[50 Favourite Coldplay songs] Countdown: 88th to 1st

[Ondes Martenot]

20. I Ran Away



9130 points
35 votes
highest rank from coldpatrix and shunmander (1)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ciega @ songmeanings.net
A guy that isn't happy with his current situation with his girlfriend. He feels himself trapped, uncomfortable, although he has nothing to be unhappy with. He wants to spit it out to her, but he just can't or won't be given the chance somehow. To everyone else, he's damn lucky to have that girl, but he doesn't feel that way. He has the need to get away from her, be free.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Emarii @ songmeanings.net
I usually twist songs a bit to reflect a personal situation of mine, and so to me it's a guy who still loves a girl that everyone else didn't think was good idea. So he tries to forget about her, but it doesn't work because he sees her too much..and is reminded of how much he loves her-despite how risky their relationship is, and so he tries to ignore her/preoccupy himself to stop his feelings.

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I ran away from you
That's all I ever do
And though I started here
I ran away from you

I'm gonna come on in
And see it through
I ran away from you
That's all I ever do

And when I heard you call
"Come back to me"
I know I should stay
I don't have the stomach to

Everyone I know says
I'm a fool to mess with you
Everyone I know says
it's a stupid thing to do

I have your love on call
And yet my day is so full
There might be nothing left to do
So I ran away from you

I'm gonna come on in
My eyes are closed
I can feel it there
The sun's so close
I'm gonna come on out
And burn the sky

A star arose in my own cage
I'm stuck in life and in a cage

Just a single star
I sing for

Everyone I know
says I'm a fool mess with you
Everyone I know
says it's a stupid thing to do

I have your love on call
And yet my day is so full
And I did not know what to do
So I ran away from you

[Ondes Martenot]

19. Spies



9520 points
40 votes
highest rank from CleverBlueStone, farø and watermelonc1 (1)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blue_dissent @ songmeanings.net
I think this song is just about all the different things in life that are unescapable. worries, stressors, minor/major troubles of just everyday life and it's complications are always around, and there is no way to ever escape them. even when we think that we have somehow managed to escape them, we will soon find that they are just hiding in the background (like spies...). we always suspect them to present themselves but are always happy with every moment that they keep themselves hidden and allow to enjoy life.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by okteds @ songmeanings.net
He talks about the communism thing in one of his concerts, but that's not what this song was wriiten about. Chris Martin was joking about how the Chinese government misinterpretted the lyrics as being anticommunist. I think the meaning falls somewhat in line with what blue dissent was saying. Spies are just an analogy for for whatever worries you or gets you down. You can't live like a fugitive to your worries, cuz there will always be more worries lurking around every corner. Just live your life and remind yourself to not let your worries get the best of you.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by CesaroSummability @ songmeanings.net
Seriously,though here is the way this song makes me feel. The singer,is singing about asking his friend how lives like a fugitive,everyday or at least so often,because,the way this song goes,it seems to me that this is his first encounter with LSD. "Tell me wich way to go..." He is asking his dear friend for guidance on how to deal with this chemical change occuring within his body. He is frightened by the way he feels and wants his friend to help keep him calm. Then all hell breaks loose,the spies come out of the water. To me this is obviously a visual hallucination caused by LSD,wether he saw spies coming out of the water,or spies are a metaphor for all aroud frightening things,I do not know. He knows he cant fight back,because theyre either too big or too frightening,"you cant touch them,no. Cause theyre all spies" He feels trapped "were all fugitives....down here" he feels the LSD's affect will never wear off,perhaps he has completely forgotten that 35 minutes ago,he bit into a gel capsule and thats why he feels this way. Then the spies come out again,only this time i think his general worry and discomfort about his feeling his intensified his visuals and has now become more afraid of these spies. "and if we dont hide here,theyre gonna find us...." That whole line about hiding reminds me of my first psychoactive experience. At some point he realises that everything is ok,its just a drug "and you feel so good...theyre JUST spies" Thats my theory

