Idioms in Coldplay's "The scientist"

Question

In the Coldplay song The Scientist, there are some idioms that I'd like to know the meaning of.

The first one is in the following stanza:

I had to find you

Tell you I need you

Tell you I set you apart

What does the phrase "to set apart" mean in this case? My hypothesis is that the singer says he wants to find a special for the lady in his heart. Am I correct?

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The second idiom is in the following stanza:

Running in circles

Coming up tails

Heads on a science apart

I assume that "come up tails" usually means to definitively decide the way. But I can't put this phrase into the context of the song.

I always like to know the meaning of the songs so that I could remember the phrases every time I listen to them. Thanks.

Answer 1

"Set you apart" is likely related to "set someone apart from the rest." According to Google, this means "to distinguish." The singer is probably saying "you're special."

"Coming up tails" refers to tossing a coin. The presumption is the person who gets to choose "heads or tails" will choose heads so according to Yahoo Answers "coming up tails" means having bad luck. This is similar to the common expression "coming up snake eyes" which means to roll the dice, get two ones, and lose. Remember that much of popular music contains lyrics chosen for their rhyme and using common expressions or making sense is preferred but not required.