Lyric discussion by Oneiromancer 

Cover art for Violet Hill lyrics by Coldplay

One half is a love story, the other is about the crisis.

"Was a long and dark December"

Crisis began December 2007.

"From the windows they were watching While we froze down below"

Inequality.

"When the future's architectured By a carnival of idiots on show"

Carnaval of idiots = corporatocrats.

"When the banks became cathedrals"

Banks as ultimate economic authority.

"And the fog Became God"

Fog = circumlocution used in economy.

"I don't want to be a soldier With the captain of some sinking ship"

Soldier = wage slave. Sinking ship = capitalist infinite growth paradigm.

My Interpretation

Thank you for being the first person to come up with the perfect, completely true interpretation. You are like literally the first I've seen on here. Why not take a stab at interpreting Viva La Vida, I would be interested in seeing if you came up to the same solution to WHO the song is about.