Album: A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002)

Charted: 10

License This Song 

• Come up to meet you
  Tell you I'm sorry
  You don't know how lovely you are
  I had to find you
  Tell you I need you
  Tell you I set you apart
  
  Tell me your secrets
  And ask me your questions
  Oh, let's go back to the start
  Running in circles, coming up tails
  Heads on a science apart
  
  Nobody said it was easy
  It's such a shame for us to part
  Nobody said it was easy
  No one ever said it would be this hard
  Oh, take me back to the start
  
  I was just guessing at numbers and figures
  Pulling your puzzles apart
  Questions of science, science and progress
  Do not speak as loud as my heart
  
  Tell me you love me
  Come back and haunt me
  Oh, and I rush to the start
  Running in circles, chasing our tails
  Coming back as we are
  
  Nobody said it was easy
  Oh, it's such a shame for us to part
  Nobody said it was easy
  No one ever said it would be so hard
  I'm going back to the start
  
  (Oh, ooh)
  (Ah, ooh)
  (Oh, ooh)
  (Oh, ooh) Writer/s: Christopher Anthony John Martin, Guy Rupert Berryman, Jonathan Mark Buckland, William Champion
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 104

• Hm from OhioThis song popped into my head randomly a couple of days after my cat was put down. I listened to it again for the first time in years…and this could definitely be about losing a pet. “Chasing tails” made me smile.
• Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganDan from England: are you "The Scientist"? As in, Coldplay's A&R manager they dedicated the song to? Just curious. As for the song, it's beautiful. The second song I ever learned on the piano after "Imagine". In fact I used to play this song as a lullaby to my little sister Lisa when she was a baby. It's her favorite Coldplay song.
• Dan from EnglandDid anyone else think that this was about someone with an extremely hard life (perhaps even terminal illness) that gets great comfort from their belief in God and the afterlife?
  
  "Going back to the start" meaning looking at the Big Bang as proof that God is real. And "The scientist" being ironic. As if to say, "Tell it to this guy with a very very hard life that God doesn't exist".
  
  By the way I'm actually an atheist myself and don't think the BB is proof of anything spiritual as such.
  
