The Scientist

Basically, this song is saying that "he" screwed up. He doesn't know how to explain it, because it was against reason, whatever he did. He wants to be able to explain what he did with science and reasoning, but he just can't, because love doesn't work like that. And this person means everything to him, so he wants to try it over again, but the other person thinks that there should be something to explain it.

My favorite song I've heard by Coldplay. I can't wait 'til the new album comes out tomorrow.

This song is about a broken relationship. How do I know? Because I know what this certain kind of broken relationship, the one the song is talking about, feels like. For anyone who has been through this, the lyrics describe it perfectly, and it's pretty much unmistakable. It's all about a guy (or a girl, I suppose) who is so very sorry that he screwed things up and wants to just erase the huge mistakes he made and go back to the start of the relationship, back when everything was ok and when she still loved him, and he is tortured by the memory of when she used to tell him things about herself and ask him questions about himself, about his life, his story... you know... the way it was at the beginning when she was excited and wanted to know everything about him and he was her world. And he's remembering those times, and how it was back than... especially how she said she loved him, how she used to say it all the time, and how he thought so little of it at the time, and how he never hears her say it anymore, and never will again... and now it haunts him, because he remembers her saying it now, he hears it in his head incessantly... he actually hears it now and pays attention to it now, now when she doesn't want him anymore. And he remembers all of the magic at the beginning, how it was then, when everything seemed perfect, and he understands his mistake... how he played the part of the scientist. How he took her for granted, thinking that her love would be as reliable and logical as a machine, not even realizing that he wasn't giving her the love and understanding and emotion that she needed... and how he analyzed everything and came up with logical reasons for all of the mistakes he made, making her seem wrong for just loving him and feeling hurt when he hurt her, and how he realizes now how he was letting their future love be decided by something as meaningless as a flip of the coin. The flip of a stupid switch. Logical statistics. And now he would give anything to just go back to the beginning and start over again, but it will never happen. His apologies are too late, his confession is too late, his realization is too late. He was the scientist instead of the lover, and he's lost her, and it's over, and he never ever knew, never ever had an inkling of how hard it would be without her.

Like any really good song.. much is left ambiguous.

It can be related to any relationship.. it can be a past girlfriend.. or even the death of someone you love. Anything where you want to go back to before it all happened... back to before the breakup.. the car accident (like the video) or the illness.. anything really.

We take too many things for granted. We think things will stay the same.. but life is always changing, and one day you wake up to find what you had is gone - and you didn't really take advantage of the beautiful thing it was while it was there.

He throws in some other stuff.. because any good song also has some slight personal background, but all of the things about pulling the puzzles apart - and about chasing our tails reiterates the idea that we were distracted by things that truly weren't the real important things. We should have been focusing on that relationship - no matter who that person was.. a mom, a girlfriend, we shouldn't have assumed things would always be the same..

He's now on the other side of it - and looking back... and there's just no going back to where he once was.

It's one of the saddest songs... but it generally reiterates the idea that you don't know what you got.. til it's gone.

This song brings me to tears, because i relate to everything he says. im loosing the love of my life, my best friend, my life. how i wish i could change everything. this is a magical song, so beautiful, so heart wrenching. You can hear the heart break in his voice....

and may i say, my world is shattered

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 set you apart

(He left her, or hurt her in someway... he made a mistake and now he's trying to come back and say he's sorry... letting here know how he's set her apart from all the others and she is the only person he needs)

Tell me your secrets And ask me your questions Oh, let's go back to the start

(he wants her to tell him what she's been keeping inside, she want's her to ask him all the questions she has so he can finally answer them for her. he wants to go back to the beginning and try this all over again)

Running in circles Coming in tails Heads on a science apart

(The situation just keeps on getting replayed over and over again and each time, it's still a problem. Heads on a science apart.. Him and her shouldn't be together if you try to look at the relationship in a logical sense, just like scientists try to look at things in a logical manner.. their minds see things differently)

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

(It's hard to keep the relationship, but it'd be sad for it to end... he just wants her to try this all over again because although the relationship and frustration is hard to deal with... parting ways hurts worse)

I was just guessing At numbers and figures Pulling the puzzles apart

(He was looking at the relationship, picking it apart. Coming to the conclusion that things between them just wouldn't work out. Every time he would look at the relationship in a logical sense trying to figure out how it'd last, he was just ruining it.)

Questions of science Science and progress Did not speak as loud as my heart

(What he didn't realize at the time that he realizes now is that all of the questions of "will this work?" and "how will this last?" don't even matter because he loves her. Instead of nit-picking the relationship with his mind, he's going with his heart on this despite what the odds may be)

Tell me you love me Come back and haunt me I want to rush to the start

(When he left the relationship she was still on his mind "haunting" him. He wants to just hurry up and for her give him a second chance, to start all over again, so he can hear her tell him she loves him once more)

Running in circles Chasing tails Coming back as we are

(the problems and issues just keep on repeating, but that's part of the relation and is what makes them... them... they're going back to how they used to be)

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

(It's not easy, but it's too sad for it to end... which is why he is starting the relationship all over. He realizes that he loves her and needs to be with her. Sometimes reason and logic doesn't make you happy and love doesn't need an explanation or a set plan. He wants to go back to the start because thats where the love was. He wants to try it all over again, he wants a second chance, because he realized he messed up. Sometimes things should just... be. They don't need to be picked apart or figured out to work)

That's what the song means to me, I'm sure others would disagree with my interpretation of the song.... but just remember... it's MY interpretation. I'm not claiming there are no other meanings to it.

This song IS about a girl who he loved that died. He did nothing wrong to end the relationships with this person. The reason he is in anguish is because of what he did NOT do with his love while she was there.

