What does The Scientist mean?

Coldplay: The Scientist Meaning

Album cover for The Scientist album cover

Song Released: 2002


Covered By: Willie Nelson


The Scientist Lyrics

Come up to meet you,
Tell you I'm sorry,
You don't know how lovely you are.

I had to find you,
Tell you I need you,
Tell you I set you apart.

Tell me your secrets,
Ask me your questions,
Oh, let's go back to the start....

  1. anonymous
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    Jan 21st 2009 !⃝

    I think, because he's looking at it scientifically, he's trying to separate himself emotionally from the situation, and hoping to draw conclusions as to where it wrong, that he couldn't before because he was too close. To distance yourself, and feel absolutely nothing as you disect the problems, and the person who hurt you.

  2. Sansa
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    Sep 16th 2008 !⃝

    The writer refers to Nature. The scientist who part off the nature because of his experiments and now he understands it was a mistake and he has to start from the begin...

  3. anonymous
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    Aug 30th 2008 !⃝

    No one of this interpretation has something to do with the video and I now finally understand the meaning of the song through out the video.

    He start lying on a bed and starring up to the sky and tell her that I coming up to met you and that he's sorry.

    Then he decide to going back to the start, then the video start going in remote.

    Then "I was just guessing in numbers and figures pulling the puzzles apart" are based of the car accident, he don't remember a thing. "Questions of science, science and progress as not speak as loud as my heart" are based of the police or something who can't figure out who a dead girl and a car is in the wood.

    He's very sorry for the lost but can't remember what was happen so "he's going back to the start to figure it out".

  4. anonymous
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    Jul 12th 2008 !⃝

    I heard somewhere that this is related to some story about a scientist who falls in love but would rather concentrate on his experiments, so when he finally realizes his mistakes the girl he loved had died.

  5. anonymous
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    Jul 9th 2008 !⃝

    Personally. I agree with some of you here.

    mostly based on relationships and using science logically.On the other hand I genuinely think its just a lovely love song to listen to. It has many meanings and everyone has their own opinion.
    Thanks.x

  6. anonymous
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    Jun 5th 2008 !⃝

    After hearing this song countless times (It steals a tear from me every time though), I think that it's about death. Love AND death. "It's such a shame that we have to part" means that they loved each other, but one of them died.

  7. anonymous
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    Apr 26th 2008 !⃝

    I think that it's about someone singing about someone who has died and dealing with the death wanting to "go back to the start" missing them so badly "come back and haunt me" that you start to analyze death and love - What is it? Why? "questions of science, science and figures, do not speak as loud as my heart". and finally something that everyone who has lost a loved one would understand "no body said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard"

  8. anonymous
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    Apr 20th 2008 !⃝

    For me its bout losing someone close to you. I lost my mum wen I was 12 and this song reminds me of her and helps me through. In the clip too, you see his partner dies in a car crash (a shame for us to part,no body said it was easy, take me back to the start)

  9. anonymous
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    Apr 12th 2008 !⃝

    I agree with one of meaning that this is about a scientist who has realised that he was so much engaged into the science and its progress that he almost forgot God and his relationship.And he feels this when his girlfriend died, a area which is governed by god and not by science. I don't know why most of the people link it with some girlfriend breakups,

  10. anonymous
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    Apr 6th 2008 !⃝

    Man and woman in a relationship. Man is a scientist, who gets lost in his profession and grows to love his work more than his spouse. Then there is a tragic accident. It could have possibly been cause by the man on accident or not, that can go either way. Now with his spouse being dead, he finally realizes what he has done wrong and just wants to throw away his profession as a scientist and go back to the start. However, the sad part is that he can only wish, because whats done is done.

  11. anonymous
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    Feb 23rd 2008 !⃝

    My theory is that this man had a beautiful yet very insecure woman and more than likely he never gave her the attention and love that she so needed.(he set her apart) Then something happens, death or the sort (tell me you love me, come back and haunt me)and suddenly he realizes how much he loved her and wants a second chance....let's go back to the start. He knew relationships weren't easy but never knew how hard. And now he really sees how hard it is cause something so drastic happened to her and he'll never have her back even though he never knew he would lose her this way. And it's such a shame for us to part because all along something so simple as maybe just showing her how much he loved her could have prevented the inevitable.

  12. anonymous
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    Jan 21st 2008 !⃝

    This is about science.

  13. anonymous
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    Dec 23rd 2007 !⃝

    This song is about a couple getting into a car accident and the girl the guy is in love with dies. Now he's stuck thinking about what could have been and all his regrets and he wishes he could go back to the beginning!!

  14. anonymous
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    Dec 15th 2007 !⃝

    I think that this song is about one of the heaviest times in the life of a person who is analytical but also very emotional. These kinds of people are scientists and musicians, mathematicians and artists, and so on. When they realize that viewing the world in a way that is all numbers and symbols, it hits them that life is all in essence, and that you cannot translate ALL of its wonders into data if you still have a soul.

    It's like trying to create a time machine,
    or mind reading,
    or reading the future--
    all things that are impossible.

    In the end, he says that you should just let things be:
    if they happen, they happen;
    if they happened, they happened;
    if she doesn't, then she doesn't;
    if you FEEL, then you feel. Period.

  15. anonymous
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    Dec 12th 2007 !⃝

    I think this song is about unexpressed love, and a relationship that goes round in circles without getting anywhere as a result of his actions (running in circles), i.e (come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry). And suggesting it is he who has made the mistakes, (I had to find you, tell you I need you, tell you I set you apart. Tell me your secrets, ask me your questions, lets go back to the start). It's about a relationship which is struggling to work between two people who love each other, who are trying desperately to work out why (I was just guessing at numbers and figures). Ultimately, I feel as if it's expressing the fact that love alone is not enough to base a relationship on, and that sometimes things don't work, even if you love the other person deeply (tell me you love me, come back and haunt me)




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