  Anyway ultimately I think the song is beautiful anyway (and even moreso with the meaning I see in it. Though of course that's a truism of sorts).
• Ashlee from Kansasmy mom used to play this song for me when I was younger, I'm 13 now, she died last year and this is the song that I listened to over and over to try and feel something. i also sang this song at my best friends funeral.
• Pepijn Aarssen from SchiedamClassic song. I listen it at certain times from time to time. Good song.
• Zero from The Abyss, NjThe guitars on this song are in standard, only the high e is tuned 2 whole steps down to C (lowest to highest EADGBC). Be careful when doing this if you want to learn it - the string is likely to break if you loosen it too fast.
• Amanda from Spring, TxI choose this song for my Father-Daughter dance at my wedding. My father struggled with drug addiction to the point of sobering up just for special occasions. He managed to pay me for his tux and he walked me down the isle. It was bittersweet. I love him and I'm so happy to say he is sober today and the man I knew when I was a young girl. He asked me when we were dancing and I was complaining about being about how long the song was, "why did you pick such a long song". This song seemed fitting on that day for me and him and looking back I'd still choose it. some music you can feel in your soul, this song is one of those for me.
• Annam from New York City, NyWhen me and my ex broke up I listened to Pandora a lot. And this song just kept popping up. I wasn't sure what it meant (cause I am a true believer in signs). Now after two month of hearing this song I finally know what it means. Now only time will tell the rest.
• Phil from Neenah, WiI first heard this through Chipotle's commercials last year when they were using Willie Nelson's cover on it, which is also found on his album last year titled 'Heroes'. I honestly like both Coldplay's and Willie's version of the song. Coldplay's version seems more like a new relationship in a way with quite a bit of fighting and some separation, while Willie's cover seems more sincere with his worn, rough voice. It seems like a more polished relationship/gentleman with some wisdom who had lost a loved one who may have passed on or through a bitter separation and he's looking back at the relationship as though he misses it and would like to go back where there was happiness and something familiar to it. Something like bittersweet memories.
• Jill from San Leandro, CaI first heard this song with my son Shawn he was killed in a car accident in 2004. We both loved the song after hearing it and seeing the video. After he died I watched this video over and over again. I just saw it again here and realized that the girl in the accident takes off her seat belt to remove her coat and then puts it back on. Not sure what this means but maybe he was going back and changing what she did the first time so she wouldn't fly thru the windshield, because she puts the seatbelt back on. Just a though and no one else noticed it. I cry for my son every time I hear it.
• William from Jacksonville, NcA very interesting fact about the music video to this song: The video is a reverse narrative which means that the plot goes backwards instead of forward. So yea Chris had to learn to sing backwards, but accurately for only the closeup portions to his face in the video. In fact, at the very beginning, it isn't in backwards at all, he is lipsinking normally. The reason i know this is because when Chris is laying down, he does not move a finger at all, but only his moving lips to the song. When the view above Chris was much higher as he was laying down on the bed, he was able to match his lips to the song as s--tty as he wanted too. Although, this was a challenge for Chris because there were so many more hard parts to actually lipsink backwards in the video then times when he was not so far from the camera.
• William from Jacksonville, Ncmy name is william smith - since eighth grade to now (im 17) ive listned to this song over and over. i never got tired of it and never will.
• Amanda from Houston, TxWow! I love how everyone has a different take on songs..especially this one, because for me it's about the most important song I've ever heard. It may be a break up song but to me I heard it for the very first time riding in the car with my dad from the hospital. My High school sweetheart had just passed away. I had just calmed down enough to breath and then this song came on. We had not been together for a year but it was one of those things...I always knew we would get back together, high school just held so much pressure on us and "what we were supposed to do to get through it!". I can't hear this song w/out balling...I still think about him at least once a week...and every year around the anniversary of his death I swear this song plays on the radio..I know it sounds unlikely but it's him..reminding me to not forget him! And I won't..PROMISE!
• Isabella from London, United KingdomThis song is probably my second favourite from Coldplay (after 'Clocks'). It's so deep and beautiful and very open to interpretation. It's . . . enchanting.
• Lisa from Port Huron, MiBeautiful love song by Coldplay. Named the scientist b/c how humans struggle with love and relationships thru much time, practice,& heartach trying to get it rite like a scientist does with the scientific process of problem solving.
• Prashant from Ktm, OtherI think this song definately has to do with the idea of men and women will never fully understand each other. We may sit and and think we have each other figured out but we never really do. And we can guess at it all the time but the way that we think is entirely different. The "nobody said it was easy...this hard means that relationships are something that we constantly have to work at cuz its an ongoing lesson of the opposite sex. Tho i could be entirely wrong, but i think its a great interpretation...
• Taylor from Chicago, IlThe Scientist is about a couple who are facing struggles or have broken up. The person wants it to go back to the good days, the beginning, or "the start". He wants the things from the beginning of a relationship like telling eachothers secrets and getting to know each other. During the relationship, he didn't really know what he was doing and he was just "guessing". Now he knows what he has to do after it has been lost. . I think the other person is kind of taking advantage of this person because he says "tell me you love me, come back to haunt me" and he rushes right back to them. This fails time and time again but he keeps wanting to go back to the start because he has faith in the relationship and has learned from the experience while the other apparently has not.
• Melissa from Cincinnati, Oh"I think this song is about someone who percieves the world in a logical rather than an emotional way, as a scientist does to experiments, and tries to apply this logic to the relationship he is in. 'I was just guessing, numbers and figures, pulling the puzzels apart' implies he realises that he doesnt know wha to do. 'Questions of science do not speak as loud as the heart', after a seperation realising that logic cannot be applied to everything and that he is feeling emotion instead and ignoring the logic. Obviously he wants to try again now he realises his mistake.
  - Neil, Birmingham, United States"
  
  I think Neil hit the nail directly on the head! :)
  
