Viva la Vida

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, viva translates to "long live", so "Long Live Life" is an accurate translation and 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."

"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.'"

During the album's production, "Viva la Vida" was one of the songs that had polarised each member's opinion over which version they should choose. In an 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. His arrangement created a hearty orchestral feeling and rectified an issue of flat dynamics in the song, without the need for a full 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."

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 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.

Columnist Mark Joseph commented in 2008 that the line "For some reason, I can't explain / I know Saint Peter won't call my name" sounded like a direct, melodic attack on the Catholic Church, while Martin himself explained the lyric 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. It has since gone on to make many media appearances, including being featured throughout the episode "A Person of Interest" from the paranormal drama Medium, as a song played on the radio in the episode "We're Not in Kansas Anymore" from the teen drama 90210, and on the international soundtrack to the Brazilian soap opera A Favorita which helped push the track up the charts in Brazil, where the telenovela had been shown.{{cite web | access-date =12 January 2010 | archive-date =17 April 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230417044134/https://www.somlivre.com/?1430/produto/CD/A-favorita-Internacional/Varios---A-Favorita | url-status =live

In 2009, Solange Knowles covered "Viva la Vida". Lady Gaga also covered it for BBC Radio 1. Live versions have appeared on the 2009 live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft, the 2012 album Live 2012, and the 2018 album Live in Buenos Aires. It was also used in "Million Dollar Maybe", an episode of The Simpsons. The song was covered in the seventh series of The X Factor by the boyband One Direction in 2010. In 2024, the season 2 finale of Pachinko ends with a cover by Rosé of the Korean pop group Blackpink.

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

"Viva la Vida" received widespread critical acclaim. In the Entertainment Weekly review of the album, critic Chris Willman wrote: "Take the title track ... on which [Martin] imagines himself as a paranoid monarch. 'Who would ever want to be king?' Martin asks. 'Revolutionaries wait/For my head on a silver plate!' The confident majesty of the music, however, belies how he and his bandmates have invigorated their rock-lite reign." Josh Hathaway from The Plain Dealer noted "Viva la Vida" as the "catchiest" song on the album. Chris Jones of the BBC noted: "The string/brass mutations that bolster a track like 'Viva la Vida' ... conjure tunes so sweetly melancholy." In the IGN review, critic Chad Grischow wrote, "It is their one and only foray into unabashed orchestral pop, but the punchy strut of the strings and fantastic marching vocals make it far too charming and lively to dislike, and even harder not to love."

"Viva la Vida" was nominated for "Record of the Year", and won "Song of the Year", and "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or a Group" at the 2009 Grammy Awards. This song also won the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Selling British Single". The song was included in Rolling Stone's annual "100 Best Songs" of 2008 at number nine; it was also voted number two on Rolling Stone's Readers' Rock List: Best Songs of 2008. "Viva la Vida" was also listed at number five on Blender's 1001 Downloads: The Top 144 Songs of 2008, as well in the number eight position on Village Voice's Pazz and Jop list. "Viva la Vida" has been sampled in several other songs, including Flo Rida's "Be on You", Mac Miller's "Cut the Check" featuring Chief Keef and Drake's "Congratulations" from his So Far Gone mixtape. In 2019, Billboard ranked the song number seven on their list of the 50 greatest Coldplay songs. In 2021, American Songwriter placed the song at number one on their own version of the ranking.

Rankings

Chart performance

Driven by digital sales, "Viva la Vida" became Coldplay's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100 and their second to enter the Top 10, following "Speed of Sound". It was also the first single from a British act to reach number one in the United Kingdom and United States simultaneously since "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart in 1971. The track later peaked at number eight on the Hot 100 Airplay, giving the group their highest-charting release in American radio. "Viva la Vida" topped Billboard Modern Rock and Hot Adult Top 40 charts as well, becoming the first single in Capitol history to achieve the feat on the latter.

Despite being disqualified from British rankings at first due to album pre-order restrictions on iTunes, the song eventually debuted atop the UK Singles Chart, making it Coldplay's first track to do so. In June 2024, PPL ranked "Viva la Vida" as the band's most played song across radio and television in the United Kingdom, averaging 27 reproductions a day since release. A year later, the track was placed at number 159 on the list of most streamed songs of all time on Apple Music.

