Coldplay: Shiver Meaning
Song Released: 2000
Shiver Lyrics
But you paid me no attention, do you.
I know you don't listen to me.
'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you.
On and on from the moment I wake,
To the moment I sleep,
I'll be there by your...
-
1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:I would agree with some of the other interpretations where its about being in love with a girl who doesn't like you back. You can try as hard as you want and hold on to her but it's clear that she doesn't like you. But that doesn't matter. Because when you truly love someone like that, it doesn't matter if they don't care about you. The priority is that she is always cared for by you. No matter what. Even so it does hurt when she doesn't like you back. However she probably doesn't even realize the pain she's causing. That's why Chris Martin is asking how she can be so cold, and yet, not shiver. An interesting way to word it indeed.
-
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:I feel like this song is about being in love with a close friend. A friend that's always in and out of bad relationships. And when they fall to pieces, you're always there to put them back together.
You're the only one who can see how great you'd be together. And until that person finally sees it, you're determined to wait...
But on and on, from the moment I wake,
'Till the moment I sleep,
I'll be there by your side,
Just you try and stop me.
I'll be waiting in line,
Just to see if you care. -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation: -
I just realized that maybe i am the girl in this song for someone who loves me for years, but i did not notice that he had done many things for me just to take care of me and always behind my back. It’s been almost 7 years that i just realized everything what he’s done.
Untill the two moments when we (my close friends) took a trip to ⛰️& -
A good friend of mine envisioned it was God speaking to us. I am not religious at all and neither is he, but such a profound twist to such a universal song. I believe it's "can" not "care" also.
-
At first I thought it was about a crush or wanting someone who could care less. But I also think it could be about an obsessed fan or stalker? "I look in your direction but you pay me no attention...From the moment I wake to the moment I sleep I'll be there by your side just you try and stop me. Dont you Shiver???" STALKER!!! that's my 2 cents on this....
-
At first, due to the lyrics paired with the melody, it sounds almost joking but also spiteful like "I'd do anything for you, but of course you push me away and don't care." However the first course shows he still cares for her despite this and that he's always putting her needs before anything else; even when she pushes him away he won't let her because he knows she needs him.
He's saying, perhaps, that whatever she needs, he will be for her even if it isn't what he wants to be because he also wants to give her whatever she wants along with what she needs.
In turn I believe he's asking her if she shivers at the thought someone would always be there for her. If she's scared to put her faith in someone (I came to this conclusion with "I'll be there by your side, just you try and stop me. I'll be waiting in line just to see if you *can*[I think it sounds like can but it may be care but for this explanation it's can] which implies she possibly pushed him away before or attempted to) and blindly trust them. Telling her to "sing it loud and clear, I'll always be waiting for you" is his reassurance that he is actually there for her and he'll wait til she is ready to put her faith in him.
It's possible he is frustrated she can't trust him and keeps turning away when he just wants to be there for her. While in turn he also needs her as a someone to depend on but she ignores that to. They could have possibly gone through the same struggle and while he is trying to reach out she is choosing to shut herself away from the world. This could be what feels like his final chance to attempt and break through to her shell but she won't let him.
Despite how much they could help each other she won't let him, and by the middle they shiver from the same struggle of being alone.
He however breaks through on his own, while she does not and stays stuck in her own world ( I concluded this from the last verse where he speaks about himself) and he speaks that he'll wait til she breaks through as well to maybe date her. At least that is the implication I reached that he wanted to date her but they were both struggling with their own issue too much. So until she moved pass it, he decided to wait for her.
Summary: He wants to date her but they both have issues and though he wants to help her and for her to help him, she has trouble putting all her faith in him and pushes him away. He overcomes his issue and will wait til she overcomes hers to try dating her. -
Basically this song is about the "friendzone" of a guy by a girl.Only when one is in such a situation,will one appreciate the true value and relatability of this song!good one coldplay..
-
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
-
Just about me and a girl... I know I'm too young, 15 but I really love her I only thought about her for 3 whole years. Even after I tried to look at other girls I couldn't help but to come back to the girl I loved from beginning. I was kind of a clown so she hated me so I decided to change in hopes she would like me back. She was the opposite of what I was ad the more I think of her the more I become LIKE her. I have a feeling it creeps her out even more, se doesn't know how much she means to me and how badly she hurt me all those times. Maybe I should just wait... Shiver saved me from depression tbh.
-
*A song about two lovers, interpretation written from the perspective of the one singing the song*
(So I look in your direction,
But you pay me no attention, do you?)
I look at you, for help, for love, for respect, but you just ignore it, you ignore me.
(I know you don't listen to me.
'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you?)
You don't listen to me and you see straight though me as if I'm a ghost to you, I'm nothing to you anymore.
(And on and on
from the moment I wake,
To the moment I sleep,
I'll be there by your side,
Just you try and stop me,)
Every day, from the second I wake up to the moment I fall asleep I think of you. I'll be there for you if you need me, no matter what you say or do to me.
(I'll be waiting in line,
Just to see if you care.)
There are others you put before me now, I'm way far back in the line where I used to be first, where I was loved and valued, but you no longer care. I'll wait for you, as long as it takes for you to see me and care about me again. I'll be there for you until the day I die.
(Did you want me to change?
Well I changed for good)
You asked me to change; I wasn't good enough for you. Every problem we ever had was something that I caused...
cause I was always wrong. I've changed forever now, there is no turning back to the person I was before.
