Over-analysis alert: If there’s one thing I love, it’s thinking way too much about a piece of artwork. I’ve had some time and multiple listenings to take in Coldplay’s new album, Mylo Xyloto, and I think I’ve pieced together a storyline. Take what you want from below … I offer it mostly as a way to enjoy the story of the album, in addition to the excellent music. (And Case, I’m sorry for being such a nerd.)
Big picture (from Wikipedia):
According to Chris Martin, the album is “based on a love story with a happy ending”, in which two protagonists: Mylo and Xyloto, who are living in an oppressive, dystopian urban environment, meet one another through a gang called “The Lost Boys”, and fall in love. Lyrically, the album is inspired by “old school American graffiti” and “the White Rose Movement [a nonviolent resistance movement in Nazi Germany who spread anonymous anti-Hitler leaflets].”
I’m going to go ahead and assume that the more electrical/produced the sound is, the more “dystopian” the setting and meaning is, and the more acoustic, the more pure and free. I’m also going to assume that there is one cogent storyline (ie, these songs could be performed by characters onstage in this order, as a rock opera, and make sense with scripting in-between). Third, I’m going to assume that this storyline is a fairly straightforward boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back again plot, as suggested by the songs, and that they’re making use of pretty conventional dystopian stock characters, by and large.
So here’s the story as I get it:
- Mylo Xyloto: Overture, setting the stage
- Hurts Like Heaven: Seems like an introduction of one protagonist (let’s assume it’s Mylo, who’s the boy) — who’s going out with a group for the first time to do something illegal. “Yes, I feel a little bit nervous / yes, I feel nervous and I cannot relax / how come they’re out to get us?” Given the info from Wiki, I’m going to say he’s tagging the city with anti-authority graffiti as part of the Lost Boys gang.
- Paradise: Makes sense that this would be the introduction to the second protagonist (Xyloto, the girl, for the sake of the argument). Sounds to me like she’s deeper in the system than Mylo. In fact, I’m going to go way out on a ledge and say, if this is a typical/cliche dystopian plotline — and let’s be honest, Coldplay is an awesome band, not a group of groundbreaking novelists — she’s probably the daughter of a higher-up in the government organization. I know that’s a leap, but it lines up with some stuff later (especially in Princess of China), so bear with me. If I’m on the right track here, sounds like she’s under the influence/thumb of the system, repeating their propaganda “I know the sun must set to rise / this could be Paradise.” She dreams of more, but is locked in the system.
- Charlie Brown: This song is pretty narrative — it starts off with, “Stole a key / took a car downtown where the Lost Boys meet,” so I’m gonna go with this: something happened between songs to get Xyloto to leave home and seek out these graffiti artists/protestors, where she joins them. “Took what they offered me” could be drugs, or it could be a can of spray-paint as she joins them in their anti-authoritarian tagging. Then she pretty obviously meets Mylo when the music gets awesome under “Light a fire / light up my heart.” I think Mylo’s tagger name is Charlie Brown and his symbol is a cartoon heart. Sparks fly, lyrically and emotionally. See the quiet cue at the end of the song for a perfect “scene melts away as boy and girl touch” stage moment.
- Us Against the World: A perfect boy-and-girl song that doesn’t need much explaining. They’re in love and enjoying its secrecy.
- M.M.I.X.: I had it pointed out to me by someone smart that this is Roman numerals for 2009 … I think in addition, it’s the same first two letters as “Major Minus,” which is the most antagonistic song in the pack. If I were writing this story, I’d say this is the threat being introduced — their perfect little word being intruded (or spied) on by the villain — who, again, I’m going to call Xyloto’s father. Heck, I’ll even go so far as to presume that his name is Minus and his rank is Major.
- Every Teardrop is a Waterfall: I think this is the Mylo Xyloto version of “Do You Hear The People Sing.” Seems like a defiant anthem sung by the Lost Boys in chorus to me. “From underneath the rubble sing a rebel’s song.” The tension between our heroes and villains is getting amped up.