• Liesa from Roy, UtI love this song, my boyfriend put it on a CD he made for me and I have been in love with it ever since. Coldplay is amazing!
• Theresa from Murfreesboro, TnLove how the video travels backwards. The song just builds and builds - so cool.
• Adrian from Gettysburg, PaThis is one of Coldplay's most beautiful songs that keeps on building as it goes along, and the music video is one of the best I've ever seen.
• Rachel from My Computer,Honestly, I don't think this song is about anything at all. At the same time, I'm sure this song is everything I've ever wanted to say and couldn't. I think it refers to the need we all have to feel like we don't need love. To tell ourselves that logic and reason can keep us from getting broken, and the struggle with understanding that we, too are powerless to it's madness. This song means absolutely nothing, its simply a jumble of words until it touches your soul. It has no meaning unless you see one...
• Rachel from My Computer,Honestly, I don't think this song is about anything at all. At the same time, I'm sure this song is everything I've ever wanted to say and couldn't. I think it refers to the need we all have to feel like we don't need love. To tell ourselves that logic and reason can keep us from getting broken, and the struggle with understanding that we, too are powerless to it's madness. This song means absolutely nothing, its simply a jumble of words until it touches your soul. It has no meaning unless you see one...
• Ed from Brockport, NyThis song has many different meanings to me. It speaks about loosing your boyfirnd or girlfriend. It also speaks about loosing a family member. And i also see it like loosing your friend. This song doesn't have just one meaning. And why in the vid does he grab his arm when he gets up from the matress? When he played this at the MTV awards he grabed his arm like that after he played it. Does anyone know why??
• Becky from Portland, Ori love this song the instruments are so distinct from anything else i have ever heard and it makes me cry everytime i listen to it.
• Sined from Miami, FlThis song just makes me feel undescribable... it is soo powerful to me and it has so many meanings...
• Jim from Rochester, NySo many unique, insightfull comments about this remarkable, deceptively simple song. Whoever said it was an ever-morphing personal metaphor was maybe the most convincing. A song can be an epithany, or it can be just another song. It don't mean nothing until it means something to someone. It can mean everything, or it can mean next to nothing. Personally, this is one of those songs I heard for the first time, over and over, on the radio while going through a difficult time in my life. My relationship had become, due to extenuateing circumstance, long distance. And it wasn't just the couple hundred miles that was putting a gulf between us. I had children, she didn't. 3 young kids is a lot for a person to deal with, for me and her. So I was always trying to devine and discover a way to still make it all work while also taking care of my kids. I would arrange at least one weekend a month to drive to see her alone. And at the time (whatever year that was) this song was a huge hit on the radio. And along many solitary miles on the road, with it's melody I became randomly, yet forever, imprinted. And I crooned/wailed along alone in the car with the singer's desparete to be hopefull, yet already mournful, refrain, "nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard. I'm going back to the start"
  I cant say if I even understood more than a handfull of the other words in the song at the time, but to me the straining vocal and the ploddingly downbeat and ominous piano perfectly resonated and conveyed and became the voice of the way I was feeling on those trips. And so this simple pop song, means a lot to me. It is, to me, about the constant struggle and stress between love and practicality. And the never-ending battle between forever and right now.
• Mitchell from Adelaide, Australia I love this song, I'm in university right now though, at the time of this message its just before my semester 1 exams for first year biotechnology so I don't know whether I'll get there or not.
  
  This song kind of freaks me out. When I become a scientist I don't want to break down because all I believe in is logic.
  
  Lucky for me right now though, I haven't ever had a girlfriend so I don't have anybody that will die on me... At least not yet anyway :(
• Chantelle from Shellharbour, Australiai think that this song meant how love is so powerful, but you dont know it untill the one that you truly love is actually gone.
• Ead from Yorba Linda, Ca I think it had to do with something that happened in his life that changed his path and career. I think he was leaning towards something of a scientific area and considered himself this very logical person. I think love entered his life and then left. He realized he wasn't this logical minded individual but a overwhelmingly passionate person. He thought he knew himself but experiences brought out who he really is.
• Ron from Newdelhi, Indiawhat i have to say about this song ... after viewing the video is that .... well first of all the video speak for the song itself , not sure if any body feels this way about songs especially the one's with the videos is that it more like a story !
  so if you watch the video ... this guy has lost the only gurl he loves the most in a car accident and now he wants to turn back time ... just like it was before (happy) together .... and the only way he can do it is buy making somekind of time machine and who makes all those jazzy huge pieces of machinery ... you guessed it right "Scientists" !
• Ghadah from Riyadh, Saudi Arabialove this song just love it
• Melanie from Seattle, WaThis song is so beautiful, and haunting, and you can just feel the loss expressed in the lyrics. Coldplay's lyrics are alway really thoughtful. this is definitely one of my favorite songs
• Neil from Birmingham, United StatesI think this song is about someone who percieves the world in a logical rather than an emotional way, as a scientist does to experiments, and tries to apply this logic to the relationship he is in. 'I was just guessing, numbers and figures, pulling the puzzels apart' implies he realises that he doesnt know wha to do. 'Questions of science do not speak as loud as the heart', after a seperation realising that logic cannot be applied to everything and that he is feeling emotion instead and ignoring the logic. Obviously he wants to try again now he realises his mistake.
• Madalyn from Greensburg, Pai love the video for this and its the reason why i listen to their music today...very good
• Adieml from Igarapé, BrazilI think this song is no way about a relationship betwen a woman and a man.This lovely melody very existencialist.
  