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I awake to find no peace of mind
I said how do you live
as a fugitive
down here, where I cannot see so clear
I said what do I know
show me the right way to go

and the spies came out of the water
and you're feeling so bad 'cos you know
that the spies hide out in every corner
but you can't touch them no
'cos they're all spies

they're all spies

I awake to see that no-one is free
we're all fugitives
look at the way we live
down here, I cannot sleep from fear, no
I said which way do I turn
oh I forget everything I learn

and the spies came out of the water
and you're feeling so bad 'coz you know
that the spies hide out in every corner
but you can't touch them no
'cos they're all spies

they're all spies

and if we don't hide here
they're gonna find us
and if we don't hide now
they're gonna catch us where we sleep
and if we don't hide here
they're gonna find us

and the spies came out of the water
and you're feeling so good 'cos you know
that those spies hide out in every corner
they can't touch you no
'cos they're just spies
they're just spies
they're just spies
they're just spies
they're just spies

[Ondes Martenot]

18. White Shadows



10130 points
44 votes
highest rank from Littlewhiteshadows (1)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sarabeara24 @ songmeanings.net
I'm not sure what the meaning of this song is, but I think it has to do with the unknown and uncertainty that comes with life, like little white shadows out there that you can't see, kinda like the future. And I think it also can refer to relationships and how unsure they can be and the spotaneity with which they come to be.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by mcthingy @ songmeanings.net
Not much of a fan of Coldplay's lyrics though I think their music is often beautiful. They come across as sub-U2: all relationship mumbo-jumbo without the redemtive power of U2's religious obsession. This song seems to be about how when you grow up you lose innocence, sense of wonder, and have to conform etc. While this loss of innocence is a shame.....there are benefits of being "part of the system"......ie the future is uncertain and connecting to someone is the only way to get through it. Just my 2 cents.

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When I was a young boy I tried to listen
And I wanna feel like that
Little white shadows
blink and miss them
Part of a system, I am

If you ever feel like something's missing
Things you'll never understand
Little white shadows
Sparkle and glisten
Part of a system again

All this noise, I'm waking up
All this space, I'm taking up
All this sound is breaking up
Ohhhhhhhh

Maybe you'll get what you wanted
maybe you'll stumbled upon it
Everything you ever wanted
In a permanent state

Maybe you'll know when you see it
Maybe if you say it, you'll mean it
And when you find it you'll keep it
In a permanent state, a permanent state

When I was a young boy I tried to listen
Don't you wanna feel like that?

You're part of the human race
All of the stars and the outer space
Part of the system again

All this noise, I'm waking up
All this space I'm taking up
I cannot hear, you're breaking up
Whooaaaaaaa

Maybe you'll get what you wanted
Maybe you'll stumble upon it
Everything you ever wanted
In a permanent state

Maybe you'll know when you see it
Maybe if you say it, you'll mean it
And when you find it you'll keep it
In a permanent state, a permanent state

Swim out on a sea of faces
Tide of the human races
Oh, an answer now is what I need...

See it in a new sun rising
See it break on your horizon
Oh, come on love, stay with me...

[Lera]

19th?... 19th?... Ermm... I kinda thought Spies's gonna be in top-five.... Sad.

[Ondes Martenot]

17. Speed Of Sound



10325 points
41 votes
highest rank from bellynelly (1)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com

2005 MTV Europe Music Awards - Best Song
2006 Brit Awards - Best British Single

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com
"Speed of Sound" is the first single from British rock band Coldplay's third album, X&Y. It made its radio premiere on BBC Radio 1 with Steve Lamacq on the evening of Monday, 18 April 2005; the track is currently available for download on the band's official site and on the iTunes Music Store. A 30 second clip of the song was also available as a downloadable ringtone.

Beginning with a piano riff reminiscent of Coldplay's "Clocks", the song builds into a huge, synth-heavy chorus: "Birds go flying at the speed of sound, to show you how it all began / Birds came flying from the underground, if you could see it then you'd understand." The song was created as the band attempted to work through a cover version of Kate Bush's song, "Running Up That Hill." If you listen closely, you can hear the resemblance of the main riff to that in Bush's song.

