Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Once upon a time somebody ran
Somebody ran away saying, "Fast as they can"
I got to go
I got to go

Once upon a time we fell apart
You're holding in your hands
The two halves of my heart
Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Once upon a time we're burning bright
That all we ever seemed to do is fight
On and on
And on and on and on

Once upon a time on the same side
Once upon a time on the same side
In the same game, now why'd you have to go
Have to go and throw it all in my flame

Could've been a princess, you'd be a king
Could have had a castle and worn a ring
But no, you let me go

I could've been a princess, you'd be a king
Could have had a castle and worn a ring,
But no, you let me go

Stole my star
La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
You stole my star
La-la-la-la-la-la

Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

'Cause you really hurt me
Oh, you really hurt me
'Cause you really hurt me
Oh, you really hurt me
'Cause you really hurt me
Oh-oh, you really hurt me
'Cause you really hurt me
Oh-oh, you really hurt me


Lyrics submitted by jenr2011, edited by Paymaan, MattNOYB

Princess of China Lyrics as written by Guy Rupert Berryman Christopher Anthony John Martin

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Princess of China song meanings
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38 Comments

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  • +13
    General Comment

    I honestly love it when bands go in different directions. Music in itself is like one big experiment, and you don't get anywhere without trying new things. We can't all be perfect all the time, so all those people bashing this song and the suckiness of this new album, shut the fuck up. You're ruining it for everyone.

    Is Mylo Xyloto Coldplay's best album? No. But it's an experiment. It's Coldplay trying something new, because if they stuck to that same stuff on Viva La Vida or X & Y, everyone would be tired and bored with the same things. That's what I love about Coldplay: their versatility when it comes to music. Viva La Vida sounded like a soundtrack to far off lands in a time long ago, and Mylo Xyloto is a peek into a future unknown. Change, whether you like it or not, isn't going to stop. Coldplay's next album will be, of course, different from this one. Don't bet on them staying the same, because they won't.

    tl;dr: haters gonna hate, but take the hate elsewhere because you're ruining the music.

    Nanningtonon December 04, 2011   Link
  • +7
    Song Meaning

    I think this song is about a break up.

    "Once upon a time somebody ran Somebody ran away saying fast as they can About to go, I got to go"

    The girl 'said' that as she left him or she is leaving him.

    "Once upon a time, we fell apart You're holding in your hands the two halves of my heart"

    He talks about how they broke up, and how she broke his heart.

    "Once upon a time, we were burning bright"

    She talks about how they once loved each other very much and had that 'spark' in their relationship.

    "Now we all ever seem to do is fight On and on, and on and on and on"

    And now all they do is fight.

    "Once upon a time, on the same side Once upon a time, on the same side In the same game"

    How they used to get along well and used to agree.

    "And why'd you have to go? Have to go and throw out all of my things"

    In this part, the girl feels like HE left her. Whereas in the beginning of the song he feels like SHE left him.

    "I could've been the princess, you'd be a king I could have had a castle, and worn a ring But no You let me go I could've been the princess, you'd be a king I could have had a castle, and worn a ring But no You let me go"

    She talks about what they could have been and how happy they could have been if the relationship had continued, but no it had to end.

    "Cause she really hurt me No, you really hurt me, Cause she really hurt me No, you really hurt me, Cause she really hurt me, oh You really hurt me, oh Cause she really hurt me, oh You really hurt me"

    How much the break up hurt both of them.

    Nicole401on October 24, 2011   Link
  • +4
    Lyric Correction

    Oh, oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh

    Once upon a time somebody ran Somebody ran away saying fast as they can About to go, I got to go Once upon a time, we fell apart You're holding in your hands the two halves of my heart Oh whoa, oh whoa

    Whoa, oh oh oh, oh oh oh Once upon a time, we were burning bright Now we all ever seem to do is fight On and on, and on and on and on

    Once upon a time, on the same side Once upon a time, on the same side In the same game

    And why'd you have to go? Have to go and throw out all of my things

    I could've been the princess, you'd be a king I could have had a castle, and worn a ring But no You let me go I could've been the princess, you'd be a king I could have had a castle, and worn a ring But no You let me go

    You stole my star La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la You stole my star La la la la la la

    Oh whoa, oh whoa

    Cause she really hurt me No, you really hurt me, Cause she really hurt me No, you really hurt me, Cause she really hurt me, oh You really hurt me, oh Cause she really hurt me, oh You really hurt me

    joshtuckeron October 23, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I wish there were more lyrics, but this song is great. Stop QQing and get over it.

