Coldplay’s “Violet Hill” Lyrics Meaning

On “Violet Hill”, Chris Martin appears to be speaking to his lover in the wake of a recruitment to be a soldier. The piece encompasses several references to the circumstances of society where rich people live comfortably while the poor struggle to survive.

The singer mentions how ‘idiots on show’, a reference to the media or more likely a right-wing medium such as Fox, controls what happens in the future by promoting biases instead of facts. He further identifies the amount of greed in the system while outlining how people who are of lower-class are often sent off to die in war, while the rich continue to wallow in their wealth.

In the chorus, Martin reveals that he doesn’t want to be a soldier, either literally or as a metaphor to signify a part of the population that struggles to survive. In the outro, it becomes clear that he is actually on a date with his partner who is speechless after hearing all of these. He repeatedly tells her to declare her love for him so he is aware before he probably dies while going to war.

Chris Martin talks about “Violet Hill”

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Chris mentioned that this song was the band’s first attempt at creating a protest song.

He further stated that the song pays tribute to the iconic British band, The Beatles. Its title “Violet Hill” is actually the name of a street in the vicinity of London’s iconic Abbey Road. And anyone who knows the Beatles, knows that “Abbey Road” is the title of a famous album the Beatles released in 1969. Said album was named after the aforementioned road in London.

Summary

This song seeks to lay bare the inequalities that exist between the rich oppressors in society and the poor unfortunate people who have to put their lives on the line while being mistreated.

Production of “Violet Hill”

• Rik Simpson
• Markus Dravs
• Jon Hopkins
• Brian Eno

Writers

Coldplay (C. Martin, W. Champion, J. Buckland and G. Berryman)

Album and Release Date of “Violet Hill”

You can find “Violet Hill” on Coldplay’s bestselling album “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” of 2008.

On 9th May, 2008 this became the first single Coldplay released from their fourth album. It was followed by their monster hit single “Viva la Vida“.

Chart Accomplishment

In the following countries, “Violet Hill” was a top-10 single:

• Venezuela
• Sweden
• Norway
• New Zealand
• Italy
• Germany
• Canada
• Australia
• Belgium
• United Kingdom

It was also a No.1 single on Billboard’s “Adult Alternative Songs” chart. On the highly coveted Hot 100 itself, it managed to peak at the 40th position.

Grammy Nominations

At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Coldplay received multiple nominations with “Violet Hill”. It lost all nominations, including one for the “Best Rocks Song”. Bruce Springsteen clinched this award with his “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” song.