Reign of Love

This was my brother's wedding song this year. Its short, but the two of them love Coldplay and they started dating when my brother lent her Viva La Vida. They say this song sums them up, thats why I love it, because this and Strawberry Swing brought them together.

This song is beautiful, yes, but the lyrics are far more sinister than the gentle music and muted vocals imply. I can sort of see a story unfold in the lyrics.

--Reign of love, I can't let go To the sea I offer this heavy load--

This makes me think of a man who is hopelessly in love with the girl of his dreams, but she's getting married to his best friend. He's kept quiet about his feelings for so, so long, but now there's nothing he can do. He's depressed beyond all belief, so he goes to a secluded part of the beach. (Yes, in my story, the chapel is near a beach.)

--Locust wind, lift me up I'm just a prisoner in a reign of love--

I had no idea what a "locus wind" was, so I googled it. The first site that came up was a Bible verse, Exodus 10:19 - "And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea." So I believe this was during the time that Moses was trying to free the Hebrew people from Egypt and there were curses put on Egypt cuz the Pharaoh wasn't cooperating or something. So I interpret "locusts" as the man's problems, all the things he could've done weighing on his mind. As for "reign of love," "reign" could be a play-on of "rain." In a Rain of Love, you'd be happy because you have all the love you could ever hope for or want. In a Reign of Love, you'd feel controlled by love, an emotion that's supposed to bring happiness but is only ruling (and potentially destroying) your life.

-- Locust wind, here I stop How I wish I'd spoken to a reign of love --

Again with the locust wind. So the guy is remembering all the things he could've or should've done, but didn't and because he didn't do them, he's miserable. He's done. He can go no further. "How I wish I'd spoken to a reign of love" probably infers the girl he's in love with. If only he told her sooner, he wouldn't be in this predicament.

--Reign of love, by the church we're waiting Reign of love, on my knees, I'm praying -- I imagine that the wedding is soon to take place and our leading man is some sort of attendant at the wedding, like a groomsman or something. He's still at the beach, looking out to the ocean, but he's praying now. He feels as though there's no life left for him without his dream girl, his one true love. He can't just confess his feelings to her, especially on her wedding day! Because this problem seems unresolvable to him, our guy is just going to take himself out of the picture.

-- How I wish I'd spoken up Away, get carried on a reign of love... --

The grand finale, our leading man walks into the ocean and drowns himself, being carried on a reign of love.

seriously one of the better songs off viva la vida. it really is great for falling asleep! with beautiful lyrics of course. god bless chris martin

i love this soft ballad...........so brilliant. i hate the person on youtube who put a comment on the live peformance as 'this song is fundamentally gay ass sex' and to him i say his life is fundamentally composed of gay ass sex. hehe. clever

one of the most underrated songs on the album. pure.

This was my brother's wedding song this year. Its short, but the two of them love Coldplay and they started dating when my brother lent her Viva La Vida. They say this song sums them up, thats why I love it, because this and Strawberry Swing brought them together.

Fantastic lyrics and beautiful piano

this song is easily the best on the viva la vida album.

this is such a beautiful song

I don't see the lyrics to Reign of Love as being sinister at all. I see them as an expression of guilt, and sadness over holding on to guilt for a long period of time. "Reign of love, I can't let go, to the sea I offer this heavy load. Locusts will lift me up, I'm just a prisoner in the reign of love." The reign of love is all around him, but he can't participate in it because because he is a "prisoner" to this "heavy load", the guilt that he carries. Locusts cause devastation to crops, sometimes causing famine. So I think the lyricist sees himself as someone who has caused some great devastation, perhaps by not speaking up, "how I wish I'd spoken up, or be carried away in the reign of love". In other words, if he had spoken up, the devastation wouldn't have happened, and he wouldn't have to carry this guilt, and then he could be carried away in the reign of love. When locusts fly, they first jump really high, then spread their wings, then they fly really closely together so that they look like one large mass, sometimes,"blackening the sky" because of the large number of them. "Locusts will let us stop", I think is about his desire to be carried away from this horrible guilt that he can't let go of. He goes on to say, "How I wish I'd spoken up to the reign of love". "Reign of Love", I interpret as the love of God here. How else could you speak up to the "reign of love", except through prayer? He goes on to say, "reign of love, by the church wey're waiting, reign of love, on our knees go praying. How I wish I'd spoken up, or we'd get carried away by the reign of love." The Reference to a "church" as apposed to a temple, mosc, or synogogue seems to point toward Christanity, in which Christ is referred to as"King", Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit all being one through the Holy Trinity. I.e. God the King, or Christ the King, one in the same. So the "Reign" of the King seems perfectly appropriate. I also think of it as the "joy of life", because a person cannot participate in the joy of life when they are so weighed down by guilt. I believe in the end he realizes he will have to "speak up to the Reign of Love", by praying for forgiveness. And I think there is remorse for not having done it sooner. Also, I never did find a reference to a "locust wind" in the lyrics!