Late night watching TV, after Midnight during the 'dark core' of Coldplay's Ghost Stories. Another's Arms is mysterious yet simple in the lyrics and undoubtedly haunting.
Welcomed back with open arms!
On the 11th March, Coldplay returned to delight millions of fans tuning in across the world, at the iTunes Festival in Austin, Texas. Another's Arms was one of the two previously unheard tracks (with opener, Always In My Head) performed on the night. The first live version of the sixth Ghost Stories track wasn't polished and appeared as more of a ballad, coupled with a brilliant Jonny Buckland solo guitar near the climax of the track. The 'woman's voice', which is believed to be computer generated, adds the haunting element that's prevalent through the studio version. The song was generally popular with the watching fans, who were greatly impressed by Jonny's role.
The Indonesian 'exclusive'
Indonesia, a country with many dedicated Coldplayers, who are all eagerly awaiting the day Coldplay arrive in their home country to what will be a rapturous reception!
Accidents do happen and one happened at iTunesHQ a few weeks before the release date, which was Another's Arms being released instead of the planned release for Midnight. It resulted in the track being made available in Indonesia, where a very keen fan(s) (who is probably reading this!) downloaded the song after it was uploaded to purchase for a very short period. The track somehow managed not to leak until a day before the official streaming!
Chris' journey
The lyrics of Another's Arms are of a personal nature to Chris Martin and the words "Late night watching TV, used to be you here beside me, used to be your arms around me, your body on my body" are seemingly related to recent event's in Chris' life and are part of the open and honest nature of the album as a whole. When trying to make sense of these lyrics in the context of the album, the Ghost Stories film/TV special gave us an insight into the emotional story.
It appeared as if Chris had a shadow hanging over him and to set himself free (jogging to the taxi), he needed to reflect (On the pier during Oceans) then come through even stronger with the shining light at the end of the tunnel (A Sky Full Of Stars). What do you see? Watch the clip below from the secret LA show (not Las Vegas as the video suggests!)
The release and reaction
By the time Ghost Stories was officially released, Another's Arms was the 'quiet' track of the album, already being played numerous times by fans since the iTunes Festival and because of the excitement of previously unheard tracks such as Ink and True Love. The studio version is distorted with more of a 'restless' feel than the live version in a way which really captures the mood of the darker section within Ghost Stories.
The reaction from the fans post-release was once again, largely positive with over 50% of the votes being 9 or 10 out of 10!
Now, for a set of great fan reviews on Another's Arms
Wilson on the messageboards gave the haunting track a perfect 10!
Ronnie O Sullivan (Presumably a big fan of the famous snooker player!) posted a very interesting comparison to the Major Minus studio version.
A detailed and postive review was written by RhysBP
and SeeYouSoon42 does not rate the lyrics, which is a common criticism for the track.
Wait for your call...
The next stop : The lonely pier for Coldplay's seventh and very atmospheric track from Ghost Stories, Oceans.
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