coldplay - viva la vida (slowed + reverb)

for inquiries:

[Em-tybj]

'slowed and reverb' is literally the nightcore of this generation

[Mirroredsmoke]

This is one of those songs you wish you could hear again for the first time, just hearing from 3:27 onwards fills me with so much emotion and nostalgia that not many other songs have

[oneaboveall]

This song makes me so nostalgic you wouldn’t even understand 😭

[speaaaweaaa]

I’m literally crying. This song brings me so much happiness and nostalgia that you don’t understand. It brings me back to a time i was actually happy.

[minerva]

Old coldplay songs are a nostalgic vibe. I can never get enough

[zaccds]

The French Revolution is a lot more chill than I remember.

[mechanicalfruit]

Viva La vida but your a medieval king hiding in your castle while a mob riots outside.

EDIT: You hide, locked up tight in your royal chambers with your family and other servants. Meanwhile the last of your defenders fall one by one as they are torn to shreds by the angry and hungry pale mob. One of your loyal soldiers run into the royal chambers, bloody and a mess. "Sire they broken into the inner section of the castle! We will do our best to give you enough time to escape! But you need to move now!" The remnants of the loyalist band together one last time, gathering infront of the royal chambers for one last

[benshaw]

This is part of a music project I did analysing the music elements of this sonf, for anyone interested.
From a musical perspective, the beginning of the song is pretty unique, with a very distinctive rhythmic pattern played on what sounds like a cello or an instrument similar in tone to a cello. It is very staccato and carries a gentle melody as well as its primary rhythmic function. The staccato adds an element of fleetingness and urgency to the song, certainly apt considering the nature of the song.
 
Another thing that I find interesting is that the only percussive element used consistently throughout the whole song is the kick drum, which is quite important in maintaining a solid, rhythmic thump throughout the piece to ground all the other elements. It is fascinating, however, that there is no snare drum or hi-hat like in standard Coldplay songs and Pop songs in general. There is, however, a big heavy bell noise like a cow bell (in the music video it is like a bell the size of a dog being struck. But that probably isn’t realistic), and a symbol at the start of the chorus to (literally) set it off with a bang. This kick drum starts at the first verse and continues throughout the rest of the song, stopping only at the minimalist outro. So quite an important element, and I think the reason it is used as such is because a) it helps maintain rhythmic integrity and stability, b) it is a noise made by traditional instruments, consist with the song’s time era and themes, and c) unlike snare drums and hi-hats, it is quite a low noise and can resemble a heartbeat in its thumping nature, suggesting the protagonist’s quick beating heart as he is being led to his uncertain eternal future. It’s low pitch also helps keep other elements in the starlight and doesn’t confuse or drown out other instruments whilst maintaining the timing.
 
After the first verse there is an instrumental, where the kick drums, and cello continue through, as well as a really weird instrument that sounds like it is woodwind and a violin simultaneously. The instrumental is eight bars long, and I think the melody might be played by a different instrument for the second half than in the first half. The instrument in the first half, which I suspect is a recorder, has a blowy, sharp tone and passive qualities, whereas in the second half, which I think is played by a violin, it is more wailing and belligerent. Dynamics are used here to tie the two noises together, so it sounds like they are the same instrument, both instruments gradually getting louder so the loud recorder meets the quite violin at the start of the fifth bar and they sound surprisingly similar (but not similar enough to fool me). Now more importantly, why is this? I think to change the tine and feeling of the song which was previously urgent due to the staccato cello and the heart-thumping kick drum, to a more saddened, depressing, wail-like timbre, which is appropriate for the song once the idea of the monarch’s collapse has already been established. The wailing noise of the violin also continues into the second verse and chorus, sustaining the eerie timbre initiated in the instrumental.
 
The chorus is really not that dissimilar from the from the previous verses: there is the kick drum, violin(s)in the background, and some extra percussive elements such as the symbol and the cowbell type thing. Since the song is so interesting, the chorus doesn’t need anything to set it apart, unlike in “Fix You”or “Paradise”. A reason for this is I think the lyrics are pretty obscure and unrelatable. Like I can totally relate to the themes explored in the other songs because theory is fundamentally about human nature and anthropological interactions, whereas this song is about the French revolution, an event that few people are well versed in and even fewer people can relate too. Therefore, the lyrics don’t have as such a significant effect in the audience in this song and there needs to be musical complexity to make up for the lyrical deficiencies. 
 