- Major Minus: Definitely a Big Brother song if there ever was one. I don’t see how there’s much question about this. “They’ve got one eye on the road and one on you.” This is a running-from-pursuers number. Interesting moments include “Hear those crocodiles ticking ’round the world,” — there’s the Peter Pan theme coming back around in an ominous way; our bad guys are definitely after the Lost Boys — and “She can hear them climbing the stairs / I’ve got my left side fighting…” Too much of a stretch to say that Mylo and Xyloto are cornered? I don’t think so.
- U.F.O.: Okay, I’m going to take my biggest narrative leap yet. I think that Mylo is offered a choice by Major Minus, Xyloto’s evil father — to rejoin the system so he can be with Xyloto, or to continue as a rebel and be separated from her. I know. This is a leap. But check out what follows in “Princess of China,” as well as “I don’t know which way I am going…” Sounds like a song where he’s trying to make up his mind.
- Princess of China: We’ve got a full-scale return to the dystopian, heavily-produced sound, especially over Xyloto’s part, which makes me think she’s been absorbed back into the system. It sounds to me like Mylo chose freedom from tyranny over joining the system, probably in the hope that Xyloto might still join him in liberty. But clearly, that’s not how it worked out. This song is the big reason I think Xyloto’s the daughter of a high-up, offering a devil’s deal of, “I could have been a princess / you’d be a king / could have had a castle / and worn a ring / but no / you let me go.” It ends with a brutal, “You really hurt me.”
- Up in Flames: “So it’s over,” pretty much sums up this whole song. Mylo is saying goodbye to Xyloto. I’m going to guess that the Lost Boys have been destroyed too, and that the flames the song described are both emotional and literal, because that makes for a good musical.
- A Hopeful Transmission: This is instrumental, but the title pretty much says it all. Sounds to me like Xyloto contacts Mylo and lets him know that she’s leaving the system and coming to him.
- Don’t Let it Break Your Heart: Happy reunion song. ‘Nuff said.
- Up with the Birds: They’re escaping, heading for hope and freedom. The acoustic suggests that they’re getting outside the system, and the birds suggest nature in contrast with the city heard throughout the song. “A simple plot / but I know one day / good things are comin’ our way.”
Okay. That’s all I’ve got. Now I’m going to go do something useful with my life. If you have a second, I’d love you to leave me a comment and let me know what you thought about this analysis!
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Coldplay has announced that, next year, the full story of Mylo Xyloto will be told as a six-part comic. YES, you read that right. YES, you should be excited. Here’s the info. Let’s not forget, by the way, that Hollywood loves comics as pre-made movie pitches. So if the story isn’t terrible, we’re looking at the potential for a musical MX action-event tentpole Hollywood blockbuster (probably acted/sung by Chris Martin and Rihanna) in a few years. Yes, that’s going way out on a ledge. No, I don’t care. That’s how the system works, and if they want to make money on good music, that’s okay by me.
PS — if you enjoyed this post, you might also like these ones:
28 responses to “Mylo Xyloto: The Rock Opera”
this is great. I really appreciate your insight and creativity! Definitely makes this album more enjoyable to listen to now that I have an idea of the plot.
oh hey, it’s pretty awesome that we have similar music taste. i like this analysis.
and i did think it was interesting that they used those peter pan references. pretty dynamite if you ask me.
I think you are right :)
OK. this is an absolutely outstanding explanation of the album. This gives me a total insight on the whole situation and makes the songs more enjoyable. It’s like a little poem or book set to music to make it more interesting now that some of the songs actually make some sense…. BRAVO!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you guys enjoyed it and have gotten something out of my crazy musings!
What an outstanding analysis!!! This makes a lot sense! Now I am enjoying listening to the album even more. Thank you!
I love your interpretation of the album- Coldplay have put together a stunning piece of art today, and your explanation says it all. Thank you for making it clearer to all of us, haha.
