Recorded 2007-2008 Length 3:21 | Genre Alternative rock | |
Label EMI, Parlophone, Capitol Writer(s) Guy Berryman
Jonny Buckland
Will Champion
Chris Martin Producer(s) Markus Dravs
Brian Eno
Jon Hopkins
Rik Simpson | ||
"Cemeteries of London" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song is darker than Coldplay's previous recordings.
Writing and composition
The song was inspired by ghost stories, like the Medieval practice of burning witches. "Cemeteries of London" was influenced by other styles like folk and Spanish songs, in an interview for NG-Magazine Will Champion said: "For me it's a folk song...in its structure."
Entertainment Weekly printed an article on Coldplay and the new album with a new song slant on some of the songs, on that interview the band's bassist Guy Berryman said: "When I imagine the song in my head, I see London in 1850, a hell of a lot of rain and men in top hats". The song is musically darker than most of Coldplay's work, with a barrage of eerie noises. Martin has described it as a "ghost march", it has lyrical references of supernatural issues and religious quest.