The Scientist
(Redirected from The Scientist (single))
"The Scientist" is the second single from Coldplay's sophomore album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. Regional singles included UK/Europe, the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada. Promos were released for the UK and U.S.
The song is a piano-driven ballad; Chris Martin opens the song and is joined by the rest of the band after the first chorus. Martin was inspired to write "The Scientist" after listening to George Harrison's "Isn't it a Pity" on the album All Things Must Pass. The song also shows strong allusion to the short story "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne; where a scientist forgets about the love of his life due to his devotion to science. He then realizes his mistake when it is already too late, as her death now haunts him.
The song was covered live by Aimee Mann and released on a special edition of her album Lost in Space. Natasha Bedingfield covered the song on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge radio show. Also, Belinda Carlisle did a live rendition on the ITV1 reality show Hit Me Baby One More Time. The television show MAD TV also did a parody of the video called "The Narcissist."
Contents |
Track listing
- "The Scientist"
- "1.36" featuring Tim Wheeler from Ash on guitar
- "I Ran Away"
- The DVD single included a backwards playing version of "The Scientist".
Cover images
UK Promo CD |
DVD Single |
The single cover features drummer Will Champion, art-directed by Sølve Sundsbø.
Music video
The music video for "The Scientist" was very popular with its reverse narrative. A similar concept was previously used for Spike Jonze's music video for The Pharcyde's "Drop". This reverse style can also be seen in Enigma's, "Return to Innocence", Jack Johnson's video for "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" and also Beyonce Knowles' video for Me, Myself and I. It took Chris Martin a month to learn the lyrics backwards.[1]
The video was filmed at various locations including London and Surrey before the first leg of the A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour. It was directed by famed director Jamie Thraves, best known for his work on Radiohead's enigmatic "Just" video. Though it was filmed in England, the car driven in the music video features a Wyoming license plate which had a design that was in use from 1983 to 1988 (although the car itself is right-hand drive). The vehicle in the video was a BMW E28 5-series, manufactured from 1982 to 1988.
Irish actress Elaine Cassidy is also featured in the video.
In 2003, "The Scientist" won multiple MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Breakthrough Video. It was also nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Music Video:Short Form.
Quotes
Chris Martin on "The Scientist": "That's just about girls. It's weird that whatever else is on your mind, whether it's the downfall of global economics or terrible environmental troubles, the thing that always gets you most is when you fancy someone." [2]
However, inside the cover to A Rush of Blood to the Head it is stated that 'The Scientist is Dan.' Possibly relating to Dan and relationships, or alternatively, a reference to the Beatles' "The walrus is Paul" quote.
Chris Martin comments on the official site (19th June 2007): "The video for the scientist - made Jamie Thraves, a clever and lovely man. Was pretty good. But every time I see Simon Pegg he teases me about it, so now I can't watch it. He wonders why somone after a car crash would go into a town and have a nap. He can fuck off. cm."
Notes
The chords to this song are replicated by Sum 41, in their song "Pieces"
Lyrics
Come up to meet you, tell you Im sorry You dont know how lovely you are I had to find you, tell you I need you Tell you I set you apart Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions Oh lets go back to the start Running in circles, coming up tails Heads on a silence apart Nobody said it was easy Oh its such a shame for us to part Nobody said it was easy No one ever said that it would be this hard Oh take me back to the start I was just guessing at numbers and figures Pulling your puzzles apart Questions of science, science and progress Do not speak as loud as my heart Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me Oh and I rush to the start Running in circles, chasing our tails Coming back as we are Nobody said it was easy Oh its such a shame for us to part Nobody said it was easy No one ever said it would be so hard Im going back to the start Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh ohh (x4)
External links
References
- Roach, Martin (2003). Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9810-8.
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