BIG COLDPLAY FAN! xx
Hi, I found your link on SongMeanings.Net. I didn’t realise MX was meant to be a narrative before I went looking for lyrics, but now I’m piecing it all together and it’s making more sense. :)
I’ve got a few more thoughts to add to yours:
2. Hurts Like Heaven: If (as you suggested) Mylo’s graffiti symbol is a heart, it puts a whole second meaning to the line “you use your heart as a weapon”…
4. Charlie Brown: I’m interpreting the end of the first verse as “I took what they offered me: to set me free” – note the punctuation. The thing offered is freedom itself.
5. Us Against The World: From the climax of this song (“if we could float away, fly up to the surface…”), it occurred to me that perhaps this is literal – that this dystopian society is some sort of underground or closed-over artificial place that has never seen the sky. This comes into play again later.
8. Major Minus: who are the “crocodiles”? If Peter Pan is meant to be a running analogy, then Mylo=Peter, Xyloto=Wendy, Minus=Hook (and from memory I think Wendy’s father is equated to Hook? so it’s doubly appropriate), and the crocodile is Hook’s nemesis and ticks basically because Hook put a tracking device on (well, in) him. So then perhaps the “crocodiles” are potential threats Major Minus is keeping an eye on. Which would include the Lost Boys. …Wait, perhaps he deliberately plants a bug on Xyloto, knowing she’ll be with them, and that’s how they get caught out?
9. UFO: “bullets fly, split the sky; but that’s all right, sometimes sunlight comes streaming through the holes.” Back to the idea of a skyless city, this might be taken very literally.
13. Don’t Let It Break Your Heart: “And if I lost the map, if I lost it all…” – I’m not sure if it was *intended* to be literal, but this first line adds the detail (to me) that perhaps Mylo had somehow found a map of how to get Outside. Maybe because of that Major Minus was specifically out to get him. Maybe…
14. Up With The Birds: Outside at last, and perhaps seeing and hearing birds for the first time. The puzzling thing though, is that the lyrics aren’t quite right for them to have both escaped together; it seems more like Mylo alone. So I’m trying to figure out what happened. Partly I’m wondering if Xyloto actually died in the escape attempt – perhaps even sacrificed herself. (Mainly inspired by the previous song – the lyrics about a shipwreck figuratively being the escape going wrong, and she’s mocking them at “you’ll never hit the mark” – except they do.) But this doesn’t line up the promised “happy ending” or the suggestion of a reunion in the second half of “Birds”. But why is a reunion necessary? What happened? It will need more thought…
…wow, this got way longer than I intended it to. Looks like you’re not the only one overanalysing it!
Wow, Iscah, this is amazing!!! I love what you’ve done here! Let me dig deeper into this, but off the bat, I think this is fantastic stuff. Thanks for sharing!!
This is almost exactly what I had been thinking! Particularly that end part of Charlie Brown you were describing–I’m planning a painting of that. Wouldn’t it be so cool to see this onstage?
Wow, okay Abelyss, that sounds cool. Definitely share the painting when you make it. And yes, I would love to see MX performed onstage … I hope Coldplay realizes how much money they could make off of that and goes for it.
Your amazing!! I’ve been trying to figure it all out myself by listening to the album and was thinking along the same lines but you’ve gone into much deeper detail. Love it. Gave me goosebumps! :D
Okay so I interpreted this brilliant album in pretty much the same way. It’s played out so beautifully in my imagination that I actually find myself wishing I could direct a short silent movie based on MX!
Anyway, I was confused about ‘Up with the Birds’ too … It’s all fine until ‘Just to see her again’ … That’s when I begin to wonder if it really IS an escaped-together kind of scenario, even though the happy music definitely suggests that.
So if we think on the lines of the evil father playing villain, does anyone think it might be possible that he sent X away to prevent her from going back to M and his cause and the song is about his search for her, which is successful in the end? It does kind of mess up the previous interpretations of ‘A hopeful transmission’ and ‘Don’t let it break your heart’ unless of course it’s more dramatic and this whole thing has been going on since ‘Up in flames’ itself.
I dunno … Just an idea. :S
I’m dying to find an ending that fits with both the music and lyrics so that I can get down to writing my Mylo Xyloto short story!
