Uchiha_Shadow

No... nonono, this is all wrong... Coldplay, you're not supposed to get more commercial than you already are :( I guess this is what CM was talking about on Radio 1 right after Violet Hill was played for the first time? Damnit.

Always funny when "professional" journalism websites take quotes too serious. Because Chris Martin has never been caught joking around in an interview.

You know what, I'm not sure yet about the "Once you know there was never, never an honest word" line. He doesn't seem to be saying "know" ... it sounds more like "go" or "gone" or something (yes I know that doesn't make sense). I just can't make "know" out of it.

You're both right, my bad - I didn't read the part about "the end" of the song, so I thought he wanted to replace it everywhere. After hearing "word" in the first chorus I figured he heard wrong, but you're right, the second and third time around he appears to be saying "work". So, can we all agree on this version? "Viva la Vida" [Verse 1] I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to own I used to roll the dice Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes Listen as the crowd would sing: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!" One minute I held the key Next the walls were closed on me And I discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand [Chorus] I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain Once you know there was never, never an honest word That was when I ruled the world (Ohhh) [Verse 2] It was the wicked and wild wind Blew down the doors to let me in Shattered windows and the sound of drums People couldn't believe what I'd become Revolutionaries wait For my head on a silver plate Just a puppet on a lonely string Oh who would ever wanna be king? [Chorus 2] I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter won't call my name Never an honest work And that was when I ruled the world (Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh) [Chorus 3] Hear Jerusalem bells are ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter won't call my name Never an honest work But that was when I ruled the world (Ooo Ooo Ooo)

There should be a red recording button? Just press it and start playing the music? And afterwards just cut the seconds without music off by selecting the sections and pressing delete. Then File -> Save As

Haha, I love the part where Chris says that "Yes/Chinese Sleep Chant" and "Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love" are 2 tracks on the same track so that "they're cheaper on iTunes". Great article. And I don't say that very often about NME.

Heh, you're right, the starting melody and beat are the same. The string section isn't, though, at all. And the overall feel is completely different. But good job at spotting it, there definitely are some similarities there.

As for the meaning... it's being sung from the perspective of someone who was in power, but he was evil (St Peter won't call his name - he can't go to heaven / he never ruled with an honest word). Then there was a revolution, people want his head on a silver plate. Now he's got a crappy job (sweeping the street). Of course I realize very well that this isn't all meant in a literal way - like Magnus said it's about being in power and losing power/control of things. EDIT: As for "pillars of salt" - the one I corrected - it has a religious context, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt#In_religion "There are thirty-five verses which reference salt in the English translation of the Bible (King James Version), the earliest being the story of Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she disobediently looked back at the wicked cities of Sodom (Genesis 19:26). When King Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem he is said to have "sowed salt on it;" a phrase expressing the completeness of its ruin."

Agreed. And "sweep" on the second line. I also think it's "pillars of salt (and) pillars of sand" - not twice "pillars of sand" EDIT: Here we go: "Viva la Vida" [Verse 1] I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to own I used to roll the dice Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes Listen as the crowd would sing: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!" One minute I held the key Next the walls were closed on me And I discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand [Chorus] I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain Once you know there was never, never an honest word That was when I ruled the world (Ohhh) [Verse 2] It was the wicked and wild wind Blew down the doors to let me in Shattered windows and the sound of drums People couldn't believe what I'd become Revolutionaries wait For my head on a silver plate Just a puppet on a lonely string Oh who would ever wanna be king? [Chorus 2] I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter won't call my name Never an honest word And that was when I ruled the world (Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh) [Chorus 3] Hear Jerusalem bells are ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter won't call my name Never an honest word But that was when I ruled the world (Ooo Ooo Ooo)

Fair enough, I get your point and by no means did I mean that we should follow Chris or something :) It's just silly how they're protecting a band - who seems to get along with every other musician in the world - while dissing another. I never got the whole "your band sucks cause they're posers" crap that people come up with - different strokes for different folks. Maybe you were kidding, but I'm sure that other members were not. I'm not a Green Day fan but I respect what they're doing and I think it's pathetic to attack them - especially if you're doing it in the same thread where they're bashing Barat for attacking Coldplay; I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees the hypocrisy of that :)

I'm sure Chris Martin and the rest of Coldplay would agree with you.

I totally get his point. After all, if big bands - such as Coldplay, Radiohead - release their music for free, we have more money for stuff like, I dunno, CD's from small-time bands? ... honestly, I don't get his reasoning. How does Coldplay giving away a single for free - that, less face it, we would've ripped from radio and downloaded anyway - in any way affect the sales of smaller bands? I personally think Coldplay gave it away from free in decent quality because they knew it was going to be ripped anyway and they preferred it if people listened to it in the quality that they intended for us to listen to. But maybe Barat is right and this is a big conspiracy to destroy the smaller bands (who have more of a chance to breakthrough now than ever before, by the way, because of the internet and simpler means of traveling around and doing gigs). EDIT: Just read through the thread and noticed most of my points have been made before. The guy doesn't make sense. But what's with the Green Day bashing? I thought Coldplay fans were more sophisticated than that, being able to respect each others taste in music and all that. That's what Chris Martin seems to be doing, anyway.

It's on their myspace.

The ending's the best.

Hmmm sounds good so far...

... *doesn't like this song and turns the sound low* Can't they just play some Coldplay music right before the single? They know every Coldplay fan in the world is listening. EDIT: Elm, no need. It'll be on the Coldplay site in... 7 minutes.

I hope they're gonna interview Chris afterwards...

OMG IT'S CHRIS!!!!

God, entertainment news sucks and always annoyed me... but it's never annoyed me quite as much as now, haha.

OMG it's about to play!

Thomas, 20 years young, currently living in Hull and I'm an alcoho... Coldplayholist. Listening to Radio 1 =D Hoping they won't play it on XFM (won't even work on mac >=( ) or BBC 6 first.

It won't sell out, and the reason they're not releasing it on CD yet is because they want the single to do well. Here's a slightly bigger version of the picture

Not really liking the artwork... hope it's not an indication for Viva La Vida That being said, it's awesome that within the next few weeks, between Violet Hill, its b-side(s) and this new NME song, we'll have at least 3 new Coldplay songs!

great site,but i think we discovered it 6-7 months ago ;) you can find EVERYTHING in multimedia in mp3 format Oh, sorry about it then ^^' I just noticed there were plenty of people requesting songs that were on that site, so... Well, I'm off to hunting some more mp3's posted in that thread :D

Right... this is my first, and probably my last post here. You can basically get all the unreleased songs and such here: http://www.geocities.com/audiothief/coldplay.html Hope that helps.