Humankind

"Humankind"
Live version cover artwork
General information
Artist	Coldplay
Released	15 October 2021
Genre	Alternative rock Pop rock
Length	4:26
Labels
Songwriter(s)	Guy Berryman Jonny Buckland Will Champion Chris Martin Max Martin Oscar Holter Daniel Green Jon Hopkins Federico Vindver Stephen Fry
Producer(s)	Max Martin Oscar Holter Bill Rahko
Album	Music of the Spheres
Music of the Spheres track listing
"Higher Power"
"Humankind"
"Alien Choir"

"Humankind" is a song by Coldplay from their ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres. It is the third track on the album. The song's official music video premiered on 17 August 2022. On the concept of the record, the track represents Echo, the second planet on The Spheres solar system.

Background and composition

Coldplay stated "Humankind" was the hardest to be recorded on Music of the Spheres. Jonny Buckland revealed the band “couldn't quite get the feel of it right until the end of the [recording] sessions. And then suddenly it all clicked into place.” In an interview to Apple Music, Guy Berryman explained: “You can sketch ideas out in the studio sometimes, and ["Humankind"] was one we were really kind of struggling with before Max [Martin] took the reins. It didn't sound very fresh; it had a good energy, but was maybe just a little bit too rock for us, and he really gave it more of a modern shine. It could be from just editing the basic song and the song structure or it could be adjusting slightly the rhythm pattern to make it all stick together better.”

Jonny said the song is “like our tribute to Van Halen being played by New Order.” Vocals by Moses Martin are featured on the chorus, alongside his father's, Chris. A Kaotican language intro countdown featuring filtered vocals is provided by English actor and comedian Stephen Fry; although it is counted in Kaotican, the lyric video features the numbers written in Mirror Text, which is associated with "Humankind"'s planet, Echo. The song has a songwriting credit by English musician Jon Hopkins, and segues into the next track on the album "Alien Choir", also co-written and co-produced by Hopkins.

Live in Mexico City

On 22 April 2022, a live version of "Humankind" recorded in Mexico City during the first leg of the Music of the Spheres World Tour was made available exclusively for download on Bandcamp as part of a collaboration with EarthPercent for Earth Day to support and generate funds for organisations addressing direct attention and urgency to the climate change crisis.

Lyrics

[Intro, in Kaotican language: Stephen Fry]
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

[Verse 1]
Today I heard the strangest
I heard the strangest song
(oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh)
(oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh)
A DJ a star away is
Playing it to turn us on
(oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh)
(oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh)

[Pre-Chorus]
My heart started glowing
I feel it inside, it is flowing

[Chorus]
I say I know, I know, I know
We're only human
I know, I know, I know
How we're designed, yeah
Oh, I know, I know, I know
We're only human
But from another planet
Still, they call us humankind

[Verse 2]
Today I had the strangest
Feeling that I belong
(oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh)
(oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh)

[Pre-Chorus]
Before I was dying
I feel it inside, now I'm flying

[Chorus]
I say, I know, I know, I know
We're only human
I know, I know, I know
How we're designed, yeah
Oh, I know, I know, I know
We're only human
But from another planet
Still, they call us humankind

[Interlude]
Oh!
Alright!

[Pre-Chorus]
Before I was dying
I feel it inside, now I'm flying

[Chorus]
I know, I know, I know
Wе're only human
I know, I know, I know
How we're dеsigned
Oh, I know, I know, I know
We're only human
But we're capable of kindness
So they call us humankind

Music video

Coldplay surprise-released the music video for "Humankind" on 17 August 2022. It was directed by Stevie Rae Gibbs and James Marcus Haney and was filmed during the band's passage through Mexico City in April 2022 at Foro Sol while on tour.

Coldplay - Humankind (Official Video)

Lyric video

The official lyric video for "Humankind" was unveiled on 15 October 2021. It was directed by Pilar Zeta and Victor Scorrano and features the planet Echo orbiting as the song plays in the background.

Coldplay - Humankind (Official Lyric Video)

Official audio

Humankind

Critical reception

Rhian Daly of NME praised the track's uplifting sounding and wrote it is “a song that rushes with so much brightness and euphoria it will likely have the unifying effect he sings of when the band perform it on their eco-friendly tour [in 2022].”