Yellow
From WikiColdplay
"Yellow" is the breakthrough single that earned Coldplay international recognition. It was the second single from their debut album Parachutes and their first Top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart. Regional singles were released for France, the United States, and Brazil.
The song was recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studios. The recording was rushed, so that the song could be released in time for Summer 2000.
In 2001, the single was used extensively for ABC fall television promotions, and was also employed as the theme music for The Cancer Council Australia's "Daffodil Day", in recognition of that organization's official flower's yellow hue.
On VH1's Storytellers program, Chris Martin revealed that his inspiration for the song's title came from the Yellow Pages.[1]
The song is consistently played during home games at English Premiership club Watford.
Contents |
Track listing
- CD CDR6538
- "Yellow" – 4:29
- "Help is Round the Corner" – 2:38
- "No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground" – 4:33
Cover images
UK (CD) |
Music video
The music video for "Yellow" was filmed at Studland Bay, near Swanage, England. The area is known for its beautiful beaches and is a National Trust location. The video is very minimalistic and simple, featuring only lead singer Chris Martin singing the song as he walks along the beach. He is wearing a raincoat with his hair wet, suggesting that it had just rained. The video is one continuous shot with no cuts. Also, the entire sequence is in slow motion.
Originally it had been intended for the whole band to appear in the video, in a sunny setting. However, band member Will Champion's mother's funeral was held on the day of the recording, so it was decided that only Martin would appear in the video. The weather also opposed the original plan, with harsh winds and rain instead of the sunny day that had been envisioned. It had also been originally intended for there to be moving stars in the sky, as if in a time-lapse. The directors however agreed that this would have been too distracting for the focus of the video, which was Martin.
The video was directed by James & Alex of The Artists Company. The video was shot at 50 frames per second, twice the regular speed. At the shoot, Chris Martin had to sing the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would sync up. The final product is slowed to 25 frames per second, giving the slow motion effect of the video.
The transition of the video from night to day was achieved through telecine. During the transfer from film to videotape, an operator manually adjusted the amount of lighting for blue in the beginning, red in the middle, and yellow at the end of the video.
Shooting was completed in a single day, with five takes for the video.[2]
Awards and nominations
Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | NME Awards | Best Single |
Nominations
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Grammy Awards | Best Rock Song |
| 2002 | Grammy Awards | Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal |
Covers
- Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine covered this as a Lounge style version on his 2004 album I'd Like a Virgin.
- The song was covered by Petra Haden and Bill Frisell which appears in episode 308 of the The O. C.
- The song was also covered by Singaporean singer Tanya Chua.
- A Chinese language version of "Yellow" was also recorded by the Chinese rock singer Zheng Jun in 2001.
- It was most recently featured on the reality show Rock Star: Supernova, performed by Matt Hoffer.
- In 2006, Tre Lux covered "Yellow" on the cover album A Strange Gathering.
- In 2008, American Idol singer Brooke White covered "Yellow" on her debut album Songs From The Attic.
- In 2009, singer Jem recorded an acoustic cover of "Yellow".
Lyrics
Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And everything you do, Yeah, they were all yellow. I came along, I wrote a song for you, And all the things you do, And it was called "Yellow" So then I took my turn, Oh, what a thing to have done, And it was all "Yellow" Your skin Oh, yeah, your skin and bones, Turn into something beautiful, Do you know, you know I love you so, You know I love you so. I swam across, I jumped across for you, Oh, what a thing to do. 'Cause you were all "Yellow" I drew a line, I drew a line for you, Oh, what a thing to do, And it was all "Yellow" Your skin, Oh, yeah, your skin and bones, Turn into something beautiful, And you know For you I'd bleed myself dry For you I'd bleed myself dry. It's true, Look how they shine for you, Look how they shine for you, Look how they shine for Look how they shine for you, Look how they shine for you, Look how they shine Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And all the things that you do.
External links