After this chorus, there is the wackiest instrumental section in the history of Coldplay songs (this is my opinion but jeez it is pretty unorthodox). Like I can’t even place the instruments in it. It sounds like bells definitely, and some whistles with some extreme reverb to create a distinctive echo effect, and some extremely high, jarring noises. Maybe there are like wind chimes as well? Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those noises in that cacophony is wind charms, as the next line in the third verse directly after the instrumental is “it was the wicked and wild wind”. Wind chimes. “wind”. I really am pulling at straws here. But the instrumental is inarguably incongruous and jarring, which I think prompts ideas about the rapid decline from power the French monarchy (and King Lois XVI) faced during the French revolution, and the “jarring”,  “incongruous”experience it was for the nobility, as well as French citizens who were faced with having terrifying and immediate choices to support the revolution and risk the French military’s wrath (remember, they had the most potent military in the world at the time), or resigning themselves to aeons more of hard work and unjustifiably large taxes. 
 
In the third verse, there is a slight change in that the iconic rhythm is played by an instrument that is not a cello - possibly a viola. This change helps to elevate the atmosphere to a slightly more muddled place by introducing a new sound in the same (or an adjacent –it’s pretty close but can’t tell exactly) octave as the vocals. There is also like a violin introduced as well to for similar reasons in the first verse. Another key difference is there is what sounds like a harpsichord (I know, what on earth right?). It is quite similar to piano but lacks the tonal depth and sounds slightly more “plucked”than “struck”. This is not very obvious and I’m not sure as to why it was included but I think helps contrast the other elements, mainly the violins with their tragically beautiful quality. 
 
There is a theme arising with most of the instrument noises used: they aren’t electronic. Usually, Coldplay will have an electric guitar, or some synthesisers, amongst more standard instruments. This song doesn’t, instead using violins, recorders, cellos, traditional percussion (bells kick drum symbol), and a harpsichord?! I mean, this could just be a coincidence, but seeing as the song clearly has historical implications and is likely about the French revolution, it seems deliberate. The classical nature of the instruments clearly nods to that era in time where instrumentation and music was advancing with the rise of several deific composers, the consequent sound being simultaneously developed and natural. The use of several old instruments that have been in use during and since that era (and before but in many cases the instruments only gained popularity in that period. I don’t really know the detail, I’m not a music historian. But you get (hopefully) where I am coming from) helps to root the song’s meaning back to that epoch, hinting at the song’s true value and significance.

[HopeK]

My paps been gone for 3 years now. It’s 1:20 in the morning I finished my studies from college about 2 hours ago. Here I am tossing and turning missing him everyday. This song came on and it really got me thinking. My time is really short, I hold the key to my world. Life is precious, and time is limited.

[KINGOFDARKNESS]

Takes me to another world. Especially that the song itself brings old nostalgia

[SHATHECROW]

this is the best slowed reverb song i ever heard.

[terrellpablo]

I don't know man, sometimes I wonder why I'm even alive

[staatsmongool]

He is Risen. Happy Easter, God bless. 🙏

[dumbmitchy]

this gives me like the vibe to have deep conversations with myself

[krisplazsm]

Picture this: A king is growing older. He starts to reminisce about the days that he ruled his land. He takes off his crown. His vision blurs as what he's about to do fades. When he reopens his eyes his he sees his fair daughter slowly walking down the aisle of his throne room. As she goes, his memory comes back to the days he commanded armies of thousands of men, and he thinks of what his daughter will endure. He know's shes ready.

[daysigarcia]

minecraft players : crying in the corner

[arnaugarzaran]

I listened to this while visiting Rome and its ruins. What a magical moment.

[Takahashi-shinichi]

This song represent the indomitable human spirit 🪖

[naomib]

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

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 go there was never, never a honest word
And that was when I ruled the world

It was a 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 want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary 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

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary 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

[depressedspaghettinoodle]

This reminds me of being a kid. Happy. Carefree. Innocent. Blissful. Hearing this makes me cry, it’s painful to think me being happy is just a small memory. Makes me think about me thinking I could be anything, do anything, go anywhere. Now I feel like wanting to curl up in a ball every second of every day.