"Speed of Sound" was beaten to the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart by the novelty ringtone "Axel F" by Crazy Frog, a computer animated marketing tool. It also became Coldplay's biggest single in the US, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com

The video promo for "Speed of Sound" was shot on a Los Angeles sound stage over 22–23 April 2005. Shooting took place on large sets backed by large LED displays. The performance based video was helmed by Mark Romanek, who was responsible for Johnny Cash's "Hurt" and Jay-Z's "99 Problems".

The video earned 4 nominations at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=ysfp3jDqT8c

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by incoherentlove @ songmeanings.net
I think that the whole song is about discovery, finding things and getting inspiration. The first 2 verses could relate to how he was trying to find inspiration for this album.

I think the chorus has a direct link to how songs can give you inspiration, "birds flying" at the "speed of sound" means the songs that free you and broaden your mind, even your own songs can bring to the surface things you had kept in your unconscious "underground"

I'm torn between the meaning of the third verse, it could mean the limitation of human knowledge and the human mind, there are so many things that we'll never even think about "Ideas that you'll never find" and that perhaps other people and other songs can find them for you.

The next line, however, seems to be about the expanse of your imagination, or the things locked away in your mind and I believe its "ALL the inventors could never design the buildings that you put up" i.e in your imagination,

and then it seems to revert back to the idea that our knowledge is limited "some things you have to believe but others are puzzles puzzling me" or it could mean that we all have different interpretations about things and we'll understand some things and others will understand other things... I guess that's what this site is all about!

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how long before I get in
before it starts, before I begin
how long before you decide
before I know what it feels like
where to?
Where do I go?
if you've never tried then you'll never know
how long do I have to climb
up on the side of this mountain of mine

look up, I look up at night
planets are moving at the speed of light
climb up, up in the trees
every chance that you get
is a chance you seize
how long am I gonna can stand
with my head stuck under the sand
I start before I can stop
before I see thing the right way up

all that noise, all that sound
all those places that i have found
and birds go flying at the speed of sound
to show how it all began
birds came flying from the underground
if you could see it then you'd understand

ideas that you'll never find
or the inventors could never design
the buildings that you put up
Japan and China... all lit up
the sign that I couldn't read
or the light that I couldn't see
some things you have to believe
but others are puzzles, puzzling me

all that noise, all that sound
all those places that i have found
and birds go flying at the speed of sound
to show how it all began
birds came flying from the underground
if you could see it then you'd understand

all those signs I knew what they meant
something you can't invent
Some get made, and some get sent
ooh
words go flying at the speed of sound
to show how it all began
birds came flying from the underground
if you could see it then you'd understand
oh, when you see it then you'll understand

[Plug_in_coldplaying]

more,common,im excited so much

[Ondes Martenot]

16. Square One



10875 points
42 votes
highest rank from murphy (2)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com
Built around a subtle electronic drum beat reminiscent of Brian Eno or Berlin-period Bowie, the song builds into a huge chorus featuring massive guitars and organ. Like Radioheads Paranoid Android it's perplexing on the first listen and appears to go off on different tangents, but after a few spins it sounds like their most ambitious and possibly best song yet.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Will Champion
"It started off sounding like Dire Straits..." and from Martin, "Dire Straits are brilliant, but its really uncool to like them, but I do."

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by javaman @ songmeanings.net
This song is about the Bible Code (from the top of the first page to the end of the last day)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by penrhyn @ songmeanings.net
"Are they bleeding all your colors into one?"
This line is so meaningful to me. To me it means that your life was once as wonderful as a beautiful painting but then something happens that is so painful that your life, your soul, your heart starts bleeding and bleeding until all the beautiful colors and pictures seem to bleed into one color. And what color comes when you mix together a lot of colors? usually a dark one...
This is what this single sentence means to me because it is what I am going through. All the beautiful life I once had is bleeding into one color.... black.

