lilysoul September 21st, 2008 07:27PM  
The goal of a true artist or musician is to allow others to interpret their work as they wish or as they need to. That's probably why no one seems to know exactly the meaning of this masterpiece. It's definitely about love, it's definitely beautiful, it speaks to our souls. For example, I can see the Spiritual meaning, and I can see the human-love meaning(all love is a reflection of Divine love anyway, right?) True love, whether for your mother, your child, your soul mate, your friend, your brother - is when you'd do anything for that person;loving them makes their mere, common "skin and bones" something beautiful and no one seems as exquisite as the one you are loving. These interpretations are all terrific, they reveal how this song has touched each heart in a personal way. No matter where Coldplay's ideas for "Yellow" came from, this song is one with which every person connects. Art doesn't need to be dissected.....

anonymous September 24th, 2008 03:58PM  
It's just about love and devotion, he needed a word, he saw the YELLOW pages. They were star gazing during a break at the recording studio one night and it just came to them. It's not about disease or anything else like that.

anonymous October 18th, 2008 11:43PM  
Yellow in Shakespearian era and before was the color of death (Yeah I know it's ironic compared to the hippy movement). The song is about a person who is singing about a loved one who is dying. The singer is trying to cheer the person up "look how the stars shine for you" has been trying to save the loved one "I swam across, I jumped across for you" and will do anything to save the loved one "I'll bleed myself dry"

anonymous October 20th, 2008 06:44AM  
Of all the interpretations I read the most appropriate is derived from the lines of the book rigveda (Indian mythology)...which starts with the line ..I AM THE SUN...
which means everything in the world is derived from the Sun(yellow)...in the song ...first line is... 'look how the stars ....how they shine for you...'... The Sun is infact a star(hence the reference yellow)....everything on this earth is derived from the Sun...whether its the trees, stones, even us, our feelings and the energy circulating in the earth)....
The reference to I AM THE SUN is actually meant to instill a feeling of confidence, pride and joy in the reader as to say he is the part of the mighty sun and he is as powerful as the sun....
the song is set in the same mood...

do correct me if you find the explanation absurd...
:-)

precioustiger October 23rd, 2008 01:21PM  
It's about unconditional love the guy has for his lover. I don't think this is a song about a drug addiction. 'Yellow' is presents a symbolic meaning of loneliness.

precioustiger October 23rd, 2008 01:22PM  
This is what someone else told me I guess you could go about it either way


"First of all, this will help my explanation of my opinion, I always thought it was, "your skin, yeah, oh yeah your skin and bones, turn into something beautiful, do you know do you know i'd bleed myself dry"
It is a love song, a man is in love with this dead girl and he is willing to kill himself for her, her body is yellow and the man is obsessed with her, so everything is yellow and he misses her so much, he is just engulfed by her, women can manipulate men, eevn when they are dead.
this guy was seriously in love with this chick, then she died and he can't get over her death, it became an obsession, it kinda makes me think of a necrophiliac ."

anonymous October 27th, 2008 02:42AM  
I don't know what this song is about, but if I were dying from liver failure, I wouldn't want my son to write a song about my sick liver-failureish skin color.

iheartsparklyvampire October 27th, 2008 07:06PM  
Most of you are wrong...no offense. The band has said that it is about an anorexic girl. So the lines "Yeah you're skin and bones..." might help persuade you. Even though the girl is anorexic the guy still loves her. And the star represents him (the guy who loves her).

lucy123 November 1st, 2008 12:44PM  
This song is about someone who is so deeply in love they don't know what to do. The world revolves around the person they love. They believe the person they love to be the reason the stars shine. I don't know, but this is how I see this line, 'for you i bleed myself dry.' This is saying that he cuts him self, and lets the blood drain out, for the person he loves, because he doesn't know what else to do. He is so depressed. 'I drew a line for you' means that he gave her limits, but she crossed them and broke his heart. Now he's lost, and he's fighting to get back to the surface

anonymous November 24th, 2008 04:34AM  
Yellow is the color of the stars, but yellow also refers to someone who is scared. He made the necessary moves towards the relationship because she was afraid to herself. Then, he "drew line"... the old ultimatum drove her away and now he's alone again. So he's just sad and sees everything in yellow. The strive for love. All the unreturned favors and signals. How far he would go for love . . . 'for your i bleed myself dry'. . Also just complimenting this girl and worshiping her, really. The song is literally taken from a phone book: Chris Martin needed a two-syllable word and there was the Yellow Pages. Seriously. I love Coldplay: they're just so, you know, *meaningful*.