  I am also a "composer" or rather a receiver of the songs.The songs I right come from the spiritual world.So is this song. the author sad the song came at once. Exactly the same way it happens to me.
  
  This song shows a person who has discovered a lot of questions in science and other areas of the progress and didn'd use to take care of some person in special with his science: "to Come up to meet you,Tell you I'm sorry.
  
  Now he is in the spiritual world he realises that he needs to improve himself in other area. the area of the heart ( the christian love). So , he announces that he will reincarnate (to be born again): "Oh it's such a shame for us to part". It is a shame for every faled spirit to left the knologies of the spiritual world and restart the life on Earth again as a baby.
  And when a baby is been formed in the woom he goes back to primary fases, the fase of the "Running in circles,Coming in tails.Heads on a science apart".
  
  Heads on a science apart" could also mean that he doens't want to be a scientist again.
  
  Nobody said it was easy
  No one ever said it would be so hard
  I'm going back to the start.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Noe from Los Angeles, CaThis song is about the relationship of Men and God, how men parted from God. Men use science, philosophy, math, physic and many other things to understand the division of men and God. In reality men are just going around in circles not really knowing how to explain this question. In our heart we know we have to find God. That?s what religion tells us but many men can figure it out. Many people think this song is about love of a men and women. In my opinion I think he talking about God.
• Sarah from Hull, Englandthis was the first coldplay song that made me fall in love with their music
  i think that its about love and a person realising their love. it doesn't have to be the love for a person it could be loe for music or love for freedom or anything. the 'scientist' could either be a scientist or a person who is always curious, always with questions but they never realise they're always asking the wrong questions and eventually, by the time they do realise the questions they've been askin and all the science and the progress in the world is nothing compared to the love they feel its too late. i think the song is a lament of all the lost opportunities we have and never take.
  
  
• Steven from Hollywood, CaThere is no doubt this song is great. I saw Coldplay in Irvine, CA in 2005 and at the concert Chris Martin point blank said he wrote this song about his sister, who was the the Scientist of the family. I think all these postings about the meaning of the song, exemplifies the song's greatness because of its versatility.
• Kylie from Portland, OrThis is a beautiful song
  possibley the most beautiful in the world
  its my favorite of all time and I listen to it constantly
• Akul from Dehli, Indiathis song is my favorit along with til kingdom come. The lyrics are really meaningful and the basic tune/melody of the song is plain beautiful. I feel that this song is about a guy(scientist) so involved in his work that he forgets about his life. Soon he realizes that his work cannot replaceand make up for all the stuff in his life... and then wants to back to his life/love and start life anew.
  great song, video is great too
• Sam from Provo, Utthe play on the beatles "the walrus is paul" thing is hilarious. the scientist is dan. haha
• Joey from Nowhere Land, CaI don't know why, but the intro kind of reminds me of "Imagine" by John Lennon..well, just the piano bit before he starts singing anyway
• Jeanette from Newark, Cai think this song is about someone in love with someone and they want to be with them (again), they know it doesn't make sense and it's not practical, but they still want that person.
• Andrew from Dallas, TxOk, I don't think anyone has quite hit the nail on the nose just yet.
  This is a religious song.
  
  (oh yeah, I'm totally not a religious person, so Don't think I'm one of those crazy christians that is trying to convert you)
  
  The song is about the singers relationship with God, and how progress of technology has gotten between his relationship with Him.
  Break it down:
  I HAD TO FIND YOU (people 'find Jesus' I.E. Say it aint so by Weezer "you cleaned up found jesus")
  TELL YOU I NEED YOU (Relgious people need God. Duh)
  
  TELL ME YOUR SECRETS (People are always yerning to know about biblical times, things no one knows for sure)
  
  I WAS JUST GUESSING NUMBERS AND FIGURES, PULLING THE PUZZLES APART. QUESTIONS OF SCIENCE, SCIENCE AND PROGRESS, THE WORDS SPEAK AS LOUD AS MY HEART. (People often question the motifs of science because people are really scared to believe there might ACTUALLY not be a greater being)
  
  TELL ME YOU LOVE ME, COME BACK AND HAUNT ME (According to religion, 'God loves everyone', and when you do something wrong, God punishes you. Martin is saying these two lines as a way of saying "prove to me you're there")
  
  Everything else is pretty self explanitory, I think.
  So yeah.
• Justin from Detroit, MiThis song is about a scientist whose brilliant and analytical mind cannot save the relationship with his girlfriend.
• Phil from LondonThis is a really great song.
  The video is great, and so is the song. The lyrics have real meaning!
• Bonnie from Ft. Worth, TxI may be wrong but I think this song might have been written about H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Doesn't anyone read anymore? In the novel, the main character, a scientist, builds a time machine to go back in time to try and save his girlfriend from dying a tragic death. Read the book or at least see the movie. Then read the lyrics again and think about it.
• Emily from Huntington, WvI don't think this song is about a scientist.
  
  I think the scientist represents a person with many questions, who analyzes everything.
• Mark from Manila, OtherI love this song too...but the acoustic version was kinda cool too
• Dalmo from Sao Paulo, BrazilAimee Mann sings this song so beautifully. I just don't know in which CD her cover was released.
• J from Port Huron, MiHey, the Scientist is Dan? I know that guy.
• Melinda from Rino, CaI think this song is an amazing song-especially if you enjoy sexual activity in combination with music. I strongly suggest all you sex-buffs out there to hit up this song while youre doin' the naughty.
• Randy from Lexington, KyI heard that one of the members of Coldplay grew up in an orpanage that was run by a mad scientist who used the children for different experiments that included mutilation....this song is a tribute to the player who survived the awful scientist's wrath.
• Amy from Chester, Englandthis is my favourite song in the whole world!!! i want it to be played at my funeral!! he he.
• Jonathon from Memphis, TnIn the front cover of the album on the last page it says "The Scientist is Dan"
• Fevrier from Comox/courtneay, CanadaIf you interpret the song further than the simple relationship between the scientist and his girlfriend, then perhaps you'll see that's it's about Science on a whole. Perhaps it's saying that we become so caught up with technology and science, new cars and catchy logos that we forget about and ignore the things that are true to our heart; the things that actually mean something in life. Obviously he represents being caught up with science and society, and she represents things true to us.
  
