Yellow (Song) : Background and Inspiration
Yellow (Song) : Background and Inspiration
Yellow (Song) : Background and Inspiration
Yellow (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yellow is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson. It was for their rst album Parachutes. The songs lyrics are a reference to band vocalist Chris Martins unreturned love. The song was released across the world in June 2000. It was the second single o the album following Shiver. It was the lead single in the United States. The single reached number four in the UK Singles Chart. This gave the band their rst top-ve hit in the United Kingdom. Helped by heavy rotation and usage in promotions, the song made the band very popular. Various recording artists worldwide have since made their own versions of Yellow. It remains one of the bands most popular songs.
10
15
20
25
30
40
45
The band and Nelson produced the track. Nelson was introduced to the bands music through the bands manager. Nelsons manager gave him a copy of an EP and single by Coldplay. Nelson wanted to work them after seeing the band perform live. Yellow was rst recorded upstairs in the project studio. This was a demo room in Liverpools Parr Street Studios. Nelson and the band had some problems when they were making some parts of the song. Champion said that ... it was really dicult to record, because it worked at about ve or six dierent tempos. It was a tough choice of choosing which tempo to play, because sometimes it sounded too rushed, and sometimes it sounded as if it was dragging... The band was trying to get the tempo correctly, according to Nelson, because a beat either side of the tempo we picked didnt have the same groove. To improve the song, they recorded this part live and Buckland overdubbed his guitar. They recorded it two or three times until Nelson and the band were happy at the output. The backing vocals were recorded in the control room of Quadrangle.
50
Nelson used an analogue tape to record most of the tracks in the album. As recording progressed, Yellow was one of a couple of songs that they couldnt quite get on analogue. They recorded dierent versions but it did not satisfy their taste. So Nelson used Pro Tools to get the feel of [the track] just right. Once all of the takes were recorded into the computer, we then put it down to the 2-inch, which I found was a great way to do it, according to Nelson.
Composition
55
60
65
The song opens with an acoustic guitar part. This is backed by an electric guitar copying the acoustic guitar. It then forwards to the lead guitar line. It then goes back to the acoustic section. Its instrumentation is varied, including the drums, cymbals, and the occasional hihat and ascending bass guitar. Yellow features Martins falsetto, and nearly spoken-word whispers. Martin, after the songs mixing, felt that his voice was too subdued, too quiet. Martin has explained that Yellow refers to the mood of the band. Brightness and hope and devotion. The references in some of the songs lyrics, including the swimming and drawing a line, are all metaphorical slants on the extent of his emotional devotion. The drawing of a line refers to Martins habit of writing lists and underlining those important things on the list. Martin has commented that the song is about devotion. He refers to his unreturned love (Martin was single at the time he wrote the song). Most people have considered Yellow as a happy song, even though the lyrics do not seem to be.
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
accompanying album (Parachutes ... ), Coldplay have already been anointed heir to the Brit-rock throne. The song has since been regarded as the centerpiece track on the album. Following the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Yellow was the rst video played on MTV once normal programming resumed. ... (Taken from http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_(song))
Which one of the following is not true according to the passage? Possible answers: The song was the bands rst top-ve hit in the UK The song did not gain worldwide popularity The song has been covered by other artists The song is still popular When did the band got their inspiration for the song? Possible answers: While having a dinner at a restaurant On a bus ride to a gig After doing a concert While walking outside at the night after recording a song From what thing did the song take its title? Possible answers: A telephone A fence A directory book A ower Who contributed the opening line for the song? Possible answers: The vocalist The bassist The drummer The producer The songs lyrics was mostly... Possible answers: metaphorical straightforward set in rhymes telling about disappointment
Why was the song dicult to record? Possible answers: There were tricky solo passages The song had six dierent tempos The duration was very long The recording needed a sophisticated devices Which one of these statement is implied in the fth paragraph? Possible answers: The band could record the song fairly easily The recording didnt take much time The song was kept secret before the launching of the album Before the album was released, the song had been performed live The word heavy rotation in line-78 has the closest meaning to... Possible answers: slowly changing melody a slow rotation very frequent plays over the radio heavy use of repetitions According to Billboard, the song is... Possible answers: boring monotonous emotional addicting Why did a reviewer claim that the song Yellow was the bands turning point? Possible answers: It sets an example of Coldplays musical style It was the bands rst song It reached top-ve hits It is very popular