Song Meaning

[Gya]

There's a wild wind blowing
Down the corner of my street
Every night there the headlights are glowing
There's a cold war coming on the radio I heard
Baby, it's a violent world

(A person feels that something bad is coming, he also heard that on the radio… he’s hearing it everywhere now)

Oh love, don't let me go!
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow?
I can hear it coming
I can hear the siren sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground

(The person wants to stay with his love, still he knows he can’t, cos he’s hearing the evil is coming closer … “Now my feet won’t touch the ground”. What does that mean?)

Time came a-creeping
Oh, and time's a loaded gun
Every road is a ray of light
It goes oooooonnnn...
Time only can lead you on
Still it's such a beautiful night

(Person is now at war, he is thinking of his home, he can’t wait to come back, and still although it’s only sorrow around him, he has hope.)

Oh love, don't let me go!
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow?
I can hear it coming
Like a serenade of sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground

(Person feels in danger, he doesn’t know if he will survive all this)

Gravity, release me
No, don't ever hold me down
Now my feet won't touch the ground

(Uhmm, okay.. I think I’ve maybe got it now…. Person is dead, his feet doesn't touch the ground anymore.)

[Yellow Hill]

I agree with you.

[soufpawbandit28]

i think Chris Martin said the song was about the end of the world. im pretty sure at least

[carkids]

you do it very well, i thought more or less the same things as you about this song but i never was sure about that

[Technicolor Liver]

I think the part "There's a cold war coming..." is about Hiroshima

[mygdalom]

I agree with you in many things.

I think that he speaks about things that have not hapened yet. About bad things that are coming, a big war. But this person still has hope and can see good things in this damaged but pretty world. It will be war but world is still full of light and colour, and there is still love and hope, every little thing in our life its a small miracle.

I have read in the forum that this song talks about happines, i don't think soo, Its a happy song (the rithm, the way its singed) yes, but not the lyrichs. I think it talks about a really bad thing comming, and the way to contrarrest it. Enjoying life, seeing it in technicholor. :)

I don't think that the protagonist is dead, maybe in an other state, who knows :), maybe he is listening "the radio" in that "my feet don't touch the ground" moment. I'ts only a opinion.

I really love this song.

See you

[sp★rkle]

Gaaahhh.... :stunned:

that was amazing!!!

[Plug_in_coldplaying]

youve a point there

[Talor]

I agree with you ..

[becca10]

I've always taken the "now my feet won't touch the ground" line (in this song and the many other songs it's mentioned in) as either letting go of inhibitions and taking a risk, or losing control/worrying about things one can't control. I think the first two times it's said in this song it's about losing control, because they can "hear it coming" and the "hear the sirens sound", meaning that there are some upsetting events occurring and they have no control over it. But the last line about "gravity release me and don't ever hold me down" I think "gravity" is inhibitions/worrying about things you have no control over and they don't want to be held down by it.

I don't know if that makes any sense, and maybe I have an overly optimistic view, but that's the sense I get when I listen to it.

[Hermes_tri]

I' dont really agree...think the song is about love

There's a wild wind blowing
Down the corner of my street
Every night there the headlights are glowing
There's a cold war coming on the radio I heard
Baby, it's a violent world

(there's something coming , something negative, to their life. "to his corner" - to his house. But every night there's comfort and the lovely atmosphere - headlight are glowing, and all is beautiful. Thats what defines home for him - glowing headlights)

Oh love, don't let me go!
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow?
I can hear it coming
I can hear the siren sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground

(Now he doesn't want to be separated, its like the shout from the heart - "dont let me go". and a hope, take me to my home! "lets go back to the start". However he realises that something is coming, it is really close now - remember the songs "warning sign", "hardest part". Last line is probably about being in love, to that extent, that nothing else matters - 'give me love over that')

Time came a-creeping
Oh, and time's a loaded gun
Every road is a ray of light
It goes oooooonnnn...
Time only can lead you on
Still it's such a beautiful night

(Time changes everything, nothing is the same, but every road brings new opportunities, and time brings surprises, new experiences with it. But still, its a beautiful night, when they are together)

Oh love, don't let me go!
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow?
I can hear it coming
Like a serenade of sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground

(same as first , the signs are very clear and loud now)

Gravity, release me
No, don't ever hold me down
Now my feet won't touch the ground

(he doesnt want to think about all this stuff any longer, he wants to feel in love, be and stay in love forever, without thinking of consequences and whatever might be coming)


just my opinion..

[Infogatherer]

I have my interpretation on the song's entirety because it seems it has several meanings:

There's a wild wind blowing (Its like somethings coming)
Down the corner of my street (It's not far away)
Every night there the headlights are glowing (He can see it)
There's a cold war coming on the radio I heard (Confirmation of what happened)
Baby, it's a violent world (Statement of realization about the world)

(This aspect clearly resembles current things happening or what it can lead to.)

Oh love, don't let me go! (Clearly, he wants love to keep him near)
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow? (Possibly heaven in some retrospect, or a safe place)
I can hear it coming (Somthing's arriving)
I can hear the siren sound (Its not a good thing)
Now my feet won't touch the ground (Plausible death most likely, or sort of a lightening feeling)

(The chorus is probably the only most confusing part of the song in my opinion. It could be referring to death or about love in a safe haven)

Time came a-creeping (Time passes, or death awaits)
Oh, and time's a loaded gun (This definitely has something to do with the previous statement)
Every road is a ray of light (Doesn't matter where you go, its safe)
It goes oooooonnnn... (But it keeps going)
Time only can lead you on (So time is the key. Maybe death or happiness)
Still it's such a beautiful night (Love element added to probably conceal the meaning)

(The whole stanza refers to probably life and its facets w/ death)

Oh love, don't let me go! (Same idea from previous chorus)
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow? (Ditto)
I can hear it coming (Ditto to chorus, again)
Like a serenade of sound (Probably a good thing)
Now my feet won't touch the ground (Same with previous chorus)

(Basically its like the previous chorus. It's still difficult to piece together)

Gravity, release me (So he's saying "let me go")
No, don't ever hold me down (He wants to be free sort of)
Now my feet won't touch the ground (The ending of the song w/ another meaning)


So in retrospect, the whole song has multiple meanings, the 2 main ones being Love and Death.

