Being a christian, I would love to believe the song is about a christian perspective, but there are too many things that don't really add up, the main one being that if the author is coming from a christian point of view, it would seem he would think that St Peter would call his name. Wow, this reply is so long after the original posting, i don't know if anyone will read it, but I agree with 'the7keys' interpretation. And this fourth album is part of Coldplay's progress. Because without revolutions, there would be no progress. So, to me, this song is about celebrating revolutions of every form - political, economic, social, and especially artistic. The inclusion of instrumentals and choir-like vocals is quite a departure from their previous works. In a way, the sound of this album is a 'revolution' from previous works of Coldplay. These lyrics are telling their stories from the point of view of the fallen leader, in a very poetic way, but the message is essentially 'Oh, who would ever want to be king?' Because revolutions have occurred over and over in history, and they will continue to occur, but such is the story of life and of humanity. Each revolution overthrew a powerful central government, with a powerful head of state in a violent and bloody fashion (think 'heads on a silver plate'). The French Revolution, the Chinese Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and the British Civil Wars in the 17th century all come to mind when I hear these lyrics. The lyrics to this song seem to refer to revolutions in history thus far, about kings, queens, emperors, and other rulers who fall from high places after revolutions from below. General CommentGiven that this album seems to revolve around the theme of celebrating life (Viva la Vida) and revolutions (the cover art depicts the French Revolution by Delacroix), I think this song embodies the nature of revolutions. Once you'd gone, there was never, never an honest word

Now the old king is dead, long live the king

Coldplay viva la vida lyrics