"I was just guessing, numbers and figures, pulling your puzzles apart"

He WAS the scientist. Instead of expressing truthfully all that he felt in his heart, he kept asking questions of science. Now, he wishes he could go back to the beginning and say that you are so much more than a science and something that numbers can describe. He wants to "set her apart" from all of this. Stop running in circles and get somewhere.

Chris Martin puts it so beautifully. He cannot have her back, and so, in his mind at least, he goes back to the start.

This song always reminds me of one of my exes. He was always a very scientific person--he believed everything could be explained or improved by logic. He tended to over-analyze everything and acted purely on reason and thought--something that I never did. However, when he broke up with me, he had no explanations. Even when he discussed later that he was sorry for breaking up with me, he couldn't explain why he did it. The song tells the story of a guy who believes that he can solve everything with enough thought, only to find out that love doesn't work that way.

I just love the last minute or so of this song. His wordless singing captures the pain and heartache of the song better than any words could. He sounds so hollow and empty; as if he were too hurt to even form the words to express himself and all he can get out is an agonizing howl.

This song is so beautifully written. Being in this situation at the moment, it's very easy to interpret, from my perspective.

I'd like to start my interpretation by stating that the "Scientist" in this song is a metaphor. I'll explain why I think so later.

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 set you apart (This is pretty straightforward. The guy is going to the girl and apologizing for his actions, trying to make up for not speaking with her. He had to find her because it was killing him inside, and "haunting" him. He hopes that by saying these words, she'll finally understand how much he loves her.)

Tell me your secrets And ask me your questions Oh let's go back to the start (He wants her to tell him her deepest thoughts. He wants to hear that she still loves him. He wants her to ask him questions about what's been going on so he can explain to her. He realizes that if she asks questions, it means she still cares and still wants to save the relationship. He wants to go back to the way things were and hopes that by explaining everything to her, it will clear up any misunderstanding that may have occurred during their time apart.)

Running in circles; coming up tails Heads on a silence apart (He doesn't know where to start which is why he wants her to ask the questions. He keeps "running in circles", trying to figure out what to say to her. He flips a coin which decides their fate. Heads means he will continue to wait for her to talk to him, but he hasn't heard from her which explains the "silence apart". Tails means he has to be the one to talk to her and make things right with them. Fate has decided that it is up to him to fix their relationship, which is why the coin keeps "coming up tails".)

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 (He clearly doesn't want the relationship to end. He regrets not telling her and is feeling the pain it brings every day. The fact that the lyrics say "nobody", means he has talked to numerous people for advice but they always told him the same thing. They kept telling him that it wouldn't be easy but it's for the best and so he listened to them. They also told him that he'd get over her in time, but clearly he has not and he again, he wants to "go back to the start" when everything was perfect with the couple.)

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 (This is where the metaphor of the scientist comes into play. He was trying to figure out how to make the relationship work, using logic and reasoning. Again this line suggests he asked others for advice, but they told him it would not work. There are an endless list of possibilities as to why the relationship wouldn't work. He has been trying to find the one reason as to why the relationship would work out, and realizes that it's his love for her that would make the relationship work. He realizes that no one else can see why he feels this way about her. No one else can tell him why it would work because they don't understand the relationship. They just see two completely different people, trying to make a what seems impossible relationship work. They can't understand that love for someone defies all logic and reasoning.)

Tell me you love me Come back and haunt me (Again, he wants to hear that she still loves him. He wants her to come back to him and "haunt" him. This suggests that they did not tell each other how they actually felt, and it has been on his mind since he started to fall for her. He has been analyzing her every move, trying to figure out how she feels, and in the process he fell for her even more. She has been "haunting" his thoughts.)

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 (All of this was explained above, except for "coming back as we are." This suggests that he has finally decided to talk to her. He tried to rush things at first "and I rush to the start", but realizes this is difficult because of all the pain that he put her through. However, after he explains his actions and answers her questions, they are slowly working things out and slowly going back to the way things were.)

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 (He realizes that it isn't going to be easy to mend their relationship, but his love for her is more important than what other people think. He realizes that what other people think doesn't matter. It isn't their relationship, it's his. He knows that it's up to him to fix it, as decided by the "coin", another metaphor for fate. He learns that to "go back to the start", he needs to explain everything to her. He is willing to do anything it takes to fix their relationship, and is ready for the hard times because once the hard times pass, he realizes that it will be the perfect relationship, and that the hard times are worth for what is to come.)

Another brilliantly written song by Coldplay! :)

My interpretation is a bit different. My best friend recently commited suicide and I have been listening to this song a lot. It has helped me cope with losing him quite a bit.

"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 set you apart"

The writer wants to tell their loved one how special they actually were because they had no idea and maybe if they knew how much they really meant, they wouldn't have killed themselves. They weren't able to tell them how they truly felt about them before they died. They wanted them to know that they were more important to them than most.

"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"

Everyone is telling them that they are going to have a hard time coping with their loss, but they didn't realize just how difficult it would really be. They are finding themselves wishing for more time with that person and wanting to go back in time and live through those precious moments with that person again.

"I was just guessing at numbers and figures Pulling your puzzles apart"

To me, this means that the writer had no idea what was causing the one they cared about so much emotional turmoil. I find my own self questioning what was pulling him apart all of the time. They are left with their own theories because the one they would like to ask isn't there to answer those questions.

"Tell me you love me Come back and haunt me"

They are longing to be told by their departed loved one that they loved them. They can't stand the thought of them being gone forever and would love nothing more than to be with them, even if they are haunting their every day lives. They can't accept the fact that they are gone forever.

If it weren't for this horrible experience, my interpretation would probably be a lot different, but this song seems to put some of what I am feeling into a better perspective and it is a lot of what I wish I could say to my best friend.