(, ; ) is a song by the British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), on which the band explored new styles. The lyrics contain historical and Christian references (King Louis XVI and the French Revolution, "Roman cavalry choirs", Saint Peter) and the track is built around a looping string section with a digitally processed piano, while other layers are gradually added.
The title was taken from Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's final painting in which the words "Viva la Vida" were inscribed on a watermelon. Chris Martin had seen the painting while at the Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico, and thought it was a good title for a song. The song primarily tells the story of a king who has lost his kingdom, and reflects on the social aspects of revolution. The song went through several different styles as the band struggled to settle on its composition. Eventually, a church bell sound effect was added which completed the sound they were searching for. After hearing the bell, Martin remarked: "That's it."
The track was first made available as part of the album pre-order on 7 May 2008, being released individually on 25 May 2008 as the album's second single. Debuting to critical acclaim and commercial success, "Viva la Vida" reached the top spot of the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first number-one single in both the United Kingdom and United States. It won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in 2009 and has been featured on several critic rankings and listicles. It is one of the most-streamed songs on Spotify with over 3.1 billion plays.
Two music videos were produced for the song. The official version, directed by Hype Williams, depicts the band performing against a blurry, warped version of Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People. A second, alternate video is a tribute to director Anton Corbijn's video for Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" (1990) and portrays Martin as the king from whose perspective the song is sung.
Multiple artists claimed that the band had plagiarised parts of their work to produce the song. American band Creaky Boards suggested Coldplay had taken from their song "The Songs I Didn't Write", though this was later retracted. Joe Satriani took the band to court over alleged similarities to his song "If I Could Fly" (2004), but the case was dismissed. Cat Stevens claimed the song was similar to his 1973 song "Foreigner Suite" but also said that he did not think they copied it intentionally.
Background and writing The song's Spanish title is taken from a painting by 20th-century Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. In what was her final painting, which was finalised a few days before her death, the words "Viva la Vida" are inscribed on a melon wedge at the bottom of the canvas. In Spanish, translates to "long live", so "Long Live Life" is an accurate translation for the title. The painting reflects the artistic irony of acclaiming life while suffering physically. When asked about the album's title, referring to Frida Kahlo's strength, enduring polio, a broken spine, and a decade of chronic pain, lead singer Chris Martin said: "She went through a lot of shit, of course, and then she started a big painting in her house that said 'Viva la Vida', I just loved the boldness of it."
In a 2011 interview for Sveriges Television's documentary TV series "Hitlåtens historia" (), Martin recalled: "This is how it started—we were in Mexico and we were at the Frida Kahlo museum, and she has a painting called Viva la Vida, and I thought 'Oh that's a cool title—I'd like to use that' and I have a list of titles that I like, and so it was in my head to try and write a song called Viva la Vida." Martin continued: "And then a little big of melody came to me about 2 o'clock in the morning, so I went downstairs to the piano ... and just ... then that chord sequence came out ... then it all just came out in about 10 minutes ... and then the next year was spent trying to record it ... so it was a really, crazy, fast arrival, and then a very long process to finish it."
In another interview, Martin explained he thought of the "I used to rule the world" lyric after he had taken sleeping pills: "I thought, 'God, that sounds like a big hit single to me,' and then the other half of me said, 'Yeah, you should go to bed.' And then the other half replied, 'No, no, go downstairs and work it out.' So I went down to find a guitar and I recorded it, and I'm very glad because it's an important song for us." In a 2016 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Martin explained: "That just came out in, sort of, one go ... There was probably eight other songs that I tried to call Viva la Vida that never made it ... but then the real one came through and that was the one"
Production and composition
In the 2011 Sveriges Television documentary, Martin further commented: "The song Viva la Vida perhaps more than any of our songs went through about fifty-five different styles ... it always had the "dun dun dun" thing ... it sounded very heavy rock at one point, then it went completely acoustic." Guitarist Jonny Buckland quipped: "I think I wrote probably about fifteen riffs for that song, and none of them made it." Martin then explained: "We took a long time to work out how to do it, then one day we found that sort of church bell sound in the chorus, and then we finished it. It's really weird how you can have a song that's completely finished in terms of the lyrics and the melody and everything, but you're just missing one noise." Band manager Phil Harvey said: "I remember Chris hearing it and his face lit up and it was probably the happiest I've ever seen him in the recording studio. He just said 'That's it.'"
