Lyrics
Viva la vida
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 enemies 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
I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world
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 (Ooooh)
Ah, who would ever want to be king?
I hear Jerusalem bells a 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 will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh
(repeat with chorus)
I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Oooooooh Oooooooh Oooooooh
Curiosities
Frontman Chris Martin told Rolling Stone that he christened this song and the album “Viva la Vida” – meaning “long live life” or more literally, “the life lives” – after he saw the phrase on a painting by Mexican artists Frida Kahlo. He explained: “She went through a lot of s–t, of course, and then she started a big painting in her house that said ‘Viva la Vida.’ I just loved the boldness of it.”
The movie Frida, starring Salma Hayek, is about her life. You can see the painting that inspired the title in Song Images.
The painting which inspired the song is this one:
http://www.artisjoy.com/images/frida3p.jpg
Bassist Guy Berryman explained to Q magazine July 2008 about this song that features lyrics about cavalries, missionaries and kings: “It’s a story about a king who’s lost his kingdom, and all the album’s artwork is based on the idea of revolutionaries and guerrillas. There’s this slightly anti-authoritarian viewpoint that’s crept into some of the lyrics and it’s some of the payoff between being surrounded by governments on one side, but also we’re human beings with emotions and we’re all going to die and the stupidity of what we have to put up with every day. Hence the album title.” Q magazine asked Chris Martin about the lyric on this song “I know Saint Peter won’t call my name.” The Coldplay lead singer replied: “It’s about… You’re not on the list. I was a naughty boy. It’s always fascinated me that idea of finishing your life and then being analyzed on it. And it’s that runs through most religions. That’s why people blow up buildings. Because they think they’re going to get lots of virgins. I always feel like saying, Just join a band (cackles head off). That is the most frightening thing you could possibly say to somebody. Eternal damnation. I know about this stuff because I studied it. I was into it all. I know it. It’s still mildly terrifying to me. And this is serious.”
Drummer Will Champion told Q magazine February 2008 that many of the tracks on the album share a theme of “trying to remember what’s important in your life, rather than being carried away by the trappings of other things.”
Chris Martin spoke to MTV News about this song: “I think everything we’re trying to do at the moment is about not starting again so much as breaking down what we’ve built up before and trying to build something different and hopefully better, or worse in a good way. And this song is one of our favorites, because none of us are doing anything on it that we’ve ever done before. But we really enjoy playing it. The longer you go on as a band, the harder it is to surprise yourself.”
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