Joe Satriani Sues Coldplay For Plagiarism!

It was reported in December of 2008 that the guitarist Joe Satriani was suing Coldplay for copyright infringement, with their alleged ‘borrowing’ from his 2004 instrumental “If I Could Fly,” on their hit song “Viva La Vida.” “I felt like a dagger went through my heart. It hurt so much, he said.” “The second I heard it, I knew it was (my own) ‘If I Could Fly’.”

Joe Satriani eloquently defends his aggressive pursuit of Coldplay as a matter of principal. “Everybody assumes I`m trying to go after these guys in Coldplay, as if I`m doing this with malice, that`s the furthest thing from my mind. I`m just doing what I need to do as an artist, to protect what`s mine, to protect those feelings I put down in song,” he told Musicrador.com.

I  have listened to the two songs back to back, and have noticed that the melody of the chorus of “Viva La Vida” is eerily similar to Joe Satriani`s hook in “If I Could Fly.” It occurs about 50 seconds into the video, so you should judge for yourself . I hope Joe wins, but it will be hard to prove plagiarism in court. It seems to me as if only one part of the song has been lifted in tact. Nonetheless, an ancient sacred creed comes back to me: ‘Thou Shall Not Steal!’

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