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Points| Coldplay – Viva la Vida Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| Oh and the artwork for the album suits the time period. From the French Revolution came the fall of the Directory and the rise of Napoleon and his rule. | |
| Coldplay – Viva la Vida Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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After a lot of thinking and review I strongly believe that the song refers to the fall of the HRE and Catholic control in Europe. During the Napoleonic Age, Napoleon (France) officially disbanded the HRE and with that the end of the Pope's control. This can be seen in lines such as : "Listen as the crowd would sing "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!". The old king is no doubt the Church and the Pope and the death of their power. But the new King can be seen as Napoleon, secular rule, individualistic rule. etc. The chorus describes the Church almost perfectly. "I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field" Missionaries, Jerusalem, Roman Calvary are all linked together in the rule of the Catholic Church. The song also describes the thoughts on the Church during that time period. "Once you go there was never Never an honest word And that was when I ruled the world" This describes the initial feeling towards the church; honesty, truth and how without the church surely these virtues would be lost... However later in the song the theme switches, as does the view in history.. "Never an honest word But 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" Towards the end of Church rule, people lost faith in the doctrine and integrity of the Church (Protestant Reformation and the Treaty of Westiphalia and Treaty of Augsburg) Clearly other lines of the song support the era and topic of the fall of the HRE and Catholic rule. |
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