O

The first part of this song was originally called "Fly On" with the second part being "O" by the band decided to dispense with double song names.

I think the first part is a statement of unconditional love and a goodbye. It is Chris, saying to his ex-partner, "you know what, you're an amazing person and you need to go off and be amazing but I need to change my life. Maybe one day I'll be as amazing as you.".

Saying goodbye to someone he really loves. He wish this wouldn't happen. But he's always wishing the best for she/he. He's letting go.

Arguably the most beautiful song Coldplay have wrote. I adore it. The piano seems to pull at something inside me.

I feel this song is about death.

"flock of birds hovering above" probably refers to birds that are harbingers of death, like ravens. It seems that Chris is singing about how sometimes we "look up to the sky and pray before the dawn" for those birds to stay away, either to avert the physical departure of a person or the death of a relationship. That explanation makes more sense when he sings "into smoke I'm turned and rise following them up"

Also, what I think he means by the last few lines is that one day, he will die and he may then be reunited with his love.

I'd love to hear what others think :)

I do believe this song is about the loss of a loved one, possibly a partner specifically, and I do agree with the previous comment that the line 'maybe one day I can fly with you' means that he will die and he may then be reunited with his love. Whether or not it's about death or a split up exclusively is rather open to interpretation, but it's extremely sad nonetheless.

This song is so beautiful, it embodies the catharsis of the relationship. After all the pain and suffering because of the end of the relationship, he is finally releasing his loved one, and thus, his pain.

After hearing the whole album, we can tell that he loves her greatly, and he knows she is a magical, one of a kind person, and after all the mourning and all the grief, he finally lets her go, and watches her fly by, like flocks of birds.

I love the "flock of birds" analogy. It can't be any more true, because love in one's life is just like that. Persons come and go from our lives, and so does love. Anybody that has been in this situation knows how hard it is to let go of a person that one has loved so, so deeply, especially when things don't work anymore and there is nothing else to do, but to each go on in separate ways. So we release them, but that doesn't mean we stop loving them (hence, the "don't ever let go" at the end of the song). No matter what, that person is always going to be part of our lives, and is always going to occupy a big space in our hearts, and we always think that maybe, just maybe, sometime in the future, life can bring us both together again with the right circumstances. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

I read it a bit different. The aforementioned fits with general theme of album BUT i see the integration of his children in "O" signifying a more broad interpretation of loss that extends to letting the kids go especially with "one minute they arrive" (born) "next you know they're gone" (leaving home) "They fly on" (off to their own lives). I have had many a broken relationship and I don't feel what the majority feel; I feel the inevitable loss of joy of having beautiful new creations for such a short while only to let them Fly On….maybe it might have something to do with having a 21 and 17 year old. However you wish, this is one of my favs! Peace

I find the title of the song interesting. "O" could be read as Zero (left with nothing) or it could represent a circle - completeness or "coming full circle".

I think this song is about someone who is reliving a relationship.

'Still I always, look up to the sky. Pray before the dawn'

Remembering the better moments of the relationship and hoping even praying that it will go back to that.

'Cause they fly always. Sometimes they arrive Sometimes they are gone'

This could symbolise that the people he loves are always out of reach and when they arrive it is sweet but the pain returns when they are gone.

'Fly on'

This is a message telling his other half to move on. Be free and find something better than what they had.

'Maybe one day I'll fly next to you'

This, I think means that one day he'll move on too and they'll both be able to look back on it not as a lesson learned but as a fond memory.

This is one of my favourites from the album. It's beautiful and I listen to it on repeat. Cannot fault it at all. Beautiful.

Flock of birds is a reference to angels who watch over us...to take it further, Angels could possibly be aliens in UFO's hovering above...if you think aliens and little green men who are evil or think 'enemy', then you've been brainwashed by society, the media, and movies... Aliens could very well be very similar to us and in human form... instead of Aliens, how about Advanced Intelligent Human Beings in UFO's hovering above...

With the presumption they are referring to Angels/Aliens/Advanced Intelligent Human Beings, I believe the song illustrates the feelings and awe many people feel who believe in them. They are above us, watching over us, and perhaps helping and looking after us...Guardians (Angels), if you will. Perhaps someday, we will advance enough technologically & spiritually and be able to fly next to them. Or, it can be read purely spiritually and perhaps one day, we will fly next to the angels in heaven.