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Amsterdam Lyrics

Come on, oh my star is fading
And I swerve out of control
If I, if I'd only waited
I'd not be stuck here in this hole

Come here, oh my star is fading
And I swerve out of control
And I swear I waited and waited
I've got to get out of this hole

But time is on your side
It's on your side now
Not pushing you down and all around
It's no cause for concern

Come on, oh my star is fading
And I see no chance of release
And I know I'm dead on the surface
But I am screaming underneath

And time is on your side
It's on your side now
Not pushing you down, and all around
No it's no cause for concern

Stuck on the end of this ball and chain
And I'm on my way back down again
Stood on a bridge, tied to the noose
Sick to the stomach
You can say what you mean
But it won't change a thing
I'm sick of the secrets
Stood on the edge, tied to the noose

You came along and you cut me loose
You came along and you cut me loose
You came along and you cut me loose
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Writer
Christopher Anthony John Martin, Guy Rupert Berryman, Jonathan Mark Buckland, William Champion
Submitted by
devosize On Aug 14, 2002
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141 Meanings

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Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

definitely one of the best coldplay songs to date... i think this song is about someone who is at the end of their rope, so to speak. the verses are just showing how little hope this person has, and in the final verse, there is even some reference to suicide. however, what i think is the best part about this song is that after all that dark hopelessness, the very last lines refer to this person being saved by either a friend, a love, or even God. it's a great song to listen to when you're down, because even when you're standing 'on the edge, tied to the noose' there is always someone who will come along and 'cut you loose'... coldplay rules!

Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

Im not really sure about this song being about love; I feel like the person in this song feels like they've lost their way. They made a decison way too quickly and found themselves stuck in this rut not understand what they need to do. And when he says "my star is fading" I feel like they mean their will to live is diminshing and the purpose they set out with is not longer enough to keep them stable. I feel that the song is following a person from their breaking point all the way down to their demise, until finally some significant factor brings them back to reality and gives them a new meaning..

Just my opinion; I think Coldplay is brilliant.

i have to agree. the person is stuck in a tight spot because of a decision made too quickly or without acknowledging the consequences.

Not Valid

I can't listen to this song in public where there's other people around-I cry every time I hear it. I think everyone can relate to this song in one way or another at a certain point in your life. Where you've been waiting so long, and you're just so exhausted, you just want it all to be over. But thankfully, someone's there to rescue you.

gorgeous song

When I first heard this song, I was carried away by Chris's voice, the way the music paced my feelings, and the way the crescendo made my heart explode. But I have another take on the ending, and I have always felt that this song is the darkest, rawest piece coldplay has released to date. It is second in my mind only to Warning Sign. To me, the song is about confronting a loved one who has been hurting you for a long time, all the while denying the true impact of their actions...."You can say what you...

Not Valid
Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

Rolled up into a ball on my bed, barely functional thinking...and listening to this song... It reminds me of my divorce. My now ex-husband decided unilaterally to end our marriage and was gone, like magic. "You can say what you mean but it won't change a thing" ...I wrote him for closure and he did not respond to me. I was left with my entire world crumbled and he was gone, like a ghost, like all of those years never happened. His not answering me made me feel even more like it was all a dream, like I hallucinated us together, that it wasn't real. Awful feeling. This song... is exactly how I feel.

I was listening to this song for the first time tonight like I'd never heard it before. Warning Sign is the answer back.

Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

To me this song is about depression and regret. He says he should have waited, but not what he should have waited for. Obviously it could be any number of things. Personally, I was in a situation where I tried to force a relationship and I ended up in a hole because of it. I was very depressed and it felt like time was indeed pushing me around because I needed to wait and I didn't know how to. My own inability to control my desire to be with this girl was more or less what led to me losing her, and I lost my head over it. If you've ever been depressed, you'd identify with the following line: "And I know I'm dead on the surface But I am screaming underneath"

It's so unbelievably true for me, at least. I don't show my troubles or make them obvious, and no one knew what I was going through. On the inside I was so miserable, and I hated myself. I'm not in any way suicidal, but on a figurative level I can understand the part about being on the edge tied to the noose. Unfortunately for me, she left me hanging and I had to learn to cut myself down. But that's how life goes. It's still a beautiful song. You never think that you'd swerve out of control over someone like that, but then you do and it's like you really do need someone to cut you down. It took a long time for me to realize that I was the one who put myself in that position and that only I could get myself out. If only I'd waited

Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

This song has been my anthem for over a year now. I stumbled across it while searching for some new music to listen to on my Coldplay Pandora station the summer of 2012 while I was deep in a seemingly unending depression. At first I didn't pay attention to the lyrics, I was just addicted to the eerie, beautifully sad sound of the song. It wasn't until about January of this year that I really heard the song's message. Personally, I interpret this to be a song about a state of true devastation over the past, wasted time perhaps, that one brings upon themself, and becoming trapped in this state of excruciating melancholy that seems to suffocatingly wrap them up in a way that makes it feel as though there is no getting out, with literally no control over the pain and suffering one feels. Then it delivers the truth that time heals all wounds. (Time is on your side...) Even the most numbing, self destructive depression will pass with time and faith. I feel that the line "It's no cause for concern" is like a contradiction to everything that had been said thus far in the song; it basically means don't worry about me, I'm fine, it's nothing--a total lie.
Then the song goes on to say that it feels as though there is just no chance of release from this suffering, it is so strong. That they may look okay on the outside, but underneath the mask, they are falling apart completely. (I know I'm dead on the surface, but I am screaming underneath.)