OR could the ‘her’ in ‘Up with the birds’ be his personification of the revolution he’s just left only to be with Xyloto? It’s a long shot, I know, but I was just wondering …
[…] another with Charlie from Perks of being a Wallflower. But there’s this one guy who posted a link of his blog so I checked on it and found out that his analysis was not just about the song but the whole […]
Very smart, though Wikipedia says that Xyloto is the boy and Mylo is the girl, which I think would make more sense in the case of Princess of China, because it is from a girl’s point of view, I think Mylo, the girl “I could have been a princess / you’d be a king / could have had a castle / and worn a ring / but no / you let me go.†It ends with a brutal, “You really hurt me.â€
Thanks, all, for the continued comments!
Michelle, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and that we were on the same track!
Amrita, I guess we’ll have to wait for Coldplay & Rihanna to perform the rock opera on Broadway to find out. (No, there aren’t plans for that as far as I know … although they would make BANK if they did that, especially as a one-time-only event.)
I think Up With the Birds has a melancholy note because of what they’ve lost in their escape, rather than the two of them being separated. “Fly all over the world just to see her again” could just as easily mean “it’s worth flying all over the world,” meaning that they’re not going to settle down now that they’ve found each other, to stay out of the way of the baddies. This is only one possible interpretation, but the one thing we started with is Martin’s description of the album as having a happy ending, so I’m fairly confident they’re together, whatever “she” refers to.
Liv, wow. You’re right on about the boy/girl thing. Stupid mis-read on my part. That does kind of mess up my theory about “M.M.I.X.” being code for “Major Minus Is Xyloto,” but hopefully the rest of it isn’t too thrown off. Feel free to spin up alternate interpretations if it is, though!
I think I need to do a deeper read of the last couple songs to make sure I’m not missing anything there. Or, better yet, since I’m going to see Coldplay in July, maybe Chris Martin will throw out some choice story tidbits in person. (Hey, anything’s possible, right?)
haven’t heard the whole album but when i heard that song princess of china i also thought they was a bigger meaning to the song than it lead on.
i thought the song was about a relationship between a girl and life. when she was young life was good to her, no stress, always happy. then as she grew older things changed and life was not what it seemed. this resulted in her being depressed and confused wondering how things just changed and that’s why i think its called princess of china cause china has one of the highest depression and suicide rate, esp among girls.
the title of the song says it all, thats what i think
Make any sense or have i over analysed this.
Wow, this is really amazing! I love your piecing together an entire storyline! This is truly amazing! Thanks ever so much!
Thanks, Nicholas! Saddam, that’s an interesting interpretation … I don’t think you’ve over-analyzed it at all! I’m sure there are multiple levels to hear the song on, and yours is one I hadn’t considered before. Thanks for sharing it!
[…] de buscar o significado das músicas no site SongMeanings e lá, descobri um cara que interpretou e descreveu todo o CD em seu blog. De acordo com ele, Mylo é um rebelde e Xyloto é a filha de um ditador. Eles moram em um lugar […]
Pretty amazing that you speculated this out of coincidental words and copacetic sounds. Your interpretation makes me like this album more, if that’s practical.
Bravo! :)
Incredible. A brilliant interpretation of this album which I have completely bought into, thanks.
One or two things which I picked up after reading your analysis which weren’t clear to me beforehand.
4. Charlie Brown. One of the most important phases of the album, when M and X initially meet
“I saw the lights go down at the end of the scene
I saw the lights go down and standing in front of me
In my scarecrow dreams
When they smashed my heart into smithereens
Be a bright red rose come bursting the concrete
Be the cartoon heart
Light a fire, light a spark
Light a fire, a flame in my heart”
I still can’t work out what the ‘end of the scene’ is, maybe it is some sort of initiation into this underground group, and once he see’s his Cartoon Heart signature, next to her Bright Red Rose (or Vice Versa, whichever is which), this is the moment when he falls for her.
