FedEx

Ok...so they wrote a song that will sell, and then went on and give it away for free? :stunned: Let this be a warning, if you are too attached to Coldplay's past stuff, and their past sound, you will likely NOT like the new album. This is not going to be another ARBTH, it's like an all new full ground up redesign of your favorite car. Kinda like newer BMWs.

Also it is cool how the "Bam bam bam bam bam..." in the song may represent constant gun fire. interesting interpretation ForrestTheFish, it seems the song can work for many different situations under a common theme: opression. Although I think your version works well, I still think that war was what chris was singing about, but perhaps in a way that it could apply to other situations as well. deep down this is a very clever song.

Well if there is a lot of blood, it is usually purple since that is the color it takes when engorged with oxygen. So purple on the snow would likely be violet :) or we can assume the snow won't contribute much color wise since there would be too much blood.

First off I think it's a great song, nothing like their past work but refreshing as a result. Although I think I've overplayed it (about 15 times). There are a few key themes in the song, first is the long and dark december with the WHITE snow, second is the Violet Hill, third is the references to war. In other words I think Chris is singing the song from the viewpoint of a soldier about to be sent off to war for reasons he cannot control and thus has no other choice. "Was a long and dark December From the rooftops I remember There was snow White snow" He's setting the mood of the song here, a very cold desperate mood that is highlighted by the piano only being played during these lines. Then the song gets going, as if to explain something has happened, i.e. an event has started. "Clearly I remember From the windows they were watching While we froze down below" Here I think "they" refers to those who initiated/planned/perpetrated the war, and they are now sitting up there in their warm safe homes watching below those they sent into the cold (war) freeze (suffer). "When the future's architectured By a carnival of idiots on show You'd better lie low" here the carnival of idiots refers to the perpetrators of the war (imo george bush et al), people who aren't very bright but have planned out the future of so many (the soldiers going to war and the victims of the war as well as overall implications). He is saying that when this happens it is best to lie low and out of sight or risk being sucked into their plans. "If you love me Won't you let me know?" he's telling his lover that now is the time to tell him if she loves him, for she may never see him again as he is being shipped off to war. "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" This indicates that now some time has passed from the start of war, and it is getting nowhere and with a huge cost in lives and money. Desperate soldiers look to god in hopes he will save them (their rifles a place to store the bibles) and banks (due to the high financial cost) are now worshipped like cathedrals by those who started the war (again, imo bush et al) in hopes of getting help with paying for the war. "Bury me in honor When I’m dead and hit the ground My Love is opposed when unfold If you love me Won't you let me know?" The soldier is now sure he will die soon in this war, and again tells his lover that if she loves him she'd better tell him soon. It also seems like he's come to the realization that being buried in honor is pointless because he will be dead, and is in other words, not all it's cracked up to be. "I don't want to be a soldier With the captain of some sinking ship With snow, far below" It seems now the soldier is having second thoughts, and decides to desert the army and run. He doesn't want to be a soldier anymore especially with the idiotic perpetrators (bush et al?) as the leaders, and sees how pointless the whole war is and that no one will win and everyone will lose. He does what any sane person does with those odds. "I took my love down to Violet Hill There we sat in 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?" Here "violet hill" refers to a snowy hill turned violet from the blood of those who died in the war, and after running away he's returned and taken his love there to show her why he had to desert the army and what he faced and suffered. But now the army is after him for deserting, and thus again he will be apart from his lover. So again desperately he asks his lover that if she loves him she better let him know for she may never see him again. Also here the piano is the only instrument playing, to highlight the sadness and the coldness of the situation. In short, the song is about the pointlessness and desperation that war brings, and how there is no winner either way. It highlights how soldiers are often doomed wether they fight in the war or choose to run and how sad and desperate the situation becomes. It's also fairly political with references to governments (george bush et al?) and how they initiate such sadness and desperation with no regard to anyone but themselves and no consideration of the consequences. Anyways that's my interpretation, I think there could be many for the army deserting part, and thus feel free to voice your own interpretation here :).

You cannot compare this song to past coldplay songs and judge it based on that. They have many amazing songs, and Violet Hill is the newest edition. It is just different from the other stuff and that's refreshing. Yes Clocks is amazing, as is In My place etc... but so is Violet Hill. It's just amazing in a different way. And of course as is the case with most coldplay songs, it is difficult to fall in love with it on the first or even second listen, but after a while you begin to grasp the true amazingness of the song.