SAMBUA, Karla Coleen A. Paper #3
Hum14-A26 February 9, 2017
Viva La Vida is a controversial song by a popular British band, Coldplay. Viva La
Vida is a Spanish term which means “Long Live Life” or “May Life Live”. I must admit
that when I first listened to the song, I don’t fully understand what the song is trying to
say. But, after listening to it few more times and reading its lyrics, I somewhat
understood what the composer is trying to say. Viva La Vida talks about the existence of
God and what do we, humans, react about it. The first verse basically says that the
people who believe in God think they can do anything and condemn the non-believers,
saying that they will suffer in misery and pain. The last line of the verse, “And I
discovered that my castle stand, upon the pillars of sand”, means that the believers of
God thought that they are successful and contented, only to find out that they are just
living with false truth. Meanwhile, the second and third verse is all about the people who
keep spreading the “word of God” and conning people with lies about what is “God” and
what is its effect to everyone. The composer emphasizes that the people who believe in
God is like a puppet, who is willing to do anything just to glorify what they call “God”.
And the puppeteer as a controller, who uses “God” and religion to gain power. The
fourth and last verse raises the point that there was never a true statement said, and
