Coldplay – The Scientist

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  My Interpretation:yeah this song have a somewaht complex but very simple meaning..
  as for me,
  i retired from living a double life .. I decided to start a relationship with a girl a fell in love with years ago ...
  after years of rollercoaster crazy ride of both amazing love and tragedy I did not realize I was losing her and I knew then that I took her for love for granted..
  The line was so painful ... like an electric flow of painful blood flow from the air to the heart and brain... " Im going back to the start "

  Flag entonon May 17, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:yeah this song have a somewaht complex but very simple meaning..
  as for me,
  i retired from living a double life .. I decided to start a relationship with a girl a fell in love with years ago ...
  after years of rollercoaster crazy ride of both amazing love and tragedy I did not realize I was losing her and I knew then that I took her for love for granted..
  The line was so painful ... like an electric flow of painful blood flow from the air to the heart and brain... " Im going back to the start "

  Flag entonon May 17, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:hmmm...I don't think this song is about a relationship between two people at all. It seems to me that it is about a person's relationship with God, higher power....the antithesis of science. Asking for forgiveness, looking for answers, seeking acceptance, etc.

  Flagged thedestinon April 30, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:Was going to write a long paragraph about the ins-and-outs of this song but it doesn't need it: it's just about looking back on a relationship you screwed up with somebody who meant so much to you, and wishing there was just some way you could go back and do everything again, the right way this time. It's the pure simplicity of everything that makes this song so beautiful, honest and relatable.

  Flagged TheTheon April 28, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:I think its about a longing for someone and you both feel it. But circumstances are having to make you part. Its very hard letting go of each other. He lets her go when he should of tried to make it work. He regrets it when all he wants to do is go back to the start but its might be a little too late for that.

  Flagged LambtonQon April 20, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:I dont think this song is about new love, its about old love. Maybe things aren't going that well and just remembering how good it was at the start is the whole point, makes me cry, Its like "can we go back there" and in the end he does

  Flagged Delaneon April 13, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:Am I the only one who thinks of Reed Richards when I hear this?

  Flagged Bookon March 14, 2013   Link

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• +2
  My Interpretation:This song is so beautifully written. Being in this situation at the moment, it's very easy to interpret, from my perspective.
  
  I'd like to start my interpretation by stating that the "Scientist" in this song is a metaphor. I'll explain why I think so later.
  
  Come up to meet you
  Tell you I'm sorry
  You don't know how lovely you are
  I had to find you
  Tell you I need you
  Tell you I set you apart
  (This is pretty straightforward. The guy is going to the girl and apologizing for his actions, trying to make up for not speaking with her. He had to find her because it was killing him inside, and "haunting" him. He hopes that by saying these words, she'll finally understand how much he loves her.)
  
  Tell me your secrets
  And ask me your questions
  Oh let's go back to the start
  (He wants her to tell him her deepest thoughts. He wants to hear that she still loves him. He wants her to ask him questions about what's been going on so he can explain to her. He realizes that if she asks questions, it means she still cares and still wants to save the relationship. He wants to go back to the way things were and hopes that by explaining everything to her, it will clear up any misunderstanding that may have occurred during their time apart.)
  
  Running in circles; coming up tails
  Heads on a silence apart
  (He doesn't know where to start which is why he wants her to ask the questions. He keeps "running in circles", trying to figure out what to say to her. He flips a coin which decides their fate. Heads means he will continue to wait for her to talk to him, but he hasn't heard from her which explains the "silence apart". Tails means he has to be the one to talk to her and make things right with them. Fate has decided that it is up to him to fix their relationship, which is why the coin keeps "coming up tails".)
  
  Nobody said it was easy
  It's such a shame for us to part
  Nobody said it was easy
  No one ever said it would be this hard
  Oh take me back to the start
  (He clearly doesn't want the relationship to end. He regrets not telling her and is feeling the pain it brings every day. The fact that the lyrics say "nobody", means he has talked to numerous people for advice but they always told him the same thing. They kept telling him that it wouldn't be easy but it's for the best and so he listened to them. They also told him that he'd get over her in time, but clearly he has not and he again, he wants to "go back to the start" when everything was perfect with the couple.)
  
  I was just guessing at numbers and figures
  Pulling your puzzles apart
  Questions of science; science and progress
  Do not speak as loud as my heart
  (This is where the metaphor of the scientist comes into play. He was trying to figure out how to make the relationship work, using logic and reasoning. Again this line suggests he asked others for advice, but they told him it would not work. There are an endless list of possibilities as to why the relationship wouldn't work. He has been trying to find the one reason as to why the relationship would work out, and realizes that it's his love for her that would make the relationship work. He realizes that no one else can see why he feels this way about her. No one else can tell him why it would work because they don't understand the relationship. They just see two completely different people, trying to make a what seems impossible relationship work. They can't understand that love for someone defies all logic and reasoning.)
  
  Tell me you love me
  Come back and haunt me
  (Again, he wants to hear that she still loves him. He wants her to come back to him and "haunt" him. This suggests that they did not tell each other how they actually felt, and it has been on his mind since he started to fall for her. He has been analyzing her every move, trying to figure out how she feels, and in the process he fell for her even more. She has been "haunting" his thoughts.)
  
  Tell me you love me
  Come back and haunt me
  Oh and I rush to the start
  Running in circles, chasing our tails
  Coming back as we are
  (All of this was explained above, except for "coming back as we are." This suggests that he has finally decided to talk to her. He tried to rush things at first "and I rush to the start", but realizes this is difficult because of all the pain that he put her through. However, after he explains his actions and answers her questions, they are slowly working things out and slowly going back to the way things were.)
  
  Nobody said it was easy
  Oh it's such a shame for us to part
  Nobody said it was easy
  No one ever said it would be so hard
  I'm going back to the start
  (He realizes that it isn't going to be easy to mend their relationship, but his love for her is more important than what other people think. He realizes that what other people think doesn't matter. It isn't their relationship, it's his. He knows that it's up to him to fix it, as decided by the "coin", another metaphor for fate. He learns that to "go back to the start", he needs to explain everything to her. He is willing to do anything it takes to fix their relationship, and is ready for the hard times because once the hard times pass, he realizes that it will be the perfect relationship, and that the hard times are worth for what is to come.)
  
  Another brilliantly written song by Coldplay! :)

  Flagged katie72093on March 08, 2013   Link

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    This is such a beautifully expressed interpretation <3

    Flag evfreak13on April 15, 2013  
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  Memory:"Nobody said it was easy, it's such a shame for us to part"
  Long distance relationship mess up.
  "He" messed up and he's sorry and he just wishes for a second chance with "her".
  Or maybe his lover died.
  This song makes me cry because it's how I feel about my ex

  Flagged littlebowhon February 18, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:nah i think its about a a guy wishing he could bring back his dead lover and or wondering if there is a heave ntrying to figure out if he will see her again

  Flagged carnesauron January 18, 2013   Link

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    That's how I feel. I just lost my boyfriend whom I love more than anything on March 12th, 2013. I relate to it in that way.

    Flag Kamles6812on March 25, 2013  

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