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You're in control
Is there anywhere you wanna go?
You're in control
Is there anything you wanna know?
The future's for discovering
The space in which we travel in

From the top of the first page
To the end of the last day
From the start in your own way
You just want somebody listening to what you say
It doesn't matter who you are

Under the surface trying to break through
Deciphering the codes in you
I need a compass, draw me a map
I'm on the top, I can't get back

Whooooaaa, whooooaaa

The first line on the first page
To the end of the last page (you were looking at)
From the start in your own way
You just want somebody listening to what you say
It doesn't matter who you are
It doesn't matter who you are

You just want somebody listening to what you say
You just want somebody listening to what you say
It doesn't matter who you are
It doesn't matter who you are

Is there anybody out there who
Is lost and hurt and lonely too
Are they bleeding all your colours into one?
And if you come undone
As if you've been run through
Some catapult it fired you
You wonder if your chance'll ever come
Or if you're stuck in square one

[Plug_in_coldplaying]

common,more
you rule

[Ondes Martenot]

top 15!!!

i give you guys a break

[Plug_in_coldplaying]

no,continue please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ondes Martenot]

15. Swallowed In The Sea



11060 points
42 votes
highest rank from Chris015 (1)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris Martin
"This and What If and Fix You have always been on the album. It was meant to rip off [The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl's] Fairytale of New York- its not as good, but that's what you always do, you try and better another song."

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by killah @ songmeanings.net
it's rare that song lyrics stand out to me, but this song immediately grabbed my attention. This "person A" was feeling lost and confused, for whatever reason, and is singing about "person B", who saved them from heading down a dangerous path. I think there is something keeping them from being together - whether it be distance, etc. This had caused Person B to give up hope of ever being happy and just wanted to settle for less ("swallowed in the sea" of fish), but Person A had completely selfless feelings for them and knew that they deserved better. . I'm not sure if I believe in the idea of soulmates, but I think this song pretty accurately describes it. Two people who are meant to be together in the end, no matter what. Fate only takes you so far, the rest is up to you.

I'm dealing with something like this right now, it's tough and it hurts - but I have faith. complete faith. it seems ridiculously naive but I can't change the way I feel. I refuse to settle for less. I kind of feel like a tool for writing this, I just felt like letting it out.

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You cut me down a tree and brought it back to me
and that’s what made me see where I was going wrong
You put me on a shelf and kept me for yourself
I can only blame myself, you can only blame me
and I could write a song a hundred miles long
Well that’s where I belong and you belong with me
and I could write it down or spread it all around
Get lost and then get found or swallowed in the sea

You put me on a line and hung me out to dry
Darling that’s when I decided to go to see you
You cut me down to size and opened up my eyes
Made me realize what I could not see

and I could write a book, the one they'll say that shook the world
and then it took, it took it back from me
and I could write it down and spread it all around
Get lost and then get found and you'll come back to me
Not swallowed in the sea

Oohhhhh Ahhhhhh

and I could write a song a hundred miles long
Well that’s where I belong and you belong with me
The streets you’re walking on, a thousand houses long
Well that’s where I belong and you belong with me
Oh what good is it to live with nothing left to give
Forget but not forgive, not loving all you see
Oh the streets you’re walking on a thousand houses long
Well that’s where I belong and you belong with me
Not swallowed in the sea

You belong with me, not swallowed in the sea
Yeah you belong with me

Not swallowed in the sea.

[Plug_in_coldplaying]

only?

[Ondes Martenot]

14. Shiver



11255 points
43 votes
highest rank from Erin (2)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com
'Shiver' is the first single from the debut album Parachutes.

The months of pre-production, gigging and studio time which preceded Coldplay’s arrival in Liverpool's Parr St Studios had not been wasted.

