Church

"Church"
General information
Featured Artist	Norah Shaqur
Recorded	2016-2019
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	3:50
Labels
Producer(s)	Rik Simpson Daniel Green Bill Rahko Angel Lopez Federico Vindver
Album	Everyday Life
Everyday Life track listing
"Sunrise"
"Church"
"Trouble in Town"

"Church" is a song by Coldplay from their eighth studio album, Everyday Life. It is the second track of the first side of the album, Sunrise. It features arabic vocals provided by singer Norah Shaqur.

Background and recording

"Church" was one of the first songs to be worked on Everyday Life while the band was still on tour for their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams. Although there were numerous recordings and jammings on it, Jonny Buckland said the song only came to life when Norah Shaqur recorded her vocals on it. In an interview to Entercom, Chris Martin revealed the song "fell through the sky", being written in about four minutes, but taking two and a half years to be recorded. In the same interview, Chris described it is a love song.

In an interview, band producer and sound engineer Daniel Green recalled the recording process, saying: "The song was based around an acoustic guitar loop and a simple programmed groove for a long time, until Will came up with the beat. We ran the drums through the EMS VCS3 (a portable analog synthesiser) and various effect chains, which gave a vibe that dictated the path for the song to evolve." About Norah's involvement on the track, band producer Rik Simpson revealed: "Chris and Bill [Rahko] were in Jerusalem, and being shown a venue, the lady who was their tour guide let slip that she was a singer, she turned out to be amazing. Chris just took his phone out and recorded her then and there, and for ages, that phone recording was part of our mix for "Church". Bill later re-recorded her properly near the end of the process."

Composition

English singer Jacob Collier, who worked on other tracks on the album as "Cry Cry Cry" and "Everyday Life", also provided backing vocals on it. The strings sessions were arranged by Davide Rossi and John Metcalfe.

As stated on the album's booklet, the track has a beat inspiration by Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, as well as a sample from "Jagah Ji Laganay Ki Duniya", as written and performed by late Pakistani singer, Amjad Sabri.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
What can I tell you?
When I'm with you, I'm walking on air
Watching you sleeping there, yeah
And what can't I get through?
When for everyone, everywhere
You're answering every prayer

[Chorus]
And when you're riding a wave
Oh, won't you ride that wave to me?
When you're setting your sail
Oh, can I be your seventh sea?
When you're riding a wave
Oh, when you're riding a wave

[Bridge]
'Cause when I'm hurt
Then I'll go to your church
'Cause when I'm hurt
Then I'll go to your church

[Chorus]
When you're riding a wave
Oh, won't you ride that wave to me?
When you're riding a wave

[Vocalizing in Arabic by Norah Shaqur]
أبي يا الله يا قادر، لماذا تركتني؟
أبي يا الله يا قادر
حرية يا الله
محبة يا الله

[Outro: Chris Martin & Norah Shaqur]
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
I worship in your church, baby, always
I worship in your church, all the seven days (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
I praise and praise
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

Official audios

Coldplay - Church (Lyric Video)

Church

Critical reception

The song was praised for bring back the old elements of the band's sound into a new shape. British music website NME said it is the album's best track, saying: "‘Church’ is Coldplay 101: a moving, ambient, transcendental piece of pop music. As Martin digs into his usual adventurist metaphors [...] his crystalline falsetto is met with swells of strings, cascading guitar arpeggios and avian trip-hop breakbeats. Norah Shaqur, meanwhile, makes for a stunning guest spot singing in Arabic verse. “I worship in your church, baby, always” may signal the particular spiritual sanctuary afforded to Martin by his lover, but the meeting of Eastern and Western sounds alludes to a globalised acceptance of different religions."

The pop culture website Vulture said the song "carries Coldplay back to the scene of the reassuring Parachutes opener “Don't Panic”. “Panic” sought solace in darkness, and “Church” revisits the idea with a twist, blurring lines between romantic and religious love [...]"