The last portion of the song is what really tugs at my heart: I'm stuck on the end of this ball and chain, and I'm on my way back down again Stood on a bridge, tied to a noose, sick to the stomach Say what you mean, but it won't change a sin, I'm sick of the secrets Stood on the edge, tied to a noose, You came along and you cut me loose.

This, to me, means that they are stuck in this terrible, consuming depression and no matter how many times they think they are healed, it just keeps pulling them back down. Then it mentions the noose, meaning they were so sick of it they felt suicidal. They were sick of people hurting them and keeping things away from them and no matter what anyone else said, it wouldn't change the past, which caused all the pain in the first place.
And then it just straight up hits me in the face with this perfect line: You came along and you cut me loose. The entire song portrays absolute devastation and a heart wrenching pain that just will not go away, and how it feels as though they are all alone and it will never be healed. But then this last line of the song acts as a game changer, a beacon of hope. It seemed as though this pain was so deep that it would never ever leave, and they were prepared to put an end to it once and for all by ending their own life, but then this person came and rescued them. The outro of the song where this line is repeated feels like the aftermath, just being told that you're safe now. I can also feel a lot of religious meaning in this song, personally. The person is caught up in the depth and rut of their sins, and they feel as though they can't be forgiven for them, so they want to just end their life, but God's light rescues them from it.
This song makes me think of how I was when I was suicidal and self harming. It makes me picture someone writing out a note describing all of their heartache and pain that is eating them alive, and then just as they are about to end their life, their own personal hero comes in and cuts them loose, and holds them close telling them they are safe now and it was going to be okay, and the person finally escaping the chains of their depression. I feel that my personal hero that cut me loose is God, and the person God put in my life to pull me out of it. This song is so deep and meaningful to me, it represents me. I feel like it's just MY song, like no one else can have it. Not many people I know have heard of it and I don't share it with many people because I feel like you just shouldn't even hear it if you don't give it your full attention to really hear what it says. This song wasn't meant to just be a nice tune on your playlist. It's beyond that. It is definitely my favorite song of all time.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

This song, to me, is about a guy who is waiting for this girl who is not ready for a relationship. And he's waiting and waiting for her to make a decision, and the wait is tearing him apart. And I think he saying that if she keeps him waiting any longer he's going to explode. And maybe in the end she finally decides to be with him. And saves him before he self destructs.

Yes, my interpretation also goes in this direction.

My interpretation is quiet complete I think, though no brief. :P

"Come on, oh my star is fading" the person he loves gets out of reach, or even his love gets a little less ... "And i swerve out of control" ... but he can't control it. he's about to make a mistake; not being able to hold back his feeling any longer. "If i, if I'd only waited." Maybe he already made a mistake, did something wrong. I think this could also be about that the guy has given the girl some signs of his love...

Not Valid

Yes, my interpretation also goes in this direction.

My interpretation is quiet complete I think, though no brief. :P

"Come on, oh my star is fading" the person he loves gets out of reach, or even his love gets a little less ... "And i swerve out of control" ... but he can't control it. he's about to make a mistake; not being able to hold back his feeling any longer. "If i, if I'd only waited." Maybe he already made a mistake, did something wrong. I think this could also be about that the guy has given the girl some signs of his love...

Not Valid

sorry.. i accidentally posted it twice.. :/

Not Valid
Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

It's about addiction, plain and simple.

spot on @deafmute

Not Valid

@deafmute it is definitely how I was till I became rigoursly honest with another person. I cant afford to carry the weight of the world on my shoulder's

Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

I think that he wrote this song in desperation when he was suffering through something regarding his mental state of mind, hence the common reference to being "stuck in a hole," where the hole is actually his mind. When he mentions "oh my star is fading," he is talking about his happiness, and about how it is slowly fading, due to his state of mind. Additionally, he implies that there's no saving himself from this state of depression when he says "I see no chance of release," then says that he is "dead on the surface but screaming underneath," meaning that he may appear dead, and given up on the surface, but underneath it all he is screaming for help. Then when he says "time is on your side," he repeats it more than once, to emphasize that time is on his side, as a way of making himself feel better because he believes time will make his depression better, and the repetition of that phrase shows his desperation, and how hard he is trying to believe that time really will make it better. Then finally, when the song develops a stronger beat, the loudness of the new rhythm implies that he is done, and he can no longer handle it. When he's singing the verse about being "stuck on the end of this ball and chain," then saying how he's "on his way back down again," he literally means that his mental state is bad again, and he's on his way back down, as in being more and more depressed than he originally was. A slight notion of suicide is implied when he describes "standing on the edge, tied to the noose" because he is literally about to commit suicide since he is standing on the edge of jumping from the noose which he is tied to. Then when he says "You can say what you mean, but it won't change a thing," he is saying that no matter what you say, he made up his mind already and is taking his life. Then when he repeats the line "standing on the edge, tied to the noose," again, that just goes to emphasize how sure he is about taking his life. In my opinion, the final line "you came along and you cut me loose" is probably the most important because it is repeated twice as the final two lines of the song, and after he said that no matter what anyone says he is determined to take his life, someone (you) came along and cut him loose from the noose, and saved his life. So, although the majority of the song seemed melancholy, I believe it is about someone who came and saved him from his own mind, and self. This song has helped me in so many ways, I can't even describe.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Amsterdam lyrics by Coldplay

Coldplay is the best band of our days damn it!!!