When the band began jamming new tracks such as Yellow, Everything’s Not Lost and Trouble just before their New Year break, the album’s projected tracklisting quickly changed. It became apparent that some of the older songs had been surpassed and were no longer going to make the final cut.



http://youtube.com/watch?v=CG4fh4NgOgY

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spork @ songmeanings.net
This is a great song of desperation about the one you love, but cant be with. I think they have a history together, she probably dumped him and now pays him no attention whatsoever, which is what the core of this song is about. Little stalker-ish perhaps, but a great rock tune.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Title Track @ songmeanings.net
I don't think it's about unrequited love. I mean, not in the sense that he loves her and she just doesn't give a damn about him. To me it's about how they're almost best friends and he loves her more than that but she doesn't know of his feelings. Because to me, when you love someone so much they're your best friend and he's willing to be this and do that for her no matter what. Whether she loves him back or they are just friends. He's loves her that much.

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so I look in your direction
but you pay me no attention, do you?
I know you don't listen to me
'cos you say you see straight through me, don't you?
but on and on
from the moment I wake
to the moment I sleep
I'll be there by your side
just you try and stop me
I'll be waiting in line
just to see if you care

oh, did you want me to change?
well I'd change for good
and I want you to know
that you'll always get your way
I wanted to say...

don't you shiver
you shiver
singing loud and clear
I'll always be waiting for you

so you know how much I need you
but you never even see me, do you?
and is this my final chance of getting you?

but on and on
from the moment I wake
to the moment I sleep
I'll be there by your side
just you try and stop me
I'll be waiting in line
just to see if you care, if you care
oh, did you want me to change?
well I'd change for good
and I want you to know
that you'll always get your way
and I wanted to say...

don't you shiver
don't you shiver
I sing it loud and clear
I'll always be waiting for you

yeah I'll always be waiting for you
yeah I'll always be waiting for you
yeah I'll always be waiting for you
for you, I will always be waiting

and it's you I see
but you don't see me
and it's you I hear
so loud and so clear
I sing it loud, and clear
and I'll always be waiting for you

so I look in your direction
but you pay me no attention
and you know how much I need you
but you never even see me

[Ondes Martenot]

13. Talk



11280 points
44 votes
highest rank from Data (1)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com
'Talk' takes the riff from electronic music legends Kraftwerk's Computer Love and builds a completely new song. It keeps the mechanical beat of the original but adds a huge guitar and dancefloor filling bass-line. Stadiums wont be big enough to contain it.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com
"Talk" is the third single from X&Y, the third album by British alternative rock band Coldplay. It was released in the UK on 19 December 2005. The radio edit has been available since 14 November on the iTunes Music Store. The song entered the UK charts at #10 on 25 December 2005.

Coldplay received permission from the electronica band Kraftwerk to use the main riff from their song "Computer Love" for "Talk", replacing Kraftwerk's synthesizers with guitars.

The band recorded three separate versions of "Talk"; the one found on X&Y was based on an early cut of the song. A newer version of the track (with a different set of lyrics) was leaked onto the internet in March 2005. "Talk" was originally intended to be a B-side for the single "Speed of Sound" before becoming the last addition to X&Y's track listing.

This song was performed live at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards on 3 November in Lisbon, Portugal. It was also performed live at the 2006 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com
The music video for "Talk" was helmed by director/photographer Anton Corbijn. Filming took place on 5th and 6th November at Ealing Studios, London, just before the band began an European leg on the Twisted Logic Tour. The black-and-white clip invokes a B-movie science fiction theme, with imagery ranging from a flying saucer to 3D glasses.

It seems the entire video can in fact been viewed in three dimensions using Anaglyphic 3D glasses like the ones worn by the band. Due to the red (left eye) & blue (right eye) edges that define a stereoscopic image. However the effect is subtle and best appreciated with a high resolution version.

The main plot line of the music video features Coldplay as astronauts landing on an alien planet, where they re-activate a dormant robot. The robot in the video bears a strong physical resemblance to the original Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy television series. Along the line of televison series, at the very end of the video, there is whistling that resembles The Clangers. A previous Coldplay track, "Don't Panic" also referenced the series with its title. At one point of the clip, subtitles present the lyrics of the song spelt backwards just like in the video for "No Surprises" by Radiohead.



http://youtube.com/watch?v=_N9rH2x5KUw

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Will Champion
"It started off with a Kraftwerk sample [it nicks the riff from the German technocrats' Computer Love]. Chris wrote a letter to Ralf [Hutter, Kraftwerk kingpin] in German."