edwardlover133 November 26th, 2008 09:02PM  
For all twilight lovers: this song is about a person in love with a vampire their eyes are yellow when they are happiest and the most full i would bleed myself dry for you... get any more obvious? skin and bones turn into something beautiful, when you become a vampire you become less human but more beautiful

tracyqway November 29th, 2008 05:56PM  
When I hear this song, I automatically think of my son. This song is definitely about unconditional love for the people in your life: from parent to child, sibling to sibling, partners or whatever. Yellow is about loving someone so much that you'd, give anything for them. A genuine wish for someone to have nothing but joy in their life. I think of my son, this young beautiful person, who is deserving of everything good and wonderful, and beautiful. I'd give my life for his Peace & joy. My love for him has kept me alive and saved me more than once, from giving up. My greatest gift from God. Thank you

anonymous January 19th, 2009 12:04AM  
He wrote this for his mother who was at the time dying of a problem with her liver. That's what it's about...

anonymous February 2nd, 2009 09:02PM  
Wow! I hear it so much differently; I think it is about being stung by a yellow jacket bee and having a major ALlergic reaction. Then the healing process and trrying to make something good come out of it. I drew a line for you...we all draw the line daily when it comes to our integrity... how far will we go; who are we when the rubber really meets the road..are we going to follow blindly or choose leadership.

anonymous February 9th, 2009 12:11AM  
I just saw him on 60 minutes and he said "He does not even know what it means, they just wrote it and he's happy everyone loves it! oceandad in Portland, OR.

anonymous February 13th, 2009 09:50PM  
well no matter what.. i hope that thing about he just choose the name for the song after the yellow pages.. for me it takes away the beauty of the lyrics

anonymous February 26th, 2009 12:09PM  
My interpretation:

"Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow"

It's about a guy writing a song for a girl whom he had loved and died. The stars shine brightly in mourning of the girl whom he loved. Everything she did has all turned yellow, signifying death.

"I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow"

In his sorrow he wrote a song for the girl, this song specifically.

"So then I took my turn
Oh what a thing to have done
And it was all yellow "

So then he decided it was his turn to die, so as to join her soul.

"Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know?
You know I love you so
You know I love you so"

Her previous form (skin & bones) has now turned into something beautiful (her soul). He despairs & misses her greatly.

"I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh what a thing to do
'Cos you were all yellow "

Probably in his bid to save her before she died, he tried swimming across or jumping across the water. He failed in his attempt to save her, and nothing could be done to bring her back, thus "you were all yellow".

"I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow"

He took a knife and drew a line across his wrist, he drew it for her, as he wanted to end his life for her.

"And your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know?
For you I bleed myself dry
For you I bleed myself dry"

With his cut wrist, he waits for himself to bleed dry and die, while thinking of how beautiful she was, and hoping to meet her soul in heaven.

sylvia March 6th, 2009 08:57PM  
actually the song is about a bond of friendship, for them brotherly love if you will. and Yellow the color is a happy color to be associated with happy things. It is about taking risks for someone, and doing anything for that person lover or friend.

samaemae March 29th, 2009 07:23PM  
When i asked about this song, i was told that the person who wrote it (whoever that may be) had gotten into a car accident and his girlfriend died because he ran a yellow light. and so everything he went through in his life there after was "yellow" "and it was all yellow" im sure it is a love song. but that is where the color yellow came into play.

Kamalamala June 14th, 2009 02:22AM  
This song is obviously about the time spent in a padded room for crazy people. The pads are supposed to be whit but are stained yellow with the sweat and urine of past inhabitants. The lyrics also obviously point to hints of racism against the Chinese and and how they are cowards. Yellow people are the Chinese and acting yellow is being cowardly. This songs brilliantly ties the experience of being in an crazy house in the padded room with the seemingly genetic cowardice of the entire Chinese race.