I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand
(chorus)
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world
It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries Wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?
First, of all lets look at the album art
The album artwork, which is my least favorite of all the Coldplay albums is clearly a depiction of the French Revolution. If you google image "french revolution" this painting comes up. The French flag is waving over a bloody battlefield. I don't get the exposed breasts, but that is more a commentary on the art then the meaning of the song. So, with this odd album cover about the French Revolution, some of the context for this song is established. If you go through and read some of the verses, you can start to see how this is being told from the perspective of the overthrown King Louis XVI, who "used to rule the world." This powerful man is remembering how it was when he was in charge. He could give a word and see massive changes. I think this sufficiently explains the verses.
The chorus is a bit harder to explain. I think this is remembering another historical instance of great political upheaval. Connecting the "roman cavalry" and the Jerusalem bells can be hard, but it makes me wonder when were there times the bells in Jerusalem would have been ringing. Bells for us are happy sounds, but think about them more as air raid signals. One time the bells would have been ringing was when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. Or there were times when Jerusalem was attacked by Christian "roman" armies in the crusades. These two options carry different significance.
Let's pretend it is the first option. The Jewish people had aligned themselves politically with Rome and enjoyed certain privileges that other ethnic groups did not enjoy- for instance, they did not have to worship the Caesar. Early Christians were shielded from much persecution because they were a Jewish sect. That is, until Jerusalem bells were ringing because of the Roman army. This is also when Christianity really began to spread, explaining the missionary statement.
If this is a valid explanation, why connect it to the French Revolution? At both of these times in history, these people experienced a fall from the heights. The Christians were protected before and then found themselves as martyrs, but continued to grow nonetheless. The French fell from power because their pride, and ended up at the bottom. The Christians fell, but found themselves powerful in a few generations.
This is the theme of this album. The powerful fall and the weak become strong. I believe this fits the rest of the album as well and Chris Martin's social justice emphasis.
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