Reply in a fashionable on what you think.

[Jettelag]

I thought it was a song about a revolution. All the stuff about change, and war, it seems to point to that. Also, the last stanza is pretty obvious.

Gravity release me,
And don't ever hold me down.
Now my feet won't touch the ground.

The line "don't ever hold me down" is just saying don't do anything to limit me, comparing gravity to all our limitations. Thus, "Now my feet won't touch the ground" means that you can't keep me down. This is important, as it appears in other songs, is the name of a song, and pops up in "Strawberry Hill." Also, didn't he write a song back in the good old days called, "You can't keep my feet on the ground"? Something like that.

[58328832]

Also, didn't he write a song back in the good old days called, "You can't keep my feet on the ground"? Something like that.

Yeah, it's No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground. It was a B-side for Yellow.

[yuls]

I've always thought it said

"i can hear the silent sound" instead of
"I can hear the siren sound"...
I liked the impression of something arriving quietly.
To me, this song means love is the only escape to the bitterness of the world, something that makes you feel " high"(now my feet woun't touch the ground),the only thing that makes life (normally black and white) in technicolor.

[AsiaHoBoom]

When I listen to the lyrics of this song, I kind of get the sense that Coldplay is speaking about television, hence the title "Life in Technicolor." Just turn on your TV and watch as the news reports the world as a "violent" one, "wars coming", every night "street lights glowing and sirens" (ambulances and cop cars) etc. The speaker of this song seems to understand that there exists such a world but he also recognizes that it's just a world/life in technicolor. It's a world behind a screen saturated with glamour (I use this in the original meaning of the word) and violence. Instead of feeding into this life in technicolor, the speaker seems to realize that though there's so much speak of "the end of the world", he accepts love as a powerful and motivating source. "Love don't let me go."

Anyway, I got the sense that's what the meaning of this song is about from the music video as well. Visually we see a group of parents and children around a puppet show watching this spectacular puppet show in utter awe. Is there a correlation with those people watching this puppet show and us watching our television sets?

[The Final Track]

No, you're all wrong, they just sound good, as the case with most songs :D

[nick311]

i've always thought it was about the end of the world :nice:

[Finny]

I've always taken the "now my feet won't touch the ground" line (in this song and the many other songs it's mentioned in) as either letting go of inhibitions and taking a risk, or losing control/worrying about things one can't control. I think the first two times it's said in this song it's about losing control, because they can "hear it coming" and the "hear the sirens sound", meaning that there are some upsetting events occurring and they have no control over it. But the last line about "gravity release me and don't ever hold me down" I think "gravity" is inhibitions/worrying about things you have no control over and they don't want to be held down by it.

I don't know if that makes any sense, and maybe I have an overly optimistic view, but that's the sense I get when I listen to it.

I actually really like this optimistic view of this line. I do also like the idea that it's accepting death, but the instrumental for me is so uplifting that that interpretation sort of clashes.

Also, is anyone else reminded of the hymn "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go" when they hear the line "Oh love don't let me go?" I know that must just be pure coincidence, but it really does make me smile when I hear it.

[fadia]

it's make me happy:):)

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

I see this song as about holding on to your loved ones in a time of crisis...there's a lot of Cold War imagery - the title itself, technicolor, refers to how TV was the big thing in the 1950s-60s. My interpretation might be a bit morbid and pulled out of the ass, but bear with me here.

There's a wild wind blowing (nuclear fallout?)
Down the corner of my street
Every night there the headlights are glowing (police cars)
There's a cold war coming on the radio I heard
Baby, it's a violent world (self explanatory)

Oh love, don't let me go! (image: family holding tight inside a bomb shelter or the Underground)
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow? (where the streetlights are..still intact..where there's still human goodness)
I can hear it coming
I can hear the siren sound (air raid sirens)
Now my feet won't touch the ground (image: getting exploded, flying into the air)

Time came a-creeping (time --> death)
Oh, and time's a loaded gun (war imagery)
Every road is a ray of light
It goes oooooonnnn...
Time only can lead you on
Still it's such a beautiful night (Sarcasm - explosions, rays of light are beautiful - I agree with the poster who said this part is about a soldier at war)

Oh love, don't let me go!
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow?
I can hear it coming
Like a serenade of sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground

Gravity, release me
No, don't ever hold me down (the meaning changes to do not oppress us [maybe a reference to the Civil Rights movement]
Now my feet won't touch the ground

[TecHniCoLoR_MX]

IMO. A soldier is sent to war, maybe ww2. And misses her so much, he is willing to do something drastic to return to her. Just wait for me please and i will return soon.

[MikeGold]

I'm sorry for being pessimistic, but the way I understand it, it's a story of a beautiful world that he left behind because of the war, or the other horrors, and through the song he slowly accepts the fact that he's dead (and hanged). Kind of like a ghost speech.

[Phoebeo]

I don't think there is a meaning with every song Chris writes. I don't think you can analyse his songs like that.

[TecHniCoLoR_MX]

Maybe it's just a song. And we have to accept it. :rolleyes: