"Moving to Mars" is a song by British rock band Coldplay and the second B-Side of "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall", the lead single from Mylo Xyloto (2011).
Background and recording[]
The title "Moving to Mars" was inspired by the 2009 documentary of the same name, directed by the band's longtime collaborator Mat Whitecross, who also directed several of Coldplay's music videos throughout their career.[2] The documentary follows two refugee families from Myanmar (formely known as Burma) moving to their new homes in the United Kingdom.
During one of the song's recording sessions, the band's roadie known under the pseudonym Roadie #42 blogged about "Moving to Mars" in February 2011, using the acronym 'MTM'. They revealed a laptop and speakers were set up in the kitchen of The Bakery — the band's studio — and that guitarist Jonny Buckland was “working on his epic lead” there.[3]
In a cover story run by the international music and entertainment magazine Billboard on the band's fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto, the magazine described the track as a “'Major Tom'-meets-Sinatra exercise”. With regards to the song, Jonny stated:
- “I like it. It probably won't make [the record]. It was just one of those ones. There was a period where it all worked, then it sat for a bit, we threw [out] lots of ideas, brought them together, pulled them apart, put them back on. We always like the beginning... that intimate sound. And we thought, 'Where can we take it? What can we do?'”
Luke Pritchard, frontman from the English pop-rock band The Kooks, said that the track is one of Coldplay's best songs and that it is “bound to be a bootleg classic”. He also spoke about a conversation he had had with the band's lead singer Chris Martin about the song and said the frontman looked “genuinely disappointed” that it was left off Mylo Xyloto.[4]
Composition[]
"Moving to Mars" is a space rock song featuring progressive rock sensibilities.[5] It was written by all Coldplay members and English musician, composer, and record producer Brian Eno, and produced by Markus Dravs, Daniel Green, and Rik Simpson, who produced the entirety of Mylo Xyloto.
British daily newspaper The Guardian described the song as “a sumptuous epic ballad with choruses that hang in the air like sighs”.[6] Online music magazine Stereogum called it “a cosmic ballad” and compared it to the likes of David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" and "Space Oddity", and Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon.[7] The influence on Bowie's songs was also echoed by music webzine Beats Per Minute, which defined it as “a piano ballad that builds into something bigger and more anthemic.”[8]
Release and promotion[]
On 16 June 2011, Coldplay announced the release of different bundles of "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall", adding "Major Minus" as one of its B-Sides. In the same announcement, it was revealed that “additional tracks” would be announced in the following week and would be included in an exclusive iTunes Stores digital bundle.[9] On 21 June, "Moving to Mars" was announced as the second B-Side track as part of the digital bundle of the single, expected to release in iTunes on 26 June.[10] The song premiered on the United Kingdom radio on 24 June at 11:45 am and was made available on Coldplay's website and YouTube channel afterwards.[11] On 26 June, "Moving to Mars" was officially released on the iTunes Store worldwide at 00:01 am.[12][13]
"Moving to Mars" was performed live only once at the iTunes Festival on 22 July 2011. At the occasion, Chris introduced the song by saying, “We've never played this song live before and, depending on the next five minutes, we might never play it anywhere else. So, either way, you're getting an exclusive.”[14]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1: Chris Martin]
Somewhere up above the stars
The wreckage of a universe floats past
Somewhere up above my heart
A tiny little seed is sown, a government is overthrown
Who knows when we'll be coming home at last
[Chorus: Chris Martin; Chris Martin & Will Champion]
And I heard it on the radio that one day we'll be living in the stars
And I heard it on a TV show that somewhere up above and in my heart
They'll be tearing us apart, maybe moving us to Mars
We won't see the earth again
And the seconds just remain unchanged
[Verse 2: Chris Martin & Will Champion]
8 to 9, 9 to 10
We are meeting for the first time
We might never meet again, you and me
We are meeting for the first time, can't you see?
7 6 5 4 3
We are meeting for the first time
Singing this space symphony
[Outro: Chris Martin & Will Champion]
They'll be tearing us apart, maybe moving us to Mars
Past the satellites and stars, they're moving us to Mars
Official audios[]
Coldplay - Moving To Mars (Official Audio)
Moving to Mars
References[]
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/features/every-coldplay-song-ranked-in-order-of-greatness-2704676
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150122021952/http://www.coldplay.com/oracledetail_pop.php?id=2149&page=0&iframe=true
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20111123132458/http://coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=699&page=0
- ↑ https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/luke-pritchard/kooks-new-song_b_1134004.html
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/features/every-coldplay-song-ranked-in-order-of-greatness-2704676
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jul/24/coldplay-roundhouse-review
- ↑ https://www.stereogum.com/740192/coldplay-moving-to-mars/news/?1710416626=
- ↑ https://beatsperminute.com/listen-coldplay-moving-to-mars/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110721111155/http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=741&page=0
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110624041026/http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=743&page=0
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110702172611/http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=746&page=0
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110901092339/http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=749&page=0
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110702172645/http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=751&page=0
- ↑ https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/review-coldplay-at-the-itunes-festival