  I'm not a fan of Coldplay, but I must say the song is impactful and certainly touching.
• Desiree from Ventura, CaI think it's about knowing that a relationship is over and knowing that the only way to fix it is to go back in time -- but that's impossible. The singer is lamenting the fact that nothing can erase the things that have gone wrong in this relationship which he once held so dear. It's that feeling when you're in a relationship that you know can't go anywhere, but you're still in love, and you just can't let go.
• Rachel from Toronto, CanadaThis song really hit a chord for me recently. I think it is about the typical scientist, always trying to figure out and explain things with his head to the point where he neglects what he feels in his heart. "Questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart"- I think it is a criticism of the formalities of science- the fact that we try to categorize everything to the point where the composite meaning is completely lost. You become fascinated by the search, only to realize that at the end you are back at where you started. It's that we are all scientists, we all try to make sense of things, and that we are engaged in a constant and continuous struggle of trying to understand all that we do not and cannot understand because you cannot explain matters of the heart.
• Zuri Rivera from Tavares, FlThe song has huge effect on me whem I hear it. The piano gives the song a powerful emotion for the listener. The video reminds me of a friend who died in a car accident. After his death everyone wished for everything to go back so that it would have never happened.I think we all feel this way when a tragedy happens. We want to start all over and have no regrets. Sometimes you wish you could have avoided something and take back time to start from the begining.
• Rick from Humboldt, Iacoldplay is currently the number 2 greatest band in the world(U2 is #1). but when it comes to my favorite bands it is fleetwood mac 1, U2 2, Queen 3, Goo Goo Dolls 4 and Coldplay 5.
• Grace from Fairfax Station, VaThis song is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Chris Martin, at first, didn't think he could write any better than this. It sounds so romantic and I've never heard the piano sound better.
• Vanessa from Montreal, CanadaThis is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard... about someone you love. Whenever i listen to the song, I'd cry and think of that person..:( I love it, music can speak louder than words or pictures or anything
• James from Portland, OrThis song is the epitome of beautiful music. Chris Martin's voice and the piano playing in the song makes it outstanding alone, but add the purpose of the song to all the other glory it has and you have the scientist. This song reminds me of 7th grade when i left my school to go to a prestigious tough private school. The lyrics in the song that provoke that thought are "nobody said it was easy", and "its such a shame for us to part."
• Steve from Tonawanda, NyIt sounds to me in the beginning that the person is apologizing, as if they made a mistake and wanna fix it. he needs to come up and tell her he sets her apart. To me this song is about someone who is confused about their relationship, breaks it off, then realizes what he or she has done. He realizes that the science and resons for the breakup dont speak as loud as his heart does. To me this all seems like an apology, explaination, and a plea for a second chance. He explains about his questions of science, which to me basically spells out doubts in the relationship. In the end he realizes what he wants and just wants to start over
• Michael from Dallas, TxLyrics, like poetry should not be interpreted as having one meaning. The Scientist is about whatever you want it to be, and that is why it's such an amazing song. It can reach you on levels that most songs cannot because of its ability to reach a vast amount of people in different ways. This song can bring hope to the lost and tears to the strongest of men. Great band, timeless song.
• Seamus from Brisbane, Australiathis song, along with many other songs by coldplay, can be interpreted anyway you feel it it talks to you. It may be written directly about someone but Martin has said in an interview that he writes so that his fans and the general musical audience can understand where he's coming from. this song has helped me through many hard times in my life and I'm pretty sure that's one of the effects Martin wanted on his fans when releasing the ballad. Off the meaningful subject: it's a beautiful song in it's simplicity the piano goes straight for the heart and the soothing falsetto after the last chorus compliments the band performance almost perfectly - I say almost because I don't know perfection. If you haven't heard it, you're missing out on one of the most fullfilling pieces of music ever written - pure gold!
• Jackie from Maywood, CaThis song, was my high school senior year song. It sure did it for us, Our class was the highest in the history of our school with the most honors awarded as well as the most numbers of graduates about 800. While, most of us were smart that did not meant that we wanted to leave and start all over again. We would wish to start high school again, not move on to college. While, in high school you have a lot of regrets, but you have to not only focus on your path of becoming a PhD. but also have time to be with your love ones. Whether it is a friend that you love so much or are in a relationship. This song focuses on two people but for our class it was about friendships. Regardless, of how much we have moved on in the world we still need someone. Science has improve tremendously, but it will never capture human emotions, love for a person is different than love for science, it just does not equal, love will win always!
• Steven from Liverpool, EnglandNatasha Bedingfield also did a cover of this in the Live Lounge with Jo Whiley. Live Lounge has given lots of artists to have a go at their own version of songs most famous was jazz singer Jamie Cullums version of Pharrell's Frontin'
• Anthony from Sugar Land, Txthis s great song 2 play on the piano
• Amanda from New York City, Nyyes i agree with the majority of you that this song is about how realtionships are hard and what not. but more specifially, i feel that love is being compared to science which just reflects the writers own confusion about love because there is no scientific explanation for it. this is a beautiful song that i think everyone can relate to in the sense that we never really know what love is or how to deal with it. its really quite interesting.
• Helene from Horseheads, NyI think it can be a metaphor if you want it to. Songs aren't always just about one thing. You can make them mean what you want them to mean to you. Just because the writer means one thing doesn't make that the only thing you can make it mean to yourself.
• Josh from Bothell, WaI'm glad you liked it. And by the way, its about whatever you please.
  