(And I want you to know
That you'll always get your way)
You always get your way, I'm always wrong and at fault. I'll be the one to change and to fix all of our problems, not you. I see you as perfection.
(I wanted to say,
Don't you Shiver
Shiver)
Don't shiver, don't cry, don't be in pain anymore.
(Sing it loud and clear
I'll always be waiting for you.)
I'm telling you, right now, that I'm always there for you when you need me. I need you to understand.
(So you know how much I need you,
But you never even see me, do you?)
I've needed you. I've cried and almost died because of some things that have happened to me. When I needed you the most you pushed me away, you gave up on me, and I had to work to get you back. When we had problems and I asked to see you and talk to you to work things out, you didn't see me.
(And is this my final chance of getting you?)
I will try, and try until the day I die to get you back, but is this the last chance you will give me? I will never give up on you. -
To me this isn't a romantic 'love' song. It's about a guy who has a crush on a girl which turns into a kind of obsession. Perhaps they once dated but she ended it because she wanted him to change. She completely forgot about him while he developed a stronger obsession for her, as suggested in:
"So I looked in your direction,
But you paid me no attention, do you.
I know you don't listen to me.
'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you."
He is so obsessed with her that he grows crazy:
"On and on from the moment I wake,
To the moment I sleep,
I'll be there by your side,
Just you try and stop me,
I'll be waiting in line,
Just to see if you care."
He loves her so much that he is truly willing to do anything for her:
"Did she want me to change?
But I change for good.
And I want you to know.
But you always get your way,
I wanted to say,"
He sees her as his precious posession and as very delicate so he doesn't want her to supposedly 'break to pieces':
"Don't you shiver..."
It kind of seems like he has been plotting some kind of way to get her to love him back:
"And this is my final chance of getting you."
I know I could be way off here, but to me the tone in which he sings this song is really intense and sounds slightly deranged.
Big Coldplay fan, great song. -
This song is exactly about Emily and me. I look in her direction, but she pays me no attention. She doesn't listen to me, she sees straight through me. From the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep, I would be by her side. If she wanted me to change, I would change for good. She would always get her away. I love her, but she has no idea.
-
taking it line by line (for the most part):
"So i look in your direction, but you pay me no attention, do you?" fairly straightforward, he always acknowledges her, hoping today is the day they'll make eye contact and speak to each other, but no luck.
"i know you don't listen to me because you say you see straight through me don't you?" she always says 'boys are all the same' and she doesn't give care to get to know him because she thinks he's not worth her time.
"but on and on from the moment i wake to the moment i sleep i'll be there by your side just you try and stop me" he's always thinking about her, and he's gonna keep trying to win her even if she doesn't seem to care to get to know him
"i'll be waiting in a line just to see if you care"
a bunch of guys admire her and chase her, and he realizes he's just "another guy hitting on her" when his intentions are to connect with her so she might realize she has feelings for him too. he sees himself as another guy who is trying to make an impression on her (to see if you care)
"did you want me to change? well i'd change for good. and i want you to know that you'll always get your way" he's to the point where honestly he'd do anything to impress her. he'd try and act like whatever kind of guy she's into and no matter how unfair or unreasonable she is, he'll still be at her feet trying to win her over.
"i wanted to say don't you shiver" i still don't get this part :P maybe he wants to be the one to comfort her when she needs it. she wants to keep her warm and be there for her
"and i'll always be waiting for you" also fairly straightforward, but in my opinion (or in my love life) it is much more profound.. i've always been the nice guy, while the girl i liked always went for the classic douchebag that girls say is a jerk yet they're all after him. then i'd sit there.. waiting and waiting for my chance.. wondering if it would come, but waiting nonetheless.
next verse kinda repetitive of the first verse... "is this my final chance of getting you?" that's that moment when it's the perfect opportunity to share how you feel and make your move on her.. but you hesitate and don't end up doing it because you're thinking about it too much.
then more repetitiveness...
"And it's you I see
But you don't see me
And it's you I hear
So loud and so clear "
i'm sure you guys have had that crush where whenever she walks into the room, she's COMPLETELY the center of your attention. somehow, her voice is the most audible and your eyes immediately draw to her. (you i see... you i hear so loud and so clear)
so yeah that's my interpretation of it.. let me know if you wanna add anything or disagree or something -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
-
i think it's about a guy who likes a girl who doesen't feel the same,or it's about a guy who had hurt a girl and then he started liking her,and he realized he had made mistake,and this could be his apology to her.
-
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
-
The song is about death, and is written from the point of view of the person that passed away. Think about it. Not sure if it's true, but I've listened to it 500 times. Either way, it's a great love song.
More Coldplay songs »
Latest Articles
-
A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park -
Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable -
.jpg)
Dolly, we need you -
The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media -
The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s -
Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)
Trending:
Blog posts mentioning Coldplay
Our Obligatory Coldplay Hatepost
|
Unlikely Dream Teams
|
The Top Five Music Video Location Cliches
|
Wet,Wet,Wet. Songs for a rainy day...
|
Just Posted
| Amnesia | anonymous |
| Your Smiling Face | anonymous |
| You Should Be Dancing | anonymous |
| Washing Machine Heart | anonymous |
| Souvenirs | anonymous |
| Art Deco | anonymous |
| Let It Go | anonymous |
| The Greatest Show | anonymous |
| Vampire | anonymous |
| Vampire | anonymous |
| Sippy Cup | anonymous |
| A Place For My Head | anonymous |
| I Hope You Dance | anonymous |
| Metaphor | anonymous |
| Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) | anonymous |
