Fix You
From WikiColdplay
"Fix You" is a song by Coldplay and is the fourth track on their 2005 album, X&Y. During live performances of the song all four members of the band sing, although on record only Chris and Will do. It was also released as the second single from that album in various countries. In the United Kingdom it was released on 2005-09-05 to avoid competition with Oasis' "The Importance of Being Idle" (released 2005-08-22) in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
On 14 September 2005, Coldplay released the Fix You EP on the iTunes Music Store. All of the sales went to the American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences’ MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund. This song was also played on Shelter from the Storm. It has also became a tribute song for the victims and eventually became the anthem for the event.
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Writing the song
When writing the song, Chris Martin was influenced by Muse's use of a church organ on the track "Megalomania" from their album Origin of Symmetry. Unable to gain access to one, Martin instead used an old keyboard that his late father-in-law (Bruce Paltrow) gave to his wife Gwyneth Paltrow. [2] However, in other instances Martin has claimed that "Fix You" is a copy of Elbow's 2003 anthem "Grace Under Pressure".[3]
Some sources claim Chris Martin wrote the song for his wife Gwyneth Paltrow after she suffered depression due to the death of her father Bruce Paltrow.
This song is written in E flat major.
Music video
The music video for "Fix You", directed by Sophie Muller, was shot at the end of two concerts on July 4 and July 5 2005 at Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England. The concert goers doubled as extras for the video shoot, which required two takes on each day to complete. [4]
In the first half of the video, Chris Martin wanders the streets of London, while the slogan "Make Trade Fair" is projected onto the National Film Theatre, using the same ITA2 colour scheme on the cover of X&Y. As soon as the electric guitar kicks in, Martin darts through streets corners at lightning speeds until finally reaching the Reebok Stadium, where he joins the rest of the band for the song's finale.
After the video was released, rumours in the United States suggested that, given the location of some of the footage, the video was a tribute following the July 7, 2005 London bombings.
Chart performance
The song was supported by 60 alternative rock radio stations in the United States, including WNNX (Atlanta), KNDD (Seattle), XTRA (San Diego), and WFNX (Boston). The band also performed the track at Saturday Night Live and Live 8.
The song debuted on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart on August 28, 2005. It reached #18 on the chart. "Fix You" also reached #42 on the Billboard Pop 100, #24 on the Adult Top 40, and #29 on the Hot Digital Songs chart.
Track listing
- "Fix You" (edit)
- "The World Turned Upside Down"
- "Pour Me" (Live at the Hollywood Bowl) (featured on the UK Enhanced CD, Australian, and U.S. iTunes EP versions)
- "Fix You" (video) (featured on the UK Enhanced CD and U.S. iTunes EP versions)
Release details
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 2005-09-05 | Parlophone | 7" | R6671 |
| digipak Enhanced CD | CDRS6671 | |||
| Australia | 2005-09-12 | Capitol Records | CD | 3410002 |
| United States | 2005-09-13 | EMI, Capitol | iTunes download | |
| Japan | 2005-09-14 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP-40184 |
Cover images
Cd Cover |
Media usage
- The song was used for a promo for the Jim and Pam love story saga on NBC's hit show The Office
- "Fix You" was used for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's special, in which homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina were rebuilt.
- The song was used by Cinemax when promoting their airings of the complete Star Wars movie saga.
- The song was featured at the end of Scrubs episode "My Cabbage" as a recurring patient becomes infected with a fatal germ.
- Featured extensively in trailer material for World Trade Center.
- The song featured in a 2005 episode of teen drama The OC (Season 2 Episode 23 - The O.Sea). The song plays in the final moments of the show as a key character dies and then as the repercussions are felt throughout the remaining characters' lives. It is also notable as this is where the song first debuted.
- This song is also featured in the 2006 movie You, Me and Dupree.
- This song is also the presentation song of the Montreal Canadiens when they play at the Bell Center
- This song was featured in the closing minutes of the Cold Case episode "Cargo" in 2007.
- This song was also featured in the closing minutes of the Without a Trace episode "Freefall" (Season 4).
- Martin guest-starred on the fourth episode of the second series of BBC Two's Extras as a hyper-realised version of himself, and performs a solo rendition of this song on the show-within-a-show "When The Whistle Blows" as a way to promote the band's fictional Coldplay: Greatest Hits album. The special features in the Extras DVD release show a sing-along between Martin and Ricky Gervais.
- The song was also played during a commercial for the film King Kong.
- At the start of the Western Bulldogs v Richmond AFL telecast on the Nine Network on 31 March 2006, this song was used to play a short clip with Nathan G. Brown on the comeback trail after suffering a horrific injury the previous May.
- The Top 12 contestants of Australian Idol 2006 also performed the song live as an opening performance to the Grand Finale of the show at the Sydney Opera House on 26 November 2006.
- It was also used in a PRIDE Fighting Championships highlight entitled "3rd Man", by a man aliased "Boondock".
- It was used in the promotional video of LOEWE company about mountain soaring.
- It was used at the end credits of the Champions League Final, 17 May 2006 between Arsenal FC and Barcelona FC broadcasted on ITV1.
- The song is used as the Tampa Bay Lightning take the ice at the St. Pete Times Forum and the starting lineups are announced. The part used is the part of the song where the band and electric guitar start playing.
- In September 28, 2007, the band Gregorian released an album Masters of Chant Chapter VI with their gregorian style of Fix You.
- The entire song was used at the end of the Brothers & Sisters episode "Troubled Waters: Part 1," as a montage of dramatic events unfolds affecting each main cast member.
Young@Heart
The song was given new life, and a new meaning, by the New England octogenarian chorus group Young@Heart. The group's performance was led by chorus member Fred Knittle, who suffers from congestive heart failure and breathes through an oxygen tank. Young@Heart's live version of the song was performed in 2006. The performance was originally planned to be a duet between Fred and another chorus member, Bob Salvini, but Salvini succumbed to illness shortly before the show, although Fred decided to go ahead and perform the song alone as a tribute to his friend. Due in part to the circumstances under which the song was performed, Fred's version of the song has had a great emotional impact - both on the audience in attendance that night and on those who have been touched by it since.Template:Fact Some commentators have compared Fred Knittle's version of "Fix You" to Johnny Cash's reinterpretation of "Hurt" on American IV: The Man Comes Around.
The performance was initially recorded for a British documentary that aired on Channel 4 and played at the 2007 L.A. Film Festival. However, footage of the performance found its way onto YouTube in November 2006. From there, the video of Young@Heart reinterpreting the song became an internet phenomenon. The video garnered hundreds of thousands of hits and attracted attention both in the blogosphere and the mainstream media.
Lyrics
When you try your best but you don't succeed When you get what you want but not what you need When you feel so tired but you can't sleep Stuck in reverse When the tears come streaming down your face When you lose something you can't replace When you love someone but it goes to waste Could it be worse? Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you And high up above or down below When you're too in love to let it go But if you never try you'll never know Just what you're worth Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you Tears stream down your face When you lose something you cannot replace Tears stream down your face And I Tears stream down your face I promise you that I will learn from my mistakes Tears stream down your face And I Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you.
