Coldplay: Selling Secular Songs of Salvation & Sacrifice

I have to admit that I wasn't very impressed when I heard Coldplay's first single, "Yellow," when it hit the airwaves five or six years ago. I was a hopeless jazzoid at the time; my musical snobbery had elevated to a level of absurdity, wherein I scoffed at anything that lacked syncopation, complex rhythms, and intricate improvisational work.

It wasn't until I had a gig at a wedding reception that I started to listen to the lyrics. The couple had requested that we play the song, and it was easy enough, so set about learning to play it. It was this line that caught my attention: "Your skin & bones turn into something beautiful / You know, for you I'd bleed myself dry." To me, that sounded like something very familiar. "What else could it mean but the death and resurrection of Christ?" I thought to myself, "Or maybe he's referring to the transfiguration, and then the passion." Moreover, the last line is: "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and all the things you do." Psalm 19:1 - "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

I was intrigued. I listened with an attentive ear, determined to find something that would either solidify my assumptions or negate them. Though I have yet to find either, I have found one thing: the love portrayed in the lyrics of Coldplay songs is often either salvific, sacrificial, or both (though neither ever seem to occur in a spiritual context). Consider fragments from the following songs...

Shiver - "So I look in your direction / But you pay me no attention, do you? / I know you don't listen to me / 'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you?// I'll always be waiting for you" - Describes a patient love that waits despite current disinterest.

Yellow - "You know for you I'd bleed myself dry." - self explanatory

High Speed - "Can anybody fly this thing? / Before my head explodes or my head starts to ring" - Asking for someone with the ability to take control and save from pain/self-destruction

In My Place - "In my place, in my place / Were lines that I couldn't change / I was lost, oh yeah / I was lost, I was lost / Crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed / I was lost, oh yeah / How long must you wait for it? /How long must you pay for it?" - Infers that the author had at some point gone out of the boundaries, acknowledging that he shouldn't have done so; somebody now has to "pay for it." Moreover, these boundaries were beyond his ability to alter.

God Put a Smile Upon Your Face - "Where do I go to fall from grace?"

Clocks - "The lights go out and I can't be saved / Tides that I tried to swim against / Have brought me down upon my knees / Oh I beg, I beg and plead" - First states that he can't be saved, then begs to be saved when on his knees. As an aside, it makes me think of Ephesians 4:14.

Daylight - "To my surprise, and my delight / I saw sunrise, I saw sunlight / I am nothing in the dark / And the clouds burst to show daylight / Ooh and the sun will shine / Yeah on this heart of mine."

Green Eyes - "Honey, you are a rock upon which I stand // I came here with a load / And it feels so much lighter / Now I met you / And honey you should know / That I could never go on without you."

Warning Sign - "So I crawl back into your open arms / Yes I crawl back into your open arms." - Redemptive forgiveness

A Whisper - "Come back and look for me / Look for me when I am lost."

This whole song is salvific, but here's a snippet:
Amsterdam - "Stuck on the end of this ball and chain / And I'm on my way back down again / Stood on the edge, tied to a noose / Sick to my stomach / You can say what you mean / But it won't change a thing / I'm sick of the secrets / Stood on the edge, tied to the noose / You came along and you cut me loose."

That's just the first two albums; that should be enough to prove my point.

Considering this, is it any wonder that Coldplay is an international sensation? Yes, the music in and of itself is quality, and I won't deny that (Brit Rock bands are now among my favs). However, I would argue that their appeal is heightened by their lyrics. People everywhere, all around the world, long for a Savior. As fallen individuals, we crave a love that is sacrificial, that is willing to sacrifice life itself in order for the relationship to be heightened and extended. We want a love that will pull us out of the mess we're in, to cut us loose from the noose we have fitted around our necks.

