Coldplay – Major Minus

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  Song Meaning:I think it is about trusting nobody. He has one eye on the road (where they are going) and one on her (making sure she isn't bad). "Its us against the world" (referencing the song) means they are alone, and they need to trust each other to survive. He wants to, but its hard. The crocodile ticking around the world is a reference to Peter Pan. It is talking about the crocodile that ate the clock. Every time Hook here's that clock, he is terrified. It is probably referencing something that they are terrified about (presumably what they are running from).
  
  "You could hear them climbing the stairs
  I got my right side fighting while
  My left hides under the chairs"
  
  You can hear them coming after you,
  his right side is what he shows, the brave side that wants to fight.
  His left is the other half that he hides. He is hiding that he is really scared. He wants to hide, but he knows it isn't an option, that he needs to protect her.
  
  Anyways, it is a great song, one of my favorite off their album.

  Flag slasher123on July 17, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:This song draws back strongly to the dystopian nature of the album. It talks about how the government in the dystopia watches its citizens' every move so they have to "be careful who [they're] talking to" and "what [they're] trying to do.

  Flag ilikecheese8888on March 29, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:When the "crocodiles ticking" part of the song happens, there's a ticking or almost clicking from I believe drumsticks. I'm thinking maybe "crocodiles ticking" is more like many crocodiles snapping their jaws in an almost ticking sort of manner. And the crocodiles snapping their jaws are probably just a metaphor for those people are that are out to get the singer and the person he's with.

  Flag MattNOYBon February 29, 2012   Link

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    Like papersun said, I think it is about Peter Pan and the aligator who swallowed the clock. It is something that she is worried about, something in her past that she hopes never comes back.

    Flag slasher123on July 17, 2012  
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  General Comment:When I hear "crocodiles ticking," I can think of nothing other than Peter Pan.

  Flag papersunon February 05, 2012   Link

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    I was just listening to this song and I heard those lyrics (before coming here) and it makes sense. I think that is what they meant by that.

    Flag slasher123on July 17, 2012  
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  General Comment:I think of the hacking by newspapers.
  
  And this Leveson Inquiry going on in 2011.

  Flag admeanson November 22, 2011   Link

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  My Interpretation:I think this song is about resisting conformity and peer pressure. The narrator is probably sarcastic when he warns the audience to "be careful what it is you're trying to do."

  Flag bowenngon November 14, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:This was released as the B-side of Coldplay's "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" single. The song was inspired by Cormac McCarthy's book The Road. Martin described the cut to Billboard magazine as, "a sort of villainous, dark piece," adding "It's the idea of two people running away from a Kafka environment, or an Orwellian thing."

  Flag FloridaGuyon October 10, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Its about the White Rose movement in Nazi Germany. Look it up, it was said by Chris himself.

  Flag Hero of the Dayon September 14, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:
  
  I love how this songs sounds. Martin's voice seems to kind of drown in the music, as if he's standing right in the middle of it and singing out. The sounds swell around his voice and sort of echo. Love it.
  
  I’m probably wrong about this, but this is what came to my mind while listening to this. As for the lyrics, now that I read through them, it seems the person in this song is being watched by some powerful source - "they/them". It could be some governmental power/higher power/etc. ("They got one eye watching you/One eye on what you do") The person, however, acknowledges this and wants to fight back against whatever is watching him. ("So be careful what it is you're trying to do/And be careful when you're walking into view")We can assume that whatever it is watching him isn't pleasant. ("So be careful cause nothing they say is true.")He's very against whatever "they" are and tries to convince others to rise up against whatever "they" is.(“No, no don't believe a word/It's just us against the world/And we just got to turn up to be heard.") In the end, "they" come for him ("You could hear them climbing the stairs") and while he wants to fight back, he's still afraid of what "they" will do/are capable of. ("I Got my right side fighting/While my left hides under the chairs.")
  
  The lyric with the crocodiles (“Hear the crocodiles ticking round the world/Hear those crocodiles ticking, they go ticking round the world.”) reminds me of Peter Pan, for some reason. Captain Hook is deathly afraid of the crocodile that swallowed the alarm clock. The way I see it, the crocodiles could either be the things that comes for the man at the end of the song that he ends up fighting. Or they could be the small voices of rebellion that arise in the world due to the man’s efforts. (“they go ticking round the world”)
  
  Overall, this songs reminds me of those dystopian novels- like 1984. A big, all powerful government watching its citizens and everything they do. It’s a creepy thought, but it doesn’t make me love this song any less.
  

  Flag Nanningtonon September 04, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Big Brother is Watching You. -1984

  Flag dimserranoon August 26, 2011   Link

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