No one who writes music just writes a compilation of random words and hopes that when they're sung over music it will make sense. Every album, every song, every line says something. There is always a theme for music. As is the case for many alternative rock songs and albums, the theme from A Rush of Blood to the Head is all about love, regret, and relationships with a few exceptions in some songs. As the RollingStone review says of the emotion in this album, "[Chris Martin] still [has] plenty of angst to vent, though, wailing about death ("Amsterdam"), war ("A Rush of Blood to the Head"), and lost love (damn near everything)." While I do agree that the theme of love can be found in most songs on the album, I would argue that "A Rush of Blood to the Head" isn't actually about a literal war but rather is about the love of a girl.
While I was listening to the album and thinking about how I could talk more about its themes, I found an journal article that helped me get a better background on the theme of love and relationships. The journal that I found, Interpersonal Variability of the Experience of Falling in Love, suggests that some people use love to make sense of their lives so when a relationship goes wrong and is broken off, would rather struggle to keep the relationship alive instead of letting love fail. That's something that I think is very applicable. All around, in movies, songs, and even in other friends' relationships, you can see people fighting for to keep relationships alive. That idea plays out well in "A Rush of Blood to the Head." It starts out slow with just Chris Martin and a soft acoustic guitar in the background and it stays that way throughout the whole first verse. I see this as kind of the calm before the storm. It then picks up a little bit in the pre-chorus with a steady drum beat added in and then reaches its peak at the chorus where it pretty much stays for the rest of the song. In the beginning, he is quietly contemplating his relationship with this girl before he goes all out to fight to keep the relationship alive. He goes on to say in the chorus, "Said I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war / if you can tell me something worth fighting for," (now you can see where the confusion about war mentioned in the RollingStone article comes in). However, he isn't talking about a literal war, but rather saying that if the girl is willing to give it a shot, then he will go to the ends of the earth and start a (metaphorical) war for their love. A similar theme can also be found in the emotionally gut-wrenching "Warning Sign." It also revolves around a broken relationship like in "A Rush of Blood to the Head," except for this one isn't as much about him fighting for the relationship as it is him nostalgically looking back on the relationship realizing how special this girl was. The same basic melody stays relatively the same throughout the whole song and it basically just jumps right into that melody which is kind of how the meaning of the song is. He doesn't waste any time beating around the bush; he just goes straight ahead and pours out how he feels. Before the lyrics come in, you can here a cello behind the guitar that sets the tone for a very somber song. The message behind the lyrics is essentially summed up in the cliché, "you don't know what you have til it's gone." Martin regrets letting his relationship with this girl end because he can see in hindsight that she was special and could have been the one for him. Another song that goes along with the theme of regret in relationships is "The Scientist" which is arguably the most popular song off this album. In it, Martin deals with the pain of hurting someone who he loved and ruining the relationship and wanting to start over. He constantly repeats the phrase "take me back to the start," which emphasizes his want to have a fresh start with the girl. Throughout the entire song he pleads to this girl that he is sorry but at the same time he is trying to work his way through what went wrong. The title of the song is kind of cryptic at first because it's not like he's singing about a scientist or anything so there isn't any concrete reason for the title directly stated in the song. However, if you listen to the meaning, he is trying to reason his way through what went wrong in the relationship much like a scientist sees a problem and has to work his way through it. I think the lines in the song that best contributes to the meaning of the title come when Martin says, "I was just guessing at numbers and figures, pulling the puzzles apart."
The theme of love and regret is very common among many alternative songs and I think a big reason for that is because it is something that everyone can relate to; everyone can say that they've looked at a girl (or a guy for the lady readers out there) and thought, "wow I really like that girl," or thinking, "I wish it would've worked out between us." One of the more iconic songs off of this album, "Clocks," revolves around these themes. Although the lyrics can be somewhat ambiguous, as they are in many alt rock songs, it's still simple to pick out the overall message in the song. It starts out with quite possibly the most recognizable piano riff of all time and then building on that piano with a steady rock beat. Martin then brings it back down with his emotional and comforting voice. He reflects on the fleetingness of time and how you have to make the most of time or else you will live with regret when he says "confusion that never stops / closing walls and ticking clocks." He then goes on to talk about the regret of not saying all he should have to save his relationship.