Jesus Christ is the only one who can truly and supremely display this sacrificial love, and simultaneously pull us out of the depth of our sin. Though it is unlikely to be intentional, Coldplay has profited from the depravity of humankind and our longing for Christlike love by making human relationships a false Christ. This type of love, of course, is a tainted version of the truth, as it is quite clear in many of the previously listed songs that the subject of this relational fulfilment is not divine, but human. This, in turn, furthers the worldwide misconception that human relationships are the epitome of human fulfillment. If only they knew the perfect love of Christ!

Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Follow You Into the Dark

Seattle-based, formerly-indie rock group "Death Cab for Cutie" released an album in August of 2005 entitled, "Plans." Many of the songs include poignant observations of love and loss, and the often apparent futility of making plans. This of course brings to mind James 4:14 ("Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."), not to mention the entire book of Ecclesiastes. However, there is one song that stands out amongst the rest, one that Lisa Dremousis of Paste Magazine calls, "...one of the most gorgeous songs of the past decade, in any genre, throughout the heliosphere. A purer love song has never been written."

I Will Follow You Into the Dark

Love of mine some day you will die,
But I'll be close behind; I'll follow you into the dark
No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white,
Just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark

If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles brusied by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me "Son,
fear is the heart of love" So I never went back

If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangcock to Calgary, and the soles of your shoes
Are all worn down, the time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about 'cause we'll hold each other soon
In the blackest of rooms

If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
I'll follow you into the dark

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Fortunately, a purer love song has been written, and the author is God Himself.

The desire for romantic love to continue after the body ceases to function taps into a human desire that thrives within the hearts of people around the world. The idea of an afterlife is not a human invention, but a distinct reality that everyone, despite what they claim to believe, feels tugging at their consciousness. Knowing full well that God exists, many create a reality that makes a comfortable place for sin to reside, without acknowledging the one, true and living God (Romans 1:18-21). Such is the case with this song.

In the alternate reality that Ben Gibbard has created in this song, he and the love of his life frolic in a non-existent absence somewhere between heaven & hell. An idea is conveyed that neither heaven nor hell want them to join their congregation, and so the two decide to exist alone together somewhere else, and their love for one another will be enough. There is no judgment, no justice, and there are no consequences for sin.

The problem that lies herein is the same problem that exists for all post-modern thinkers: sincerity of belief neither equates to truth, nor does it equate to reality. If I sincerely believe that I can step directly in front of bus going 65 mph and not get hit, it doesn't stop the bus from hitting me. The truth and reality of such a situation would mean that I would be sorely, sorely mistaken. The bus would hit me, and after I had made the decision to trust my feeling and my sincere belief, I would never be able to take it back. It goes back to Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seem right to a man, but its end is the way of death." There exists no middle-ground between heaven & hell, no third option, and no alternative.

The basic premise of this song is incredibly romantic: that love conquers death and can continue in the afterlife. Fortunately for us, this premise is true! "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13. The love song of Christ's life, death, and resurrection far exceeds the words or deeds of any man. "In this love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins," - 1 John 4:10. Death is swallowed up in the victory Christ has won over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Those who confess Christ with their mouth, and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved from the fires of hell (Romans 10:9). "This eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

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On a side note, Gibbard makes abundantly clear that his abandonment of the Christian faith is due to faulty teaching in a Catholic school. He attirbutes an entire verse to describe an experience he had has a young boy with a nun who told him that "fear is the heart of love." Either Gibbard is mistaken in his recollection of what the nun had taught him, or the nun was mistaken in her recollection of Scripture. According to Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction," (emphasis mine). Notice also that it does not say that fear of nuns or fear of man, but fear of the Lord, equating to a reverent respect of God. Moreover, 1 John 4:18 assures us that, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." God's perfect love allows believers to live without fear!

Because of one woman's poor witness, thousands of people will impacted by a song that exalts a human relationship, denies God, and attempts to challenge the reality of judgment in the afterlife. Perhaps this nun would have done well to have read James 3:1 - "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."