6. M.M.I.X – This is going to be a massive turning point in the story, it’s the moment when the relationship begins to go sour as in the next song we get the lyric “Ypu can hurt, hurt me bad, but I’ll still raise my flag”. I can’t wait to find our what MMIX actually stands for (Mylo something something Xyloto?)
7. Peter Pan reference – This surely has something to do with the ‘tracker’ which Hook pits in the croc? Surely, given the context of the rest of the song.
11. Up in Flames – the last line ‘Can we pour some water on?’ i.e. ‘is there any hope for us?’ ‘Can we give it another go and put out these flames?’
13 & 14. I’m still not convinced of any of the suggestion put forward, something just doesn’t add up. They seem to be apart, but together, he’s starting again but he’s saying words which suggest he’s alone ‘send me up’ and ‘I’m up with the birds’. Then at the end he reverts back to plural ‘Good things are coming our way’.
I don’t think that they get out of the Underground at the same time, or even if they’re both alive when they do get out of it. But then with CM saying that it has a happy ending, argh I don’t know. Can’t wait to find out in the comic though :-)
Thanks for your clearing this album up a lot for me though, hope I can spark a train of thought for you to develop your ideas further.
Lew x
I love your analysis so much. I’m actually writing a story based on the album, and this is going to be a tremendous help. Of all the stuff I’ve dug up on Google, this has been the best. Thank you.
Kaci, that’s awesome! Please share your story when you’ve finished, I’d be so excited to see it!
Lew, thanks for the kind words and great co-analysis! My take on your take:
4) I was assuming “lights go down at the end of the scene” meant being out past the kind of curfew that would for sure be enforced in a dystopian state. For the rest of it, I like what you wrote there!
6) A new theory I’ve been fine-tuning since writing this was that Major Minus actually bugged Xyloto somehow (remember “One eye on the road and one on you” — could it be that Major Minus is looking through one of Xyloto’s eyes to spy on the Lost Boys? He has access to her in their home). So my theory on this track is that it stands for “Major Minus Is Xyloto,” and it’s the moment when he bugs her — probably without her knowledge.
7) See above mini-theory!
11) Love that.
13 & 14) I’ll be perfectly honest — I was trying to keep the bulk of the story in my head when I was working on this, until I could go write it down, so the interpretation towards the end is sketchier than the beginning, and far less lyric-by-lyric. I’m wide open to other interpretations, but I do think the result at the conclusion is that they’re together (all of the references to “we” and “us”) and that they’ve escaped (“up with the birds,” — remember, acoustic sounds & nature here are contrasted with heavily produced urban dystopianism — “good things are coming our way”).
This is crazy, but what if Mylo and Xyloto never truly get back together after Up in Flames?
In Don’t let it break your heart Mylo is reminiscing about the times he and Xyloto had in the resistance (“though heavily we bled”; “try to catch a cannonball”), but he realizes that it all amounted to nothing when Xyloto went back to her father. Xyloto “got tired of racing (with the resistance) and found she never left the start” (she went right back to the power/ her father). I think the map is Mylo’s inner moral compass that he lost when he fell into the trap of love. In the end, Mylo is trying to convince himself that they will never be apart in their minds, don’t let it break your heart that the one you loved failed you.
In Up with the birds, Mylo’s life in the resistance without Xyloto is dull gray. He realizes that it is hard to walk away from love. The thought of Xyloto is a spark in his otherwise colorless world. His arms turn to wings when he DREAMS of Xyloto, but she is not actually there, so the blue sky is a lie. Up with the birds is his dreamland, not freedom, and the birds (his dreams) are whispering for him to start again with Xyloto. Mylo says he will get a new identity and travel all over the world to see Xyloto again. He will swallow his pride “and won’t show fear or pain” and ask for forgiveness. He hopes to take back “the punch he threw” by leaving Xyloto and joining the resistance. His redemption plan is a “simple plot”, but he knows there will be a happy ending for both of them “good things are coming our way.”
The crowd is left with a bittersweet ending of the main character ignoring his moral compass to be with his love, and only a hint of a happy ending. Whew that was long. What did you think?