In another interview, Martin recalled: "We did quite a few different versions and went round the houses a bit and eventually settled on those treatments for it." The soundscape of strings was arranged and performed solely by violinist and composer Davide Rossi. In an interview, Berryman noted Rossi's arrangement created a full orchestral feeling and rectified an issue of flat dynamics in the song, without the need for an entire orchestra. In a 2008 review, Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times described the strings as "Beatles-esque" and commented that the song has a "U2-style build", attributed to the producer Brian Eno's previous work with the Bono-led band. Music critic Ann Powers, also of the Los Angeles Times, commented that Eno's presence has Coldplay making their "official leap towards greatness." The song is written in the key of A major. Its main chord progression is D5–Asus4/E–A–Fm. The time signature is and the tempo is 138 beats per minute.
Lyrics and meaning Louis XVI and French Revolution The lyrics to "Viva la Vida" are narrated by a protagonist who says he "used to rule the world". One interpretation of the song is that it is a retelling of the French Revolution and spoken from the perspective of King Louis XVI before he is executed by guillotine. The former ruler gave one final speech before his execution on 21 January 1793 at 10:22 am:
The second verse may also be referring to Louis XVI's rise to power after the death of his grandfather Louis XV with the line: "Now the old king is dead, long live the king", which is almost identical to the traditional proclamation.
The parallel to Louis XVI is also reinforced by the lines "And revolutionaries wait / For my head on a silver plate" in the third verse.
When asked about the song, bassist Guy Berryman said: "It's a story about a king who's lost his kingdom, and all the album's artwork is based on the idea of revolutionaries and guerrillas. There's this slightly anti-authoritarian viewpoint that's crept into some of the lyrics and it's some of the pay-off between being surrounded by governments on one side, but also we're human beings with emotions and we're all going to die and the stupidity of what we have to put up with every day. Hence the album title."
In the 2011 Sveriges Television documentary, Martin said "I always had an image of a king in his castle when everyone's banging down the door, feeling like 'OK, maybe I should change the way I do things' so there is an element of being able to change the world but only if you change the way you do things. So it's like someone who's made a lot of mistakes but feels optimistic that they can change it again." Half-jokingly, he added: "But really it's just a love song, because maybe it's a metaphorical about being in a relationship and making a mistake and trying to fix it. Could be. I don't know. Well I do know. Or do I?"
Religious imagery The song also heavily features historical and religious imagery in its lyrics – "pillars of salt and pillars of sand", "Jerusalem bells a-ringing", "Roman cavalry choirs", "missionaries", and "Saint Peter". "Pillars of salt" is a reference to Lot's wife who was turned into one when she looked back at Sodom during its destruction by God, while "pillars of sand" is a reference to Matthew 7:24-27 – the parable Jesus tells about the man who built his house on sand.
The lines "And revolutionaries wait / For my head on a silver plate" may also be a reference to John the Baptist, whose head was requested on a silver platter by Herod's stepdaughter Salome.
Religious imagery was also contained in the line "For some reason, I can't explain / I know Saint Peter won't call my name", which Martin himself explained in an interview with Q magazine: "It's about ... You're not on the list" to enter the pearly gates.
Release and promotion "Viva la Vida" was first made available on the iTunes Store on 7 May 2008. The song was part of the pre-order marketing for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, which also included exclusive acoustic versions for "Lost!" and "Lovers in Japan". On 25 May 2008, Coldplay released it for individual purchase globally. However, since the track was already being given away as a free download to those who had pre-ordered the album, it remained ineligible for the UK Singles Chart until 12 June 2008. Parlophone originally requested the band to not release "Viva la Vida", arguing it "did not sound like Coldplay", but drummer Will Champion insisted on the release.
It became the best-selling song of 2008 on iTunes and was used as part of Apple's iPod + iTunes advertisement campaign. Coldplay first performed "Viva la Vida" live at the MTV Movie Awards.
Music videos
The official music video for "Viva la Vida" was directed by Hype Williams and premiered at Coldplay's official website on 1 August 2008, and was later released on 4 August 2008 on YouTube. The video depicts the band performing against a blurry, warped version of Eugène Delacroix's painting Liberty Leading the People, ending with the band members crumbling into rose petals.
A second, alternate video was shot in The Hague, the Netherlands, directed by Anton Corbijn and released alongside the first. This version is a tribute to Corbijn's video for Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" and portrays Chris Martin as the king from whose perspective the song is sung. During the video, he carries Delacroix's painting under his arm, while Dave Gahan carries a deck chair under his arm in the "Enjoy the Silence" video. Both are dressed in robes and wearing a crown.
Critical reception
Reviews