In Canada, the single made a "Hot Shot Debut" at number four on the Canadian Hot 100 on the 24 May issue, making it Coldplay's highest debut there. It is also one of Coldplay's three highest-charting singles in Australia, reaching number two (both "A Sky Full of Stars" and "Something Just Like This" matched this peak in 2014 and 2017, respectively). In the week starting 27 November 2023, the single once again returned to the same charts, entering at number 28. In New Zealand, the song was less successful, peaking at number 16; however, the song stayed in the top 40 for 27 non-consecutive weeks. In Spain, the single peaked at number two and had strong airplay on the Spanish radio stations.

Sporting usage

"Viva la Vida" is used as the goal celebration song for the German football club Hannover 96. The song also became the anthem of Spanish football club FC Barcelona starting in the 2008–09 season. It turned out to be a season of unprecedented success for the Spanish club in 2009, as they won all six competitions they could possibly be involved in, which no football club has managed before in history. The song was selected by the manager of the club, Pep Guardiola – himself a Coldplay fan – to help motivate and encourage his team. UEFA used "Viva la Vida" as the goal celebration song for the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final and Europa League Final.

Plagiarism allegations

Coldplay were first accused of plagiarism for the melody of "Viva la Vida" by American band Creaky Boards. Singer Andrew Hoepfner, claimed that Martin had heard them playing their piece "The Songs I Didn't Write" at a live show in October 2007. They also published a video comparing sections of both tracks. A spokesperson for Coldplay stated that Martin was working at AIR Studios in London at the time. Additionally, a demo of "Viva la Vida" was recorded in March 2007. Creaky Boards later retracted the accusations and speculated that both songs may have been inspired by the video game The Legend of Zelda.

In December 2008, American guitarist Joe Satriani filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Coldplay in Los Angeles. It declared that "Viva la Vida" incorporates "substantial, original portions" of his composition "If I Could Fly", from Is There Love in Space? (2004). The band denied the allegation, saying the similarities were entirely coincidental. The case was later dismissed by the California Central District Court, with each party paying their own costs.

In May 2009, British musician Cat Stevens stated that "Viva la Vida" is similar to "Foreigner Suite" (1973), comparing them after talking with his son about it. Stevens informed that any legal action he intended to take depended "on how well Satriani does". In June 2009, he claimed that "They did copy my song but I don't think they did it on purpose [...] I don't want them to think I am angry with them. I'd love to sit down and have a cup of tea with them and let them know it's okay".

In a documentary for Sveriges Television (2011), American music professor Dr. Lawrence Ferrara showed that the melody structures of "Viva la Vida", "If I Could Fly" and "Foreigner Suite" were all similar to the track "Se Tu M'Ami", which has its authorship attributed to Italian composers Alessandro Parisotti and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. The latter died in 1736. "Obviously this is a work that we would call in the 'public domain'", Ferrara concluded. Discussing the accusations, drummer Champion stated that "We're confident we haven't done anything wrong" and "for some reason, God only knows why, the successful songs seem to be the ones that are accused of being stolen". Martin later revealed that the plagiarism allegations were inspiring to him: "If everyone's trying to take away our best song, then we'd better write 25 better ones".

Formats and track listings

Credits and personnel

• Chris Martin – composer, performer
• Guy Berryman – composer, performer
• Jonny Buckland – composer, performer
• Will Champion – composer, performer

;Additional personnel

• Brian Eno – sonic landscapes
• Mike Kezner – sitar
• Davide Rossi – strings

Live version

The song and "Lost+" were performed live at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on 8 February 2009. Coldplay performed a medley of "Lost+" and "Viva la Vida" at the ceremony. American rapper Jay-Z, who was the guest vocalist on "Lost+", performed "Lost+" with Coldplay onstage. The performance was recorded and released on 8 February 2009.

;Track listing

Covers

Swedish singer Darin's cover of the song reached number 1 on 30 October 2009 on the Swedish Singles Chart and was certified Gold by the GLF in 2010. The song appears on Darin's 2010 album Lovekiller. In 2010, it was yet again included as the B-side of Darin's "You're Out of My Life" single, reaching No. 3 in the Swedish Singles Chart. Coldplay's original single had already charted in Sweden for a total of 49 weeks between 15 May 2008 and 23 October 2009, peaking at number seven. Weezer recorded a cover of the song for the deluxe version of their 2010 album Hurley. YouTuber CaptainSparklez released a parody version called "Fallen Kingdom" in 2012, which quickly became popular.

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Notes

References

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