  All in good taste and Brilliant Questions,
  
  Substance of Discussion
• Ana from Louisville, KyI love this song soooooo much. It used to make me cry. But I was actually a bit upset to know that it really WAS about a scientist. I always thought it was some type of metaphor.
• Caroline from Baltimore, MdThis year at my school we had a dance performance. There was a really important school member, he was dean of the Boys School, was shot and killed. His daughter performed this song in a truly wonderful dance. I was moved to tears both times I saw it.
• Yasmin from Canberra, AustraliaThis song just takes me away. If you have to ask what Coldplay is, then you'll never know.
• Daniel from Leeds, EnglandA bit like a John Lennon song, except without the voice and the edge.
• Shong from Wausau, Wireally good song...i love the piano part at the beginng...it's really good...
• Paulo from Ensenada, MexicoVery beautiful song. It moves me like no other song I have heard before. I still cry every time I hear it. It was to me a surprise the ending song in the movie Wicker Park. It portraits a current affair in my life, that is why it's so powerful for me.
• Jason from Wylie, Txi really like this song also cuzz it fits so well with the relationship im in right now with my gf wishin we could go back to the start when things were new and exciting but then contempt settles in and resentment but love is always there but in comes in circles love,hate,love and it just keeps goin on and on round and round and tryin to guess what goes on ina woman's head is one of the most painful puzzles u can go thru
• Brendan from Terrace, CanadaI cant stand listening to this song anymore.. Not that I hate it, but because it just crushes me when I do. I absolutely love this song! Its just that it is such a sad, sad song. The rythem of the piano is heartwrenching. this songs a real tearjerker for me. Me and my g/f are in a long distance relationship and we have to be apart for months and months at a time. Saying goodbye is neevr easy.. The weeks after saying goodbye are even worse.. I have this song on a cd I listened to one night while biking.. when the song came on I had to stop and sit down for a bit because it just leveled me completely. I just broke down in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, beside the highway... This song affects me like no other.
• Ryan from Manila, OtherI guess I agree with Roxanne on this one. Maybe b'coz we analyzed the song based on what the lyrics say not the video, not the movie it was on or what we heard it meant to other people. It's on the words itself. So here are the lyrics and what each line means to me whenever I hear them. And, I can say I can relate...
  
  Come up to meet you, Tell you I'm sorry, You don't know how lovely you are
  
  I had to find you, Tell you I need you, Tell you I set you apart
  
  Tell me your secrets, And ask me your questions, Aww let's go back to the start
  (from upto here you can see that he's askin' for a second chance, a fresh start as many of you pointed out...)
  
  Runnin' in circles, Comin' up tails, Heads on a science apart
  (this line, to me, means that love always come full circle. its happy then its sad then happy again... never knowin' what's next... that's the game of love)
  
  Nobody said it was easy
  It's such a shame for us to part
  Nobody said it was easy
  No one ever said it would be this hard
  Aww take me back to the start
  (self explanatory. but it's not just about death. it could be any form of seperation, breaking up, losing a loved one. but for me i believe its just breaking up because of the line "It's such a shame for us to part" the word SHAME makes it senseless to believe it was about death... nobody said that keeping a relationship would be easy, nobody said that once that person leaves you it would be so hard)
  
  I was just guessin', At numbers and figures, Pullin' your puzzles apart
  (i can relate to this. my ex-gf who I still love and believe will be the one I will eventually marry was a puzzle i could'nt piece together. I always had to guess. that's how she is. she wants me to know what she needs without her telling me. that's bout the hardest thing to do. but i would have done anything for her nonetheless...)
  
  Questions of science, science and progress, Do not speak as loud as my heart
  (like roxanne wrote, there is no science to love. no matter how you try to narrow it down, words, numbers or equations will never explain how love works. this line says, on other words, "words, numbers or equations cannot even begin to explain how much i feel, how much you mean to me, how much i love you.)
  
  Tell me you love me, Come back and haunt me, Oh when I rush to the start
  
  Runnin' in circles, Chasin' our tails, Comin' back as we are
  
  Nobody said it was easy
  Aww It's such a shame for us to part
  Nobody said it was easy
  No one ever said it would be so hard
  I'm goin' back to the start
• Dominik from Zurich, SwitzerlandIn the album credits it says: the scientist is dan. just that, so i don't know who he means with that. but i guess that destroys all the theories the song was about Martin himself.
• Kate from Nepean, Canada-"Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be this hard." Best line ever.
• Jen from Boulder, CoThere's something about the piano that is both soothing and haunting at the same time.
• Shana from Pembroke, CanadaThis is the only song I like by Coldplay..this and Clocks, and the video is really cool, but sad.
• Joe from Southampton, EnglandEamon (of 'F*** You' fame) did a live cover of this on Radio One's 'Live Lounge' In the U.K. You can listen to it at
  rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio1/g2/whiley/live_lounge/eamon_oct04_scientist.rm?mode=compact
  It's pretty good.
• Keith from Sacramento, CaThis is the closing song in the movie 'Wicker Park'.... it's very fitting for the movie.
• Kaylene from Moore, Orits beautiful its makes me want to cry and give someone a hug lol... i wonder if given the choice would anyone actualy choose to go back to the start or would things become right in the end anyway?; would it just make things diferent and worse than before. butterfly effect? hmmm....
• Virna from Santo Domingo, OtherI think this songs awesome! It's one of my favorites from coldplay ,but i believe that this song isn't only about losing a person it's about the way that we have to handle deceptions such as losing a gf/bf or losing a loved one , it's true we are all scientists trying to find a solution to our problems .
• Scott from Us, MiThis is a beautifull song.
  
