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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thursday Night Music #13: Music We Like

"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..."

With that volley of lyrics, this week's song begins. It's rare for a song, or a group, to get the kind of unequivocal plug that this week's guest on Thursday Night Music receives.

Coldplay is one of the best selling music artists in the world, having sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and this week's song, "Viva la Vida" is the title track of the band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), which was produced by Brian Eno and earned several Grammy nominations and wins.

The amazingly good lyrics are, as always, below. This is music done well. Songwriting done well. Video production done well. In short, we love this song.

Formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London, the pair was joined within a year by bassist Guy Berryman and drummer and vocalist Will Champion.

The early material of the band was compared to acts such as Radiohead, U2, A-ha, and Travis, and they achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single "Yellow" in 2000, followed by their debut album released in the same year, Parachutes, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

The band's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), was released to favourable reviews and won multiple awards, including NME's Album of the Year, and has been widely considered the best of the Nelson-produced Coldplay albums. Their next release, X&Y, was initially met with mixed reviews upon its release in 2005.

Love it.



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
Listened 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 a-ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
Missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you'd gone there was never
Never an 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 a-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
I know St Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

Hear Jerusalem bells a-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
I know St Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

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