EmmaBee September 4th, 2009 04:58PM  
Coldplay is all about interpretation. Nonetheless:
To me this song, as most of coldplay's stuff, relates to a relationship or something in your life. It's dealing with someone else's letting you down.
"And the hardest part
Was letting go not taking part" Basically meaning the hardest part was talking yourself out of the relationship instead of taking a chance on it no matter what that chance could've cost or how must it would've hurt you. The bell, to me, refers to a wrestling bell. As in the hardest part was waiting for the bell to ring and the hurt to start "that was the strangest start"
Then the chorus: I could feel it the moment I met you that there was something and I could taste it the moment it went bad. I found myself looking for a silver lining but I don't know how to fix this and plain and simply "I wish that I could work this out." Then the second verse kinda refers to how when you can't fix or have something you never had it really breaks you and you don't know what to do. The song writer's way of coping is usually singing...but this time he can't find anything to sing/say/do that works. Then sort of asking himself how did it all happen "what it's all about" like why didn't this work? Why can't I figure it out? Then basically realizing the hardest part really is the fact that he can't do anything to change the situation so that he could've be chosen or chosen the relationship. He learned when he was young relationships could be fixed and people changed and now everything he knows is wrong and the world is upside down and all that he's tried to do has come undone...he then decides THAT is actually the hardest part...not being able to do/have done anything about it. Not being able to be happy in a relationship because that's just how it was and there really was nothing he could do to change that...he's helpless and that's "the hardest part". KAy, done. :P

petraglyph December 8th, 2009 01:05PM  
I've found hints on the Web that Chris Martin used to be Catholic, and I believe this song is about a crisis of faith--and more specifically about the painful loss of foregoing the sacrament of the Eucharist. For a Catholic, receiving the Lord in the Eucharist is deeply intimate and is central to the Catholic practice of faith. It is the Catholic understanding that Jesus is fully present in the Eucharistic host. "Taking part" is not only an intimate experience with the Lord, but is also an expression of unity with the Catholic community.

I have a hunch that Chris encountered a crisis of faith and opted to part ways with the Church. He sings that the hardest part of letting go was not taking part (of the Eucharist). A bell is rung during the consecration of the bread and wine to indicate the instance that Christ becomes present in the bread and wine. If my theory is correct, he probably continued to go to Mass for awhile, but did not received the Eucharist. He sings that it was "strange waiting for the bell to ring," knowing he would not take part. It was the strangest start.

He sings that his decision is bittersweet...he remembers how the Eucharist tasted in his mouth and how it felt to swallow. He is conflicted and wishes that he could work it out (his crisis of faith). Then he remembers why he is in crisis: "You (Jesus) really broke my heart." He tries to sing, but cannot. Then he remembers again, how he longs for Him and remembers the sweetness of the Eucharist in his mouth and how He (Jesus) is a silver lining in the clouds (a light in a dark world). He is perplexed about the strength of his longing for the Lord: "I wonder what it's all about." Then he returns to his crisis: "Everything I know is wrong. Everything I do, it just comes undone. And everything is torn apart." And that's the hardest part.

As the saying goes, "Perception is reality," and it is possible for our hearts to be broken due to conclusions based on inaccurate perceptions. The lens through which we see the world and particular events can shape a conclusion and may not entirely be based on fact. On a personal note, I have experienced this. My heart has been broken by a misinterpretation of events, leading to a spiritual crisis. Later, I realized that God did not let me down--I was merely seeing the world through a particular lens that was clouded and distorted. I hope that Chris is able to "work out" his crisis of faith, be reconciled to his Lord, and "take part" in the most intimate of Catholic experiences once again.

anonymous January 9th, 2010 12:29AM  
This song is about the birth of Chris' child. The "hardest part was not taking part" - when his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) was being wheeling into the delivery room and he couldn't really take Part - it was her job to have the baby...