  Unfortunately I lived it and so it's a little painful to listen to.
  
  The Ph.D. doesn't seem so important now !!
• Ron from Detroit, MiI heard that he wrote this song at his dying mother's bedside.
• Gabe from Utica, NyThis song is a Coldplay classic. It was the first song I ever taught myslef to play on the piano. The guitar solo at the end is awesome! I can play that on the piano as well. The music video is the best music video I've ever seen. It's kinda ironic because this is one of my favorite songs but Science is my worst subject is school. This song is amazing.
• Parisc from Dallas, Tx"The Scientist" really hit home to me. When ever I hear it on the radio I think if my long term ex gf and cry. If only it were that easy, to go back and start fresh like he did. Funny thing is, I am a scientist. And there is no scientific solution to getting over someone who you loved so much :(
• Dusan from Berkely, IaFor starters this song is great! In case you arent familiar with the video i thought it explained the meaning of the song right there. He is talking about how hard it is to deal with a loved one that dies. "nobody said it was easy, nobody said it would be this hard" He is basically saying everyone knows its not going to be easy to deal with losing someone you have loved, but who knew it would be this hard.
• Letizia from Woodland, WaI think this song was awesome... i haven't heard this song in a long time... but I still love it
• Roxanne from Old Bridge, NjOk, say you never saw the video. I interpret this song as being about relationships and how "nobody said it was easy" and fighting, or other things that happen where hurtful stuff is said and you just want "to go back to the start".. or start over again fresh after a fight or breakup "its just a shame for us to part" .. and the singer is a scientist because no matter how hard he tries to analyze what happened, he can't because there is no science to relationships... he asking for her back the entire song. Strange to me that they ya'll say its about death because I think my view makes so much more sense... if im missing anything let me know because I never researched it...
• Tom from Trowbridge, EnglandI did'nt even think Chris Martin knew Gwyneth then! The album came out late 2002 so i guess the song was written sometime earlier in the year and i'm sure they have'nt been together that long.
• Rachel from Waurika, OkHe was not married to her when this song was written, they were just dating.
• Andrea from Hubbard, IaI think this song is beautiful. The thing that's so beautiful is its haunting melody. The way the piano moves reminds you of the way you feel when you lose someone you love. When someone can do that, it shows how truly talented they are.
• Ak from Reston, Vawait a sec. isnt chris martin married to gwyneth paltrow???? I mean, who is the girlfriend then if he's already married?
• T.j from Buford, GaThis song is also done on an acoustic guitar. It sounds great!...You should check it out!
• Amy from Meadowbrook , PaThis song is the best...... I mean it just is so right about the lost of a loved one.
• Alatriel from Lothlorien, OtherThis is the most beautiful song written by Coldplay, well, almost-"Amsterdam" is beautiful too. This song, while about a scientist, is at its core a simple song of regret and loss and a deep, powerful love between two people.
  See, Jake, other people like this song too.

More Songfacts:

Freedom '90George Michael

Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Tatjana Patitz lip-synched George Michael's lyrics in his "Freedom '90" video.

Freedom Of ChoiceDevo

The Devo song "Freedom Of Choice" is about mindless consumerism - how people like to make frivolous choices, but otherwise want to be told what to do.

Paradise By The Dashboard LightMeat Loaf

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Phil Rizzuto is the announcer on Meat Loaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light." Rizzuto used to broadcast games for his former team, the Yankees.

AngieThe Rolling Stones

"Angie" was the only ballad by The Rolling Stones to hit #1 in America.

E.T.Katy Perry

Katy Perry's song "E.T." came from a beat originally intended for the rap group Three Six Mafia. When her producer accidentally pulled up the beat, Perry asked to use it.

Livin' On A PrayerBon Jovi

Gina in Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" is based on a singer named Maria Vidal, who was working as a singing waitress using the name Gina Velvet.

Editor's Picks

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."

Music Video Director David HoganSong Writing

David talks about videos he made for Prince, Alabama, Big & Rich, Sheryl Crow, DMB, Melissa Etheridge and Sisters of Mercy.

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.