Hello David! Thanks for your interpretation! I have been looking for other people’s point of view!
I guess this album means a little more to me than it should, but I’ve really been obsessing over it lately. Here is my opinion:
Mylo Xyloto:
It is a scene setter, but even more I consider it a theme. The chord progression is actually repeated in “UFO” and I feel that it represents Mylo’s hope for freedom of expression.
Hurts Like Heaven:
To me, this is the scene of the entire story. It creates the world described in the comics. And most importantly describes the life of Mylo and the fact that with expression comes sacrifice.
Also, this pertains to the last track, but “Hurts like Heaven” to me seems to be a foreshadowing of the fact that to get to Heaven, you must die. Every good thing comes with a sacrifice, and therefore even something as sad as death can be restored with the happiness that Heaven brings.
Paradise:
I fully agree with your interpretation. I think this is what puts the female character in the story. Because of this, she finally seeks her “Paradise”. Which eventually leads her to Mylo.
Charlie Brown:
This shows the rebellion that is in the midst of this war. And most importantly is where Mylo and Xyloto (I guess lol) meet.
Us Against the World:
Ditto
MMIX:
To me this has always been a time lapse. Specifically because of the way it sounds like it is being fast forwarded. It also reminds me of scribbles which perfectly describe what is going on during the time lapse. I guess scribbles to me are a mode of expression that aren’t necessarily accepted in society as “art”, similar to how graffiti is expression, that isn’t accepted my many as true “art”.
On a similar note, I may just be overthinking it.
Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall:
This is the eventual paradise that Xyloto dreamed of in “Paradise”. I think this specifically because of the title of the song. In “Paradise”, “Life goes on, it gets so heavy/The wheel breaks the butterfly/Every tear a waterfall”. So it would make sense to me that she is finally here thus creating the perfect time for something to destroy the moment (as with all exciting stories).
Major Minus:
Ditto Ditto Ditto
UFO:
The title seems fitting as he feels like a UFO flying, lost in his journey and obviously not where he expected to be. Although, it shows that he still has hope. This explains the ending chord progression being the same as Mylo Xyloto’s. It psychologically brings you back to the state you are in when you listen to “Mylo Xyloto”, just waiting to hear the color in the music, except now it fades into this dystopian tune. I think they wrote it this way specifically to mess with our heads and help us understand the pain and shock.
Princess of China:
I always thought this was written this way so they could get a top 40 hit out of the album, but your interpretation actually brings it together.
Up In Flames:
Ditto.
A Hopeful Transmission:
Now this is where I start to differ. This intermission to me is literally for people like us who have no lives and write blogs about this… But I think it is simply for the anticipation. Notice the bass drum making heart beats to make you anxious. Also this has the same theme from the beginning. See, the past four songs have not had that color in them that we saw in the first half of the album. I think they put it in there to show all of the expression that has been withheld is waiting to be released precisely when the answer to our dying question, will they get back together, is being answered.
Don’t Let it Break your Heart:
And then all the color explodes out again. Except, I don’t think they get back together. I think the two of them both want each other so badly, but they accept that the relationship is like “Trying to catch a cannonball”. Now I think the two of them secretly know that the relationship will never truly be over. It is simply a realization that they both love each other, will always be there for each other, but cannot be together. Thus, “Don’t let it break your heart.”
Up With The Birds:
I think Mylo could never really get over it. He could find no use in wandering around life without her.
I know it’s supposed to be happy but hear me out: I think he dies.
He watches and listens to the birds one day when he realizes something. He can start again through death. It is then that he discovers that the sky isn’t just blue, but it is a whole new world.
He metaphorically takes back his punch, by starting over and flying up just like the birds to an afterlife. A world where he is unknown. He then can watch over her and wait until she comes there too. Those are the good things he is waiting for.
I guess the birds represent the fact that sometimes life sucks and there seems to be no meaning, but you can just fly away and sing somewhere else. That way it becomes an entirely new situation.
It’s probably too corny, but it seems fitting to me.
Sorry for the long post. Hope you enjoy!
Matt