Ratings History

Album

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

Information

"Violet Hill" is the first single from Coldplay's fourth studio album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, released on May 6, 2008.

Chris Martin described the song as having a "chalky, pastel feeling" which he said reminds him of his childhood. "Imagine a pseudo guitar-like circus music with a pinch of Chicago... It's something new from us and you will be impressed." The song is the first anti-war protest song from the band, and borrows its rhythm from the Beatles; Violet Hill is a street near Abbey Road. Martin told Rolling Stone that lyrics about a fox becoming a god and a "carnival of idiots on show" were a commentary on Fox News.

Chris, Jonny, Guy & Will scored their ninth UK top ten hit in May 2008 with the Brian Eno produced "Violet Hill". Not long after, in mid-June, their album 'Viva La Vida' shot straight to No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic and downloads of the title track gave them their first chart-topping single here in Britain. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.