Coldplay: The Scientist Meaning

Song Released: 2002

Covered By: Willie Nelson

The Scientist Lyrics

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,
Ask me your questions,
Oh, let's go back to the start....

1. anonymous

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   Sep 25th 2014 !⃝

   I think it's definitely what others have said, especially about a guy who has made a huge mistake in breaking up with his partner. The added twist for me is the "scientist" part, which speaks to me more personally. I think the protagonist is literally a scientist, someone who maybe isn't used to the feelings of love, those which can't be put into "numbers and figures." So he's spent the whole relationship trying to examine it scientifically. Either he/his partner ended the relationship because of this. He's only now coming to terms with what he felt/he feels, finally accepting that love isn't something that can be studied or quantified.
2. anonymous

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   Sep 24th 2014 !⃝

   This song is about a man who has just broken up with his girlfriend. He feels the pain and regret, and wants to apologize, hence the line"come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry". The man just wants to go back to the beginning, and start over with the girl. He doesn't care about the real world, all he wants is to be with her, hence the line"questions of science, science and progress, don't speak as loud as my heart". The girl does not agree, and he feels even deeper regret and sadness-"It's such a shame for us to part, nobody said it would be easy, no one ever said it would be this hard". This is a beautiful song.
3. anonymous

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   Sep 3rd 2014 !⃝

   I think its all about LSD :-)
4. anonymous

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   Aug 9th 2014 !⃝

   Bringing someone back to life. Could also be about a breakup.
5. anonymous

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   May 9th 2014 !⃝

   It's so easy... He talks about life.
6. anonymous

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   Mar 26th 2014 !⃝

   Science is like a snake which swallows it's own tail. That's why it's running like and circle and just disappear. I just read in the Bible. Oh about this song there is a scientist who never give up and he is going back to start again in science. And disappear again. Don't worry he will running like circle until he sees God.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
7. nashley

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   Mar 12th 2014 !⃝

   I honestly think that he did something horribly wrong in the relationship he was in and he's thinking too hard to know what he did wrong. In the video Chris goes back in time, right? I think that he wasn't going back just to save his girlfriend or fiance, but to see what had gone wrong. If you notice, in the video, he's ignoring everything as he walks back but he's actually trying to remember. Just as he was trying to remember what he had done wrong in the relationship. That's my opinion.
8. dmfp

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   Mar 6th 2014 !⃝

   To me, The Scientist is a story about a man who at one point lost his relationship with God and in the song is expressing that he wants to re-start it.
   
   As a non-religious person myself but yet having a church upbringing, I believe many people who once were strong believers but at some point begin to question their faith can relate to this song in a very literal sense.
   
   Most people who lose their relationship in God or begin to question religion turn to science to answer the questions about life that most believers attribute to God:
   
   "I was just guessing at numbers and figures
   Pulling the puzzles apart
   Questions of science, science and progress
   Do not speak as loud as my heart"
   
   Instead of being a believer, he has become a "scientist"... but he now sees that (to him) trusting only science and the explainable doesn't truly answer his questions or guide him through life.
   
   * * *
   
   "Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions
   Oh lets go back to the start..."
   
   He is asking God to once again guide him and is willing to prove his faith again ("ask me your questions") in however God asks him to.
   
   * * *
   
   "And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me..."
   
   As many Christians believe that God is a spirit (sometimes even referred to as the Holy Ghost), the words "haunt me" can almost be taken in a literal sense. He is asking God to forgive him and grace his life again.
9. anonymous

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   Feb 4th 2014 !⃝

   I think it's about a guy who messed up and lost someone who he really loved but her keeps messing up and loses her "running in circles" but this time he lost her for real and wants to go back to the start,just wanted know whats he doing wrong or something he doesn't know. "Tell me your secrets ask me your questions" and this break up is really hard because he loves her but he keeps trying to scientifically figure out what when wrong when he should just think with his heart instead.
10. anonymous

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    Nov 3rd 2013 !⃝

    This song hits me hard everytime I hear it. When something is coming to an end that means so much to you. You question why. The singing is pouring his heart out you can hear it in his voice. It's tragedy when a relationship has become so complicated you must use science to figure it out. Love isn't supposed to be complicated but so natural. Just my two cents and my favorite coldplay song.
11. anonymous

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    Oct 4th 2013 !⃝

    It's like all music. Musicians are reaching out to someone, to let them know that it is ok to make mistakes, after all we are all human. It is the same with, desperado, American Pie, Your Song, Annies Song.
    Is it unusual that when you listen to all music lately, that you feel that the song is about you? And you only?
    That is the puzzle for the musicians to solve.
12. anonymous

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    Aug 25th 2013 !⃝

    Best song by coldplay
13. anonymous

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    Aug 25th 2013 !⃝

    Best coldplay song
14. anonymous

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    Jul 4th 2013 !⃝

    I think he sang it for his son Billy, who killed himself.
15. anonymous

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    Dec 23rd 2012 !⃝

    I think, the Song is about someone, maybe a Scientist, who did a terrible mistake, which he just realized, when everything was over. He was focusing on his work and wanted to make progress (Questions of science, science and progress ), so he didn't think about the consequences his acting might have. In the end he realizes, that he did something bad to many human and maybe also killed someone because of his zeal.
    
    You can abstract this to every situation. Maybe he means, that his girlfriend broke up with him, because he was to zealous, or he lost someone of his family, which -he thinks- he could have prevented, or he lost the contact to someone who was very important to him, because he was focusing on other things.
    
    Anyways, it's your opinion, so this is just a suggestion.
    
    Merry Christmas, everyone!

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