    ThoR294on October 27, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I love Coldplay and i think this song is awesome. I've had it on repeat for about 5 days now and it gets better every time i hear it. I think it's always important to find your own meaning of a song, instead of constantly picking holes in what something's not. You don't like it, don't comment. This new sound of theirs is like a whole new dimension and i think it's important that we see this side, like with many other artists too that are so capable of being versatile. If you release all albums sounding the same you're gonna get boring. Take Muse for one. Every album has been different. And Lady Gaga. Born This Way and The Fame are like day and night. But you know what? It's working, no matter how many people hated it. I was one of those that hated it but i've now grown to love them. But anyway, it doesn't matter how many synths Coldplay use or guitars they don't, the fact of the matter is, it's music. And that's what should be important.

    DonaldDuck93on November 05, 2011   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning

    Well this song is about breaking up. He left her because he was afraid (which isn't reasonable) and she's trying so hard to act fine with it (you can see the way she's singing these parts you stole my heart and You really hurt me)

    oushooon November 09, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The princess in the title really is a reference to how one regards anyone they love so much, and value so highly.

    More interestingly is the word 'china' which I think is being used ambiguously and refers to the way in which china dolls and china plates, etc. are so fragile, so easily damaged

    nononononononoon July 18, 2013   Link
  • +2
    My Opinion

    To be honest guys, you need to understand that music changes, artists change, everything develops, and so if Coldplay want to change their sound just for ONE SONG then that's fine. You can't expect ALL their music to be the same, because it would be absolutely boring.

    Secondly, you can't expect their lyrics to always be deep and meaningful. Sometimes it's good to have a song that doesn't need to be pulled apart, dissected and over-studied. That’s not the point of music; it’s meant to be listened to and enjoyed.

    I personally dislike Rihanna. In fact, I’m not too keen on Coldplay either. But there’s just something catchy about this song. I’m not sure if it’s the synth sounds or the fact that their voices actually work quite well together, but I think this song is good.

    So I can understand why some of you may form a negative judgement of this song, but I can honestly say that you need to refrain from getting so worked up about it. It’s just a song.

    EmilySophieRoseon June 18, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I am really pissed how most of the Mylo Xyloto songs on songmeanings.net are either wrong or incomplete, just because somebody wanted to be the first to upload. If you ever listened to this song you would know that these lyrics are incomplete.

    joshtuckeron October 23, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Okay, it really, completely breaks my heart to say this, but hearing this song on the new Coldplay album was a tremendous disappointment to me... And before anyone jumps to my throat, let me add that I am avid Coldplay fan. Why, even my name says so! I've been a fan of Coldplay since the very beginning, 'Parachutes' helped me through a phase of utter depression, 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' was going on in my CD player for months without ever taking it out, 'X&Y' brought about an interestingly fresh feeling that was something else but I loved it, and there was 'Viva La Vida', which was really different from anything before, but in the best way; it showed how far these guys had come and it absolutely blew my mind. I'm all for progress, but now here's 'Mylo Xyloto'.. And I cannot say it's a bad album, but I have a hard time calling it good... It has some songs that I really love and I can recognize my lovely Coldplay in them, but when I heard this one... I'm sorry, but I couldn't believe that this was on a Coldplay album. And I seriously don't know how Rihanna comes into the picture.

    I'm really sorry for shouting out my opinion here, I know I should be talking about the lyrics, but frankly, there's not much to say about them. For me, this song is not Coldplay. I've always been a Coldplay fan and I always will be. But this song pissed me off so much, I don't know how to take it if Coldplay decides to go this way now. How could they do this? Why would they want to pretend they are a pop band instead of an alternative group with a completely unique sound - and, let me add, amazing lyrics? I completely agree with some people before me. It's breaking my heart to leave a comment like this about a Coldplay song, but this is garbage. An uncreative, uncommunicative, uninteresting piece of some kind of music. And this way, the opposite of all the Coldplay songs from the previous albums.

    violethillon October 26, 2011   Link

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