Week 2: Analyzing "The Scientist"

This week on my blog, I will be analyzing one of my favourite songs "The Scientist" by Coldplay.

                                                            "The Scientist"

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
Tell you I'll set you apart

Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles, coming in tails
Heads on a science apart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh, take me back to the start.

I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science, science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing our tails
Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard

                                                     I'm going back to the start

                                           (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/coldplay/thescientist.html)

The form of the lyrics of this song seem to follow a meter of 10,7,10,7 (In the first, second and fifth stanzas) with the exception of the first line in the second stanza which contains 8 syllables. Where as the chorus or "refrain" has a less uniform meter of 8,8,8,10,7. The stanzas are set up in a very uniform manner, consisting of four lines each, excluding the chorus which includes an extra line.

As for who is being addressed in the song, It is made pretty obvious right away that the speaker,which could easily be Chris Martin himself or simply anybody who is exhibiting similar hardship, is addressing a significant other. This is made apparent by the constant use of the word "you" in the first stanza. The tone that is projected to me in this song is apologetic and regretful. These tones come to light in conjunction with the slow melody of the song and my gathering of the sense that the speaker seems to regret and have guilt towards past decisions that lead to the conclusion of a relationship. Selections from the song which prove the tone include "Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry" This line is fairly self explanatory, the speaker is blunt in their purpose of gaining a resolution. Another example would be "I was just guessing at numbers and figures Pulling your puzzles apart" I believe this to be a metaphor by way of analyzing the relationship to find the root of the problem, the speaker is desperate to figure out where they went astray (comparing it to being a science) in condition to restore how things were in the past. Along with this metaphorical references to science, this song contains a number of different poetic devices, including "Do not speak as loud as my heart" being an example of personification. Repetition is also used to created emphasis, as I said earlier, the word "you" is repeated for the purpose of getting the point across that the song is directed to a particular individual.  

For me, I can listen to this song many times over and never get tired of it. Though I cannot personally relate to the content, I am still able to have an appreciation of the art work. As I previously mentioned, I believe the content of the song to be describing a terminated relationship leaving the speaker of the song distraught and wanting to return to "the start" of this relationship. After watching the music video for the song, it opened my eyes to the other possibilities of how the relationship being described could have ended other than a break up, such as death, which is what is documented in the video. No matter the reason, the speaker is desperate mend the situation and revert to the beginning of the relationship. This song has been covered by many people ranging from Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus and the cast of "Glee". Within these covers, the message seems to remain the same, all following the same mellow tune and exhibiting the same tone.