"Yellow" is a song written and recorded by Coldplay from their debut studio album, Parachutes, and was released as a single on 26 June, 2000. It was their international breakthrough.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1: Chris Martin]
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
[Chorus 1: Chris, Jonny & Will]
(Aah) Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones
(Ooh) Turn into something beautiful
(Aah) You know, you know I love you so
You know I love you so
[Verse 2: Chris Martin]
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
[Chorus 2: Chris, Jonny & Will]
(Aah) Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones
(Ooh) Turn into something beautiful
(Aah) And you know
For you, I'd bleed myself dry
For you, I'd bleed myself dry
[Bridge: Chris Martin]
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
[Outro: Chris Martin]
Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do
Video[]
The music video for "Yellow" was filmed at Studland Bay in the county of Dorset, in England. The video is minimalistic, featuring only Martin singing the song as he walks along the beach. He is seen wearing a set of waterproofs with his hair wet, suggesting that it had just rained. The video is one continuous shot with no cuts. The entire sequence is in slow motion.
Originally, it had been intended for the whole band to appear in the video. Champion's mother's funeral was held on the day of the filming, so it was decided that only Martin would appear in the video, which was also the immediate explanation of his mood during this part. 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 agreed that the moving stars would distract the focus of the video from Martin.[4] The plan of time advancing was kept. The video begins with the beach being somewhat dark until sunlight arrives nearly at the video's midway point.
The video was directed by British directing duo James Frost & Alex Smith of The Artists Company. It 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 be in sync, a common, yet difficult practice of music videos. 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 during the telecine process. During the transfer from film to videotape, an operator manually adjusted from a monochromatic, grainy look at the start, to a warm, colourful and bright look at the end of the video. The look was inspired by the night swimming scenes in the movie "Jaws".
Yellow EP
Tracklist
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yellow" | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Help Is Round the Corner" | 2:36 |
| 3. | "No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground" (from Safety) | 4:31 |
Personnel[]
Chris Martin - lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard
Jonny Buckland - electric guitar, backing vocals
Guy Berryman - bass guitar
Will Champion - drums, percussion
Charts[]
| Chart (2000-01) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 5 |
| France (SNEP) | 96 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) | 1 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 9 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 82 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) | 23 |
| Poland (LP3) | 14 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 4 |
| United States (Billboard Hot 100) | 48 |