The Banks Became Cathedrals | Teen Ink

The Banks Became Cathedrals

February 18, 2019
By AlejandroRubio BRONZE, Hemet, California
AlejandroRubio BRONZE, Hemet, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Last summer my Father had dragged me into accompanying him to go watch his favorite alternative rock band live, Coldplay. Me being naive did not want to go. Three weeks later I find myself in the front of the line ready to enter the arena that Coldplay was performing in. Four days prior to the concert I had decided to listen to some of their fan-favorite songs. After listening to a few songs I stumbled across one named “Violet Hill”. As the song went on, I noticed it has a grimmie, almost horror-like electric guitar. It also had catchy deep bass in the background, with a low octane lead singer’s voice taking turns with the distorted short bursts of a second electric guitar. When the song finished I decided to replay it, due to the sheer greatness of the rhythm and powerful lyrics. After listening to the song for my second time I was able to pick out two meaningful verses. The first being “When the future's architectured, by a carnival of idiots on show”. To me, this line does not have much symbolic meaning since his point is clearly stated. It regards to the youth being obsessed with the lives of the rich and famous on television or in this day in age, social media. I myself have come to believe this claim as true. For example, I have personally caught myself wasting valuable time focusing on celebrities lives. The second verse that I found to be true in today's society is more metaphorical. Midway through the song the lead singer states “The banks became cathedrals”. This being my favorite of the two verses because my Grandfather, which I was very close to, told me something similar to that lyric. He once said to me, “Your generation will soon sing about wealth as if it was their God”. I was much too young at the time to understand what he meant. Now that I am old enough to see clearly, I hear rappers of my age almost worship money and jewelry, as if it was their God. So there I stand in the crowd of the concert while the band played “Violet Hill”. A shiver ran down my spine. Remembering, what my Grandfather had once told me.


The author's comments:

I am a teenage boy who has an experience to share.


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