris Martin.

Chris was spotted at the London IMAX cinema on Friday Afternoon (18/4/08) where he told one worker the single would be a download only. Chris was on his way to seeing the Rolling Stones musical film "Shine A Light". He was was with an Australian woman and and English man. Apparently he wore his hood up for most of the film...

More on this here [thanks Max]

Many thanks to locust7 for sharing thoughts on Coldplay's new single, Violet Hill, which is due for release in May. Although details on how Violet Hill was offered to fans remains 'classified', Coldplaying.com can assure fans that this story and the following synopsis of the song are both true. The first listen was via an iPod a few days ago.

The structure of the song is very Coldplayish, but the general sound is different, in the way of being more mature, stronger and epic without pretending it (unlike some X & Y songs). The instruments are very well integrated, much better than other times, but in many parts, an instrument carries by itself the song. Eno Production makes them sound louder, stronger but not pretentious. It feels both natural evolution, and I hope for the rest of the songs, seems to announce a more adult themed work and the step beyond we were awaiting.

The chorus is the same that Rolling Stone explained. However, the song does not start with the jagged guitar Rolling Stone said, but with an atmospheric intro of about 15-20 seconds very Eno-esque. Then the guitar and piano begin to sound. Their riffs are heavier, faster and louder than ever. I don't think I've heard Buckland studio work this hard (live you always hear it louder and lower), but it's very attractive combined with the piano.

Chris Martin's voice is his low voice of the Parachutes era, but seems to be just stronger, muscular, not delicate till the end of the song. Not a single falsetto note here.

Read the full track description here [thanks locust7]

Uk Celebs and Coldplay band members turn up for Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's son Moses' belated birthday party.

They waited until Coldplay returned to the UK - where they were preparing to release new album 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' - to give Moses his birthday presents. "His daddy is in London. So we're going to do presents when we can all be together," Gwyneth Paltrow said prior to the bash.

More on this here

In a official press mailing, EMI Holland announced the X&Y follow up Viva La Vida and Death And All His Friends will be release on June 13 (Friday). Worldwide release is 16/17 June. Here's the annoucement translation:

Three years later after the release of X&Y the new coldplay record will be released on Friday june 13, Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends. The band worked together in London, Barcelona and New York with producers Brian Eno and Markus Dravs to work on the long awaited fourth record.

In July 2005 Coldplay visited The Netherlands for the last time to perform at the sold out Geldredome arena in Arnhem. "The album was fuelled by a desire to move from black and white into colour", according lead-singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin. "Or, if you like, we decided to let our garden grow a little more unkempt. The bloodhound was let off its leash."

More on this here [thanks BigFatNoises]

Pulsemusic are hinting at a May 6th release date for Coldplay's first single from the fourth album. Previous sources have already confirmed that this single will be 'Violet Hill'.

More on this here [thanks low76]

According to Spanish Media (El Periódico de Catalunya), Coldplay have chosen Barcelona to premiere the world exclusive of their long awaited fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. The media outlet also claimed that Coldplay had filmed a videoclip in Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona's cathedral.

This world exclusive (as yet of unknown format) will take place sometime in June, with an audience of only 1000 people. The venue is as yet undecided - but we do know that journalists from around the world will be in attendance.

Yesterday the EMI label announced the final title of the album and the tracklist. The album is due for release in the UK on 16th June and worldwide a day later.

More on this here [thanks Marcoldplayer, ariadnasquire & Cris_Santos]