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Guy Berryman
"The record company said, 'This has to be the first single.' So we scrapped it, re-recorded it, scrapped it."

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris Martin
"I flew back to New York for a day and mixed it. Then I was able to enjoy it as a song, rather than 1012 ideas that weren't right."

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by beachyh2o @ songmeanings.net
This song is about uncertainty for sure. But it could apply to many people because it does not specify that it is about uncertainty in love, in relationships, in friendships, in your career etc . . .
For me, it totally makes sense because sometimes I "feel like a puzzle" I can't find my missing piece. LIke, for me, I've got what I want and then some . . .but ther'es something missing still. Sooooo coool that they can just put down in words thoughts I couldn't pinpoint myself. But growing up is not lame. You just need to know that life is one big roller coaster ride. As much as we may feel lost, we just need to remember that it is an adventure, and it is fun!

It's cool because Colplay answers the question about what this person should do. Climb a ladder up to the sun, do something that's never been done. They're telling us to get out there and live our lives to the fullest. There are no limits and life is what you make of it. I love it. It is so inspiring and it really helps when I feel lost.

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Oh brother I can’t, I can't get through
I've been trying hard to reach you 'cause I don't know what to do
Oh brother I can't believe it's true
I'm so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you
Oh I wanna talk to you

You can take a picture of something you see
In the future where will I be?
You can climb a ladder up to the sun
Or a write a song nobody has sung or do
Something that's never been done

Are you lost or incomplete?
Do you feel like a puzzle, you can't find your missing piece?
Tell me how do you feel?
Well I feel like they're talking in a language I don't speak
And they’re talking it to me

So you take a picture of something you see
In the future where will I be?
You can climb a ladder up to the sun
Or a write a song nobody has sung or do
Something that's never been done, do
Something that's never been done

So you don't know where you're going and you wanna talk
And you feel like you're going where you've been before
You tell anyone who'll listen but you feel ignored
Nothing's really making any sense at all, let's talk
Let's talk, let's talk, let's talk

[Ondes Martenot]

12. Warning Sign



11905 points
48 votes
highest rank from mandymcnabb (1)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplaying.com
Mid-tempo soft-shoe shuffle boosted by a charming Martin vocal. "The truth is... I miss you" guaranteed to thaw the iciest of male listeners hearts. He'd make someone a lovely husband one day - eh Gwyneth!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by lighthearted @ songmeanings.net
This is my all-time favorite Coldplay song. I think it means that he was trying to find a reason to break up with a girl for one reason or another (maybe he didnt want to get too close or something...) and as soon as she was gone, he realized how much he loved her. I can relate to this song in sooo many ways, but thats what it seemed like to me.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by souldoubt @ songmeanings.net
I think this song perfectly explains the situation so many people are in. You deny someone, you are too scared of going further, of making the first step and later you notice how important and life-changing this step or this person would have been. You become aware of your feelings for a person but it's too late already. you simply passed by an island because you were too scared to explore it. it would have been an island to discover but now that island is gone and you can never come back to it

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A warning sign
I missed the good part then I realised
I started looking and the bubble burst
I started looking for excuses

Come on in
I've got to tell you what a state I'm in
I've got to tell you in my loudest tones
That I started looking for a warning sign

When the truth is
I miss you
Yeah the truth is
That I miss you so

A warning sign
You came back to haunt me and I realised
That you were an island and I passed you by
You were an island to discover

Come on in
I've got to tell you what a state I'm in
I've got to tell you in my loudest tones
That I started looking for a warning sign

And the truth is
I miss you
Yeah the truth is
I miss you so
And I'm tired
I should not have let you go

So I crawl back into your open arms
Yes I crawl back into your open arms
And I crawl back into your open arms
Yes I crawl back into your open arms