"Adventure of a Lifetime" is a song by Coldplay from their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams. It is the fifth track on the album and was released as the lead single on 6 November 2015. The song's official music video premiered on 29 November 2015.
"Adventure of a Lifetime" received generally positive reviews from music critics and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top 20 in a number of countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
Background and recording[]
The starting point of "Adventure of a Lifetime" came from a Brian Eno's teaching from the time he worked with the band by producing the albums Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008) and Mylo Xyloto (2011), where he would encourage “freedom to let everyone express themselves”; this approach led Chris Martin to ask the rest of the band to start something prior to his usual songwriting, similar to what had been done previously for "Magic", the lead single of Ghost Stories (2014). Once Jonny Buckland wrote the guitar riff, the band started working on a previous version of the song called "Legends" as a “freeform musical session”, according to Guy Berryman.[1]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Turn your magic on, Umi, she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
And we are legends every day
That's what she told me
[Verse 2]
Turn your magic on, to me she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
Under this pressure, under this weight
We are diamonds
[Chorus]
Now I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
And I feel my heart beating
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
[Post-Chorus]
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
[Verse 3]
Said I can't go on, not in this way
I'm a dream that died by light of day
Gonna hold up half the sky and say
Only I own me
[Chorus]
Now I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
Oh, I can feel my heart beating
'Cause you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
[Post-Chorus]
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
[Verse 4]
Turn your magic on, Umi, she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
Under this pressure, under this weight
We are diamonds taking shape
We are diamonds taking shape
(Woo-ooh, woo-ooh)
[Bridge]
If we've only got this life
This adventure, oh then I
And if we've only got this life
You'll get me through, oh
And if we've only got this life
In this adventure, oh then I
Want to share it with you
With you, with you
Sing it, oh, say yeah!
[Outro]
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Woo-hoo (woo-hoo)
Music video[]
The CGI animated video features a group of chimpanzees that come across a Beats Pill speaker under a pile of leaves. The primates then discover the power of music and form a band that resembles the band members.
The video begins with a similar layout with Coldplay's 2011 music video, "Paradise". As it opens, four chimpanzees (played by the band members) are sitting in a forest. The opening verses begin after a chimpanzee (played by Jonny Buckland) finds a portable speaker under a pile of leaves. Another chimpanzee (played by Chris Martin) listens to the music and calls the rest of the group (played by Guy Berryman and Will Champion) to gather. It then slaps its chest and jumps to a path inside the forest alone.
The character sings the song and swings on the willow tree vines. Then, the four chimpanzees dance together during the chorus. After the chorus, they find an electric guitar, a bass and a drum set. The chimpanzees bang on the instruments before they realise their proper use. The characters play the instruments and form an "ape band". Buckland's character gains a hat and Berryman's gains an earring.
During the bridge of the song, the band is surrounded by other chimpanzees (also played by the band). The rest of the video features the dance movements of the other chimpanzees and the performance of the ape band. At the end of the video, Martin's character climbs up to a tree and overlooks the view of the forest which also features some Indian temples, a reference to the Indian inspiration of the associated album, A Head Full of Dreams.