KidA Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't think it's subjective that Fix You's lyrics are cliched; they clearly are. Whether it gets away with this is opinion as you say. The lyrics you posted are another example of the bland cliches that plagued X&Y as a whole IMO, "fighting with my weak hand", "driven to distraction" and "all part of the plan" are familiar cliches, we've all heard them a million times before and Chris never explains what he means by them - why is he unable to deal with his problems? What are his problems? What is the distraction like? His lyrics rarely go deeper than a cliched expression of vague circumstances. Compare this with, say, Thom Yorke's lyricism around the time of The Bends/Ok Computer. A lot of the basic themes of these albums are similar to Coldplay at that time - namely paranoia, heartbreak, insecurity etc...but Yorke took his lyrics deeper by using striking, original imagery and by linking his pain with society, the media, and his own psyche to explain those themes in greater detail. Chris is capable of doing this, but he rarely does - and what you're left with is a string of bland, vague cliches like Fix You. Of course, the upside of these type of lyrics is that everyone and his mother will be able to relate to it in some way. Whether that is a good thing is, again, down to opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't think it's subjective that Fix You's lyrics are cliched; they clearly are. Whether it gets away with this is opinion as you say. The lyrics you posted are another example of the bland cliches that plagued X&Y as a whole IMO, "fighting with my weak hand", "driven to distraction" and "all part of the plan" are familiar cliches, we've all heard them a million times before and Chris never explains what he means by them - why is he unable to deal with his problems? What are his problems? What is the distraction like? His lyrics rarely go deeper than a cliched expression of vague circumstances. Compare this with, say, Thom Yorke's lyricism around the time of The Bends/Ok Computer. A lot of the basic themes of these albums are similar to Coldplay at that time - namely paranoia, heartbreak, insecurity etc...but Yorke took his lyrics deeper by using striking, original imagery and by linking his pain with society, the media, and his own psyche to explain those themes in greater detail. Chris is capable of doing this, but he rarely does - and what you're left with is a string of bland, vague cliches like Fix You. Of course, the upside of these type of lyrics is that everyone and his mother will be able to relate to it in some way. Whether that is a good thing is, again, down to opinion. This is how I know Coldplay: ambiguous and vague. This is how they are able to reach so many people: through ambiguity. This way, everyone can relate to their songs, and not just a small group of people. I like this style of writing lyrics, because it's open to various interpretations. Some of their songs are very deep and others are vague. They're able to approach as many people as possible with their music, because of this. For me, it's a great thing. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I ran away Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 As I've said before somehwhere (not sure if it was in this thread), I like the lyrical vagueness because everyone can relate to the songs emotionally in some way. And thus the songs may be soothing or even helpful if you go through difficult times. That's a beautiful thing, at least I believe it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 As I've said before somehwhere (not sure if it was in this thread), I like the lyrical vagueness because everyone can relate to the songs emotionally in some way. And thus the songs may be soothing or even helpful if you go through difficult times. That's a beautiful thing, at least I believe it is. I couldn't agree more. This is exactly what I think of them. The ambiguity of their songs is what makes them a "band for eveyone". "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastwars Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't think it's subjective that Fix You's lyrics are cliched; they clearly are. Whether it gets away with this is opinion as you say. The lyrics you posted are another example of the bland cliches that plagued X&Y as a whole IMO, "fighting with my weak hand", "driven to distraction" and "all part of the plan" are familiar cliches, we've all heard them a million times before and Chris never explains what he means by them - why is he unable to deal with his problems? What are his problems? What is the distraction like? His lyrics rarely go deeper than a cliched expression of vague circumstances. Compare this with, say, Thom Yorke's lyricism around the time of The Bends/Ok Computer. A lot of the basic themes of these albums are similar to Coldplay at that time - namely paranoia, heartbreak, insecurity etc...but Yorke took his lyrics deeper by using striking, original imagery and by linking his pain with society, the media, and his own psyche to explain those themes in greater detail. Chris is capable of doing this, but he rarely does - and what you're left with is a string of bland, vague cliches like Fix You. Of course, the upside of these type of lyrics is that everyone and his mother will be able to relate to it in some way. Whether that is a good thing is, again, down to opinion. I agree with you on Fix You, but some songs of X&Y have the best lyrics of their catalogue. Square One, Speed Of Sound, Low, Swallowed In The Sea, Til Kingdom Come... only the ones on Fix You and A Message are cheesy and bland, the other songs are normal. For The Bends/Ok Computer, there are some songs that are not so refined lirically, even if they are good songs, and there are songs with great lyrics that musically are not so good, but this is another story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I ran away Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I agree with you on Fix You, but some songs of X&Y have the best lyrics of their catalogue. Square One, Speed Of Sound, Low, Swallowed In The Sea, Til Kingdom Come... only the ones on Fix You and A Message are cheesy and bland, the other songs are normal. For The Bends/Ok Computer, there are some songs that are not so refined lirically, even if they are good songs, and there are songs with great lyrics that musically are not so good, but this is another story... Agree with you on some of the songs, but I like A Message lyrics and dislike the ones from Swallowed in the Sea ;) We all have such different tastes, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidA Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Haha true, I can't STAND the lyrics to Swallowed in the Sea - like not even cliched, just stupid. Forget but not forgive? That doesn't even make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Haha true, I can't STAND the lyrics to Swallowed in the Sea - like not even cliched, just stupid. Forget but not forgive? That doesn't even make sense. Just a quick explanation of those lyrics: Someone did something bad. He may forget about that thing but doesn't forgive the person. Crystal clear. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Adversary Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I wouldn't call Chris a poor lyricist at all. You can't write the lyrics for an album like AROBTTH and be a poor lyricist. People often criticize X&Y lyrically, bar A Message and some of Swallowed in the Sea, Lyrically X&Y is probably my favourite. Especially on the esoteric and cryptic songs such as Talk, Speed of Sound. There's a certain boldness and confidence in the AROBTTH lyrics and this is perfectly contrasted with the fearful, anxiety ridden lyrics on X&Y I wouldn't necessarily call the Fix You lyrics cliche either. Chris's lyrics are usually vague and need to be deciphered, just because there more straight forward on Fix You doesn't mean there cliche. The lyrics are the main reason that song is as instantly recognizable and beloved as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I wouldn't call Chris a poor lyricist at all. You can't write the lyrics for an album like AROBTTH and be a poor lyricist. People often criticize X&Y lyrically, bar A Message and some of Swallowed in the Sea, Lyrically X&Y is probably my favourite. Especially on the esoteric and cryptic songs such as Talk, Speed of Sound. There's a certain boldness and confidence in the AROBTTH lyrics and this is perfectly contrasted with the fearful, anxiety ridden lyrics on X&Y I wouldn't necessarily call the Fix You lyrics cliche either. Chris's lyrics are usually vague and need to be deciphered, just because there more straight forward on Fix You doesn't mean there cliche. The lyrics are the main reason that song is as instantly recognizable and beloved as it is. The great lyrics arent's just in AROBTTH and X&Y. Parachutes, VLVODAAHF, MX and even GS have lyrical gems as well! Spies, 42, DLIBYH, Midnight... These songs all have magnificent lyrics. Fix You is one of Coldplay's better known and most loved songs (outside and inside the fandom). The verse "Lights will guide you home" is iconic. Coldplay will be remembered for it. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Adversary Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I have to say I may take more issue with the lyrics if I was a native English speaker. Cause I hate listening to German songs because I always think about how crappy and cliched the lyrics sound. In English, everything sounds better to me from the outset :) So i guess it also depends on what your native language is. This is interesting. Of course, as a native English speaker I have a massive luxury, but I can't imagine listening to songs in anything but English as my native language. I think if the situation was reversed and much of music was sang in German, I probably couldn't listen to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Adversary Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 The great lyrics arent's just in AROBTTH and X&Y. Parachutes, VLVODAAHF, MX and even GS have lyrical gems as well! "I live to see the world" Absolutely, Some of my favourite lyrics are in Parachutes! I never said they didn't have good lyrics (bar GS) I mentioned AROBTTH because in my opinion it is the best album lyrically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Absolutely, Some of my favourite lyrics are in Parachutes! I never said they didn't have good lyrics (bar GS) I mentioned AROBTTH because in my opinion it is the best album lyrically. C'mon! GS has decent lyrics too! Think of Fly On, Oceans, Midnight, True Love and some of Ink. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastwars Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Sometimes simplicity is great, that's the reason why we love most of their lyrics. Yes, the line between "simple" and "trivial" is thin, and that's why there are some bad lyrics here and there, but depth is not a synonimous of complexity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidA Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Just a quick explanation of those lyrics: Someone did something bad. He may forget about that thing but doesn't forgive the person. Crystal clear. "I live to see the world" Haha, that's a good explanation. I'd quite like to see how long it takes Chris to write this stuff...although as long as the rhyming dictionary is not far away... Seriously though it's such a shock to see so many praising their lyrics when for so long it's been considered a weakness. I guess the difference is whether you're ok with cliches, I hate them. Many clearly think they get the job done. It would be nice though to see an album where Chris just sets the rule - NO CLICHES. Like goes through the lyrics and just crosses out stuff like "Life goes on, it gets so heavy" or "get what you want but not what you need". Would be cool to see what he could come up with if he pushed himself, as to be honest I think he's pretty complacent in this regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Sometimes simplicity is great, that's the reason why we love most of their lyrics. Yes, the line between "simple" and "trivial" is thin, and that's why there are some bad lyrics here and there, but depth is not a synonimous of complexity True. We can have deep lyrics like The Scientist and we can have deep lyrics like Ghost Story. Different kinds of deep. The first lyrics are ambiguous and complex. The latter are ambiguous and straight forward. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Adversary Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Haha, that's a good explanation. I'd quite like to see how long it takes Chris to write this stuff...although as long as the rhyming dictionary is not far away... Seriously though it's such a shock to see so many praising their lyrics when for so long it's been considered a weakness. I guess the difference is whether you're ok with cliches, I hate them. Many clearly think they get the job done. It would be nice though to see an album where Chris just sets the rule - NO CLICHES. Like goes through the lyrics and just crosses out stuff like "Life goes on, it gets so heavy" or "get what you want but not what you need". Would be cool to see what he could come up with if he pushed himself, as to be honest I think he's pretty complacent in this regard. I don't see how you think the majority of it is cliche though. There are serial offenders of course, but I'd say the vast majority is not cliche at all. You could hardly call the lyrics on VLVODAAHF cliche? I suppose it depends on what your threshold for cliche is. Violet Hill, for example is up there with some of the stuff Thom Yorke has written. Bar Lost! and LiJ that album has great depth lyrically. I know your an Oasis fan and I'd much prefer Chris's lyrics over NG, especially on the early Oasis stuff where he seemingly was just throwing words at a page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Haha, that's a good explanation. I'd quite like to see how long it takes Chris to write this stuff...although as long as the rhyming dictionary is not far away... Seriously though it's such a shock to see so many praising their lyrics when for so long it's been considered a weakness. I guess the difference is whether you're ok with cliches, I hate them. Many clearly think they get the job done. It would be nice though to see an album where Chris just sets the rule - NO CLICHES. Like goes through the lyrics and just crosses out stuff like "Life goes on, it gets so heavy" or "get what you want but not what you need". Would be cool to see what he could come up with if he pushed himself, as to be honest I think he's pretty complacent in this regard. You've got a problem with rhyming too? Jeez! It's just a way of making the songs more interesting. A song that doesn't rhyme is kinda awkward tbh. I do praise their lyrics, because when I compare them to some other songs I hear I think to myself: Chris Martin is a poet. One cannot write songs like he does and not be considered a poet. Even if he uses some cliches in some songs, who cares? It sounds good anyway. It is good anyway. I would like to hear an album free of lyrical cliches, I admit. But I honestly don't mind if that never happens. Coldplay is the only band whose lyrics (in their entirety) I can relate to. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelopeja Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Sometimes simplicity is great, that's the reason why we love most of their lyrics. Yes, the line between "simple" and "trivial" is thin, and that's why there are some bad lyrics here and there, but depth is not a synonimous of complexity "A true teacher shows the student where to look but doesn't tell them what to see"... Interpretation is completely individual. [emoji320]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 "A true teacher shows the student where to look but doesn't tell them what to see"... Whose quote is that? "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelopeja Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Whose quote is that? "I live to see the world" It's Alexandra K. Trenfor...the exact quote is... "The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see". [emoji92][emoji94][emoji4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 It's Alexandra K. Trenfor...the exact quote is... "The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see". [emoji92][emoji94][emoji4] Thanks [emoji5] I've already read it somewhere but I don't remember where. Anyway, it's a very truthful quote. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidA Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't see how you think the majority of it is cliche though. There are serial offenders of course, but I'd say the vast majority is not cliche at all. You could hardly call the lyrics on VLVODAAHF cliche? I suppose it depends on what your threshold for cliche is. Violet Hill, for example is up there with some of the stuff Thom Yorke has written. Bar Lost! and LiJ that album has great depth lyrically. I know your an Oasis fan and I'd much prefer Chris's lyrics over NG, especially on the early Oasis stuff where he seemingly was just throwing words at a page. To be fair, Viva is the least cliche-filled of their albums but it still packs a fair few on Lost and Lovers in Japan as you say. But X&Y is just FILLED with them...like FILLED. As is Mylo and Ghost Stories. About Oasis is interesting, they too were capable of great lyrics (and achieved it more than people think) but the difference is in Oasis you know songs like Supersonic are just deliberately devoid of any thought. Which, in their case, furthers the mood they're creating...like they're saying "Try and work this one out motherf**kers!!" and they really don't care what you think. Although Liam's snarling sneering vocals might be the thing giving that impression...on the other hand Coldplay's frequent lack of lyrical depth often doesn't work as you know it's trying to be deep and emotional. @Diego, no lol I don't have a problem with rhyming - I was saying an X&Y lyric like those in Swallowed in the Sea sound like just came out of a rhyming dictionary :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelopeja Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Thanks [emoji5] I've already read it somewhere but I don't remember where. Anyway, it's a very truthful quote. "I live to see the world" Yes it's perfect. Just as all the lyrics are perfectly truthful ...[emoji120] [emoji295]️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diogo_sg Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 @Diego, no lol I don't have a problem with rhyming - I was saying an X&Y lyric like those in Swallowed in the Sea sound like just came out of a rhyming dictionary :) Off-topic: it's Diogo, not Diego. But it's ok. I spent a week in Istanbul (student exchange program) and the family I stood with called me Diego all the time I was with them. I corrected them at first, but I soon came to realize it was helpless [emoji5] Back to topic: I apologize. And yes, there's a lot of rhyming in SITS. But that's the beauty of it, imo. "I live to see the world" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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