"The Scientist" is a song by Britishrock bandColdplay. The song is credited to all the band members on their second album,A Rush of Blood to the Head. It is built around a pianoballad, with lyrics telling the story about a man's desire to love and an apology. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the second single fromA Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number 10 in theUK Charts. It was released in the United States on 15 April 2003 as the third single and reached number 18 on the USBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart and number 34 on theAdult Top 40 chart.
Critics were highly positive toward "The Scientist" and praised the song'spiano riff and Chris Martin'sfalsetto. Several remixes of the track exist, and its riff has been widelysampled. The single's music video won threeMTV Video Music Awards, for the video's use ofreverse narrative. The song was also featured on the band's 2003 live albumLive 2003 and has been a permanent fixture in the band's live set lists since 2002.[not verified in body]
Lead singerChris Martin wrote "The Scientist" after listening toGeorge Harrison'sAll Things Must Pass.[3] In an interview withRolling Stone, Martin revealed that while working on the band's second album,A Rush of Blood to the Head, he knew that the album was missing something.[4] One night, during a stay inLiverpool,[5] Martin found an old piano that was out of tune. He wanted to work on Harrison's song, "Isn't It a Pity", but he could not manage to do so. When the song came to Martin, he asked that the recorder be turned on.[4] He concluded by saying that he came across this chord sequence and noted that the chord was "lovely".[6] Martin recorded the vocals and piano takes in a studio in Liverpool.[7]
When asked about the development of the song, during a track-by-track reveal, Martin said: "That's just about girls. It's weird that whatever else is on your mind, whether it's the downfall of global economics or terrible environmental troubles, the thing that always gets you most is when you fancy someone."[8] The liner notes fromA Rush of Blood to the Head, on the other hand, state that "The Scientist is Dan", a reference to Dan Keeling, theA&R man who signed the band toParlophone.[8]
"The Scientist" is a melancholic, piano-drivenballad written in the key ofF major, with a chord progression of Dm7, B♭, F, Fsus2.[9][10][11] The lyrics to the song allude to a man's powerlessness in the face of love.[12][13] It begins with the main four-chord piano melody created by lead singerChris Martin, then joined by the first verses. He is then accompanied by the rest of the band after the firstchorus. In addition to the main piano melody, the music of the song is created by astring arrangement,[14] harmony, acoustic guitar, with its rhythm being slow tempo drums and bass guitar riffs. After the second chorus,Jonny Buckland plays an electric guitar riff.[citation needed]
Coldplay released "The Scientist" in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the album's second single.[15] The single was pressed with twoB-sides: "1.36" and "I Ran Away."[16] While preparing for the song as the album's second release, the band's US label felt the song failed to "provide enough of a blood rush for American listeners"; instead, they released "Clocks" as the second single in the US.[17] The song was released on 15 April 2003 in the US.[17]
"The Scientist" was released as aCD single in New Zealand on 9 December 2002, while in Australia, the song was not released until 27 October 2003.[18][19] The song appeared onAustralian Singles Chart at number 40 on 1 November 2003.[20] It appeared onBillboard'sModern Rock Tracks at number 18.[21] The song peaked at number sixteen at Canada Singles Chart. The song peaked at number 10 inUK Top 75 on 17 November 2002.[22][23]
The single's cover image was created by Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø. Sundsbø originally created the image that would later be used as the cover art ofA Rush of Blood to the Head for the fashion magazineDazed and Confused, in the late 1990s.[24] As with the album's other singles, "The Scientist"'s cover art features a black and white 3D scan of one of the band members, in this case drummerWill Champion.[clarification needed]
The music video for "The Scientist" was notable for its distinctivereverse narrative, which employedreverse motion. The same concept had been previously used forSpike Jonze's 1995 music video forThe Pharcyde's "Drop". The reverse-motion style had first been seen in 1989 for the video for the song "The Second Summer of Love" by Scottish bandDanny Wilson. In order for Martin to appear to be singing the lyrics in the reversed footage, he had to learn to sing the song backward, which took him a month.[45] The video was filmed at various locations, including London and atBourne Woods inSurrey, before the first leg of theA Rush of Blood to the Head tour.[45] It was directed byJamie Thraves.[45] The video was shot between 30 September and 3 October 2002, premiering on 14 October.[46]
In the music video, lead singer Chris Martin stands as a cyclist rides past him in reverse. Martin learned to sing the song backwards to create the video's unique visual effect.[47]
The video opens on Martin lying on a mattress before a public building covered in thickgraffiti. Martin is shown, in reverse motion, wandering through a variety of locations such as through a pick-up basketball game, a high street and train tracks before falling on the mattress. After the second chorus, Martin is shown getting out of hisright hand driveBMW 5 Series automobile with aWyoming license plate in the woods and an unconscious woman (played by Irish actressElaine Cassidy) is shown, and it is revealed that Martin and the woman were involved in a car accident; the passenger went flying through the windshield because she was not wearing her seatbelt.[45]
On the 20th anniversary ofA Rush of Blood to the Head, the band released a new version of the video in4K resolution, which was restored and re-graded from the original 35 mm film.[50]
"The Scientist" received widespread critical acclaim.Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone Magazine, in his review of the album, wrote: "The fantastic piano ballad 'The Scientist' ... [has] a cataclysmic falsetto finale that could raise every hair on the back of your neck."[51] Nick Southall ofStylus magazine wrote: "The piano that chimes through 'The Scientist' is captured perfectly, the warm depression of each individual key caught rather than a shrill ringing as is so often the case."[52] Ian Watson ofNME wrote:"'The Scientist' is a song inexorably linked with the endless night sky and the secret hopes and regrets of a hundred thousand strangers."[53] In October 2011,NME placed it at number 37 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[54] In 2009,Rolling Stone ranked it number 54 on its "100 Best Songs of the Decade" list.[55] In 2018, the same magazine placed the track at number 50 on their "100 Greatest Songs of the Century" list.[56] In 2019,Billboard ranked the song number five on their list of the 50 greatest Coldplay songs,[57] and in 2021,American Songwriter ranked the song number six on their list of the 10 greatest Coldplay songs.[58]
^"Top 2000 – Jaar 2013" [Top 2000 – Year 2013].NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). 31 December 2023.Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved12 January 2024.