The seventh song off the album, "Green Eyes," is probably the song that is most clearly about being in love. However, unlike some of the other songs off this album, this song presents a more idealistic view of what love should be like in a relationship. The constant strum of the acoustic guitar in the background gives this song a sound that is somewhat of a mix of country and soft alternative, Through the lyrics of the song, Martin tries to show the positive side of being in a relationship. He opens the song with the lyrics, "honey you are the rock upon which I stand." This immediately sets the tone of the song to be about a relationship that helps him to be a better person. While he starts out by saying that the girl helps build him up, the end of the first verse is him suggesting that this girl is perfect and he is lucky to have her in his life. Throughout the entire song, the steady strum of the acoustic guitar is constant, it's always there. Just like the acoustic guitar in the song, this girl is his rock, she is steadfast and always there for him. She helps him forget about all of his burdens and problems. "In My Place" is sort of a combination of this idealistic view of love presented in "Green Eyes" and the more regretful view that was presented in the previous songs. The entire idea behind this song is that he is struggling with certain aspects of himself that he wants to change but he just can't. Over the sound of an electric piano that almost sounds like an organ, he first says, "I was lost, I was lost / crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed / I was lost, oh yeah." As he is trying to change himself he realizes that he hurt the girl he loves as he was trying so hard to change. He later recognizes that she loved him and didn't want him to change because she accepted him. In the chorus he realizes that he shouldn't have tried to change and that he wants to wait for the girl to come back to him.
As I said earlier, music always has a meaning. Whether its cryptic and ambiguous or blatantly obvious through the lyrics, the writer always intends for something to be taken away from it. The theme of love, relationships, and regret is used a lot in alternative music and Coldplay did a great job of showing a well rounded view of that theme in A Rush Of Blood To The Head. If you haven't listened all the way through this album, I would definitely try it next time you're on a road trip or just sitting down to crank out some homework for an hour I promise you won't regret it.
While I was listening to the album and thinking about how I could talk more about its themes, I found an journal article that helped me get a better background on the theme of love and relationships. The journal that I found, Interpersonal Variability of the Experience of Falling in Love, suggests that some people use love to make sense of their lives so when a relationship goes wrong and is broken off, would rather struggle to keep the relationship alive instead of letting love fail. That's something that I think is very applicable. All around, in movies, songs, and even in other friends' relationships, you can see people fighting for to keep relationships alive. That idea plays out well in "A Rush of Blood to the Head." It starts out slow with just Chris Martin and a soft acoustic guitar in the background and it stays that way throughout the whole first verse. I see this as kind of the calm before the storm. It then picks up a little bit in the pre-chorus with a steady drum beat added in and then reaches its peak at the chorus where it pretty much stays for the rest of the song. In the beginning, he is quietly contemplating his relationship with this girl before he goes all out to fight to keep the relationship alive. He goes on to say in the chorus, "Said I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war / if you can tell me something worth fighting for," (now you can see where the confusion about war mentioned in the RollingStone article comes in). However, he isn't talking about a literal war, but rather saying that if the girl is willing to give it a shot, then he will go to the ends of the earth and start a (metaphorical) war for their love. A similar theme can also be found in the emotionally gut-wrenching "Warning Sign." It also revolves around a broken relationship like in "A Rush of Blood to the Head," except for this one isn't as much about him fighting for the relationship as it is him nostalgically looking back on the relationship realizing how special this girl was. The same basic melody stays relatively the same throughout the whole song and it basically just jumps right into that melody which is kind of how the meaning of the song is. He doesn't waste any time beating around the bush; he just goes straight ahead and pours out how he feels. Before the lyrics come in, you can here a cello behind the guitar that sets the tone for a very somber song. The message behind the lyrics is essentially summed up in the cliché, "you don't know what you have til it's gone." Martin regrets letting his relationship with this girl end because he can see in hindsight that she was special and could have been the one for him. Another song that goes along with the theme of regret in relationships is "The Scientist" which is arguably the most popular song off this album. In it, Martin deals with the pain of hurting someone who he loved and ruining the relationship and wanting to start over. He constantly repeats the phrase "take me back to the start," which emphasizes his want to have a fresh start with the girl. Throughout the entire song he pleads to this girl that he is sorry but at the same time he is trying to work his way through what went wrong. The title of the song is kind of cryptic at first because it's not like he's singing about a scientist or anything so there isn't any concrete reason for the title directly stated in the song. However, if you listen to the meaning, he is trying to reason his way through what went wrong in the relationship much like a scientist sees a problem and has to work his way through it. I think the lines in the song that best contributes to the meaning of the title come when Martin says, "I was just guessing at numbers and figures, pulling the puzzles apart."
As I said earlier, music always has a meaning. Whether its cryptic and ambiguous or blatantly obvious through the lyrics, the writer always intends for something to be taken away from it. The theme of love, relationships, and regret is used a lot in alternative music and Coldplay did a great job of showing a well rounded view of that theme in A Rush Of Blood To The Head. If you haven't listened all the way through this album, I would definitely try it next time you're on a road trip or just sitting down to crank out some homework for an hour I promise you won't regret it.
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