Clocks (song)

"Clocks" was written and composed during the late stages of production of Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. A riff popped into Chris Martin's mind late one night in Liverpool when he came into the studio, where he then developed it on piano. According to singer Chris Martin, "Clocks" was inspired by the English rock band Muse. Martin presented the riff to the band's guitarist, Jonny Buckland, who then added a layer of guitar chords to the basic track: "He picked up his guitar [a sure sign that he likes a song] and played these brilliant chords ... It was like a chemical reaction process." Before writing and composing "Clocks", the band had already written ten songs for the album. Coldplay recorded the song very quickly because the schedule of A Rush of Blood to the Head had already been delayed; the album was released two months later. == Composition ==

"Clocks" is an alternative rock and psychedelic rock song. Martin applied an ostinato, as well as a descending scale on the piano chord progression, which switches from major to minor chords. The themes of the lyrics include contrast, contradictions and urgency. The song is written in the key of E Mixolydian and a main chord progression of E–Bm–Fm. E Mixolydian is the fifth mode of A major leading to some transcriptions using this key. == Release ==

Coldplay released "Clocks" in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2003 as the album's third single. The single was issued with two B-sides: "Animals", which was one of the band's favourite songs performed on tour but was not included in the album, and "Crests of Waves". The single's cover, created by Sølve Sundsbø, is a portrayal of Chris Martin. In the United States, while preparing "The Scientist" as the album's second release, the band's 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 on 11 November 2002, the same day that "The Scientist" was issued in the UK. == Music video ==

A music video was filmed in support of the song. It was directed by British filmmaker Dominic Leung, and shot at Docklands' ExCeL Building in London. It features the band performing the song, with a laser show, in front of a staged audience, mostly local college students. Stage effects and blue-red light transitions give the video a surreal feel, while a stoic crowd make up the audience. Martin has maketradefair.com scrawled on his left hand for the video to promote fair trade between countries and corporations, which can be seen at various moments throughout the video, especially when paused while he is playing piano at the 3-minute, 22-second mark. The website became defunct in 2004. == Critical reception ==

Reviews |200x200px The song received widespread acclaim from music critics. Rob Sheffield from the Rolling Stone magazine praised it as one of the album's highlights by saying that "[guitarist] Buckland shines in excellent psychedelic rockers such as 'Clocks'". David Cheal of The Daily Telegraph commented how the song features a "hypnotic piano riff, a pounding, almost frantic rhythm, and a contagious tune, all building to a gorgeously serene climax with Martin's floaty voice singing." Scott Floman from Goldmine described the track as "a stunningly pretty piano rocker, absolutely perfect and is simply one of the best songs of the decade". Bono of U2 named "Clocks" as one of 60 songs that saved his life. The single was successful in radio throughout 2003, and rose to number 29 in the United States. The song also went number seven in Canada and number 28 in Australia. "Clocks" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards. Billboard ranked the song as the second-biggest hit in Adult Alternative Airplay history. In 2024, PPL placed it at number three among the band's most played tracks on British media. "Clocks" has been regarded as one of Coldplay's finest achievements, with the track's piano progression being their signature creation. Many cuts from X&Y feature influences from "Clocks", with Brian Cohen of Billboard Magazine noting how it served as a "launching pad" for them in the band's third album: "several of which echo that song either in structure or feel". "Speed of Sound", the first single from X&Y, is similar to "Clocks". In 2010, Rolling Stone placed "Clocks" at 490 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. In 2011, NME placed it amongst the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". That same year, it ranked at number 155 on Pitchfork's "Greatest Songs of the 2000s" list. In 2021, Billboard featured "Clocks" in a list of the "100 Greatest Song Bridges of the 21st Century" as number 67. The same publication previously ranked "Clocks" first on their list of "50 Best Coldplay Songs". Rankings == Remixes and samples ==

According to The New York Times, the opening piano arpeggios of the song have been widely sampled. The song "Should I Go" by American singer Brandy, from her album Afrodisiac, samples the piano riff of "Clocks", as does Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández's 2007 single "Te Voy A Perder" from his album Viento a Favor. In 2009, French DJ David Guetta in collaboration with Kelly Rowland released the song "When Love Takes Over", which has a piano introduction like that of "Clocks". A riff similar to "Clocks" was also used for the 2009 song "Shining Down" by Chicago hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos. An analogous riff can also be heard in the Cahill remix of the 2009 Agnes song "I Need You Now". "Clocks" was remixed several times. Norwegian duo Röyksopp produced a version of the song which received a 1,000 limited edition 12" vinyl; 100 of which were made available through the band's official website. Their remix placed at number five in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2003 (the original placed at number 69 the previous year). In addition, there have been several other dance remixes of "Clocks", including those by Clokx and Deep Dish plus a mashup from Gabriel and Dresden's 2003 Essential Mix which appeared on various P2P networks. A remixed version of the song is included on the soundtrack of the 2007 video game Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party for the Wii console. == Track listings ==

Netherlands A special three part single was released over six weeks in March and April featuring live tracks recorded at Rotterdam Ahoy in 2003. == Personnel ==

• Chris Martin – lead vocals, piano, synthesizer • Jonny Buckland – electric guitar • Guy Berryman – bass guitar • Will Champion – drums, backing vocals == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications ==