Yellow

Album: Parachutes (2000)
Charted: 4 48
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Lead singer Chris Martin said that the lyrics are about being devoted to someone, wanting to do anything for them: writing a song for them, swimming across the sea for them and so on. It's not necessarily a romantic devotion, but could be about someone that you look up to and would do anything for, a brotherly love. He claims to have had no specific person in mind when he wrote it. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Adam - Sussex, England
  • The band came up with the line, "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you" after looking up at the night sky. They were recording at Rockfield Studios in rural Wales, where Queen famously recorded "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 1975. It was a nice, clear sky, and Coldplay's producer, Ken Nelson, said, "Look at the stars, lads." Martin proceeded to write "Yellow" in 10 minutes.

    Another famous song influenced by the Rockfield landscape is "Wonderwall" by Oasis, which Noel Gallagher sang on a stone wall on the grounds. Because, you know, it's Wonderwall.
  • The color yellow can have many negative implications (yellow journalism, yellow fever, a yellow card for a foul in soccer), but for Coldplay, it is a beautiful color. According to lead singer Chris Martin, "It was simply because that word sounded nice, it just seemed to fit, no other reason. None of the other colors would have sounded right really!"

    The Beatles were also kind to the color when they used it in their song "Yellow Submarine."
  • "Yellow" was the first Coldplay single released in America, but in their native UK, where they focused their efforts early on, they had already released two singles: "Brothers & Sisters" and "Shiver." Those songs both charted but "Yellow" was their UK breakthrough, reaching #4 on July 8, 2000 and building anticipation for their debut album, Parachutes, issued there on July 10.

    In America, where Oasis failed to gain a foothold despite a huge promotional push, Coldplay tread lightly. In late 2000, "Yellow" got some airplay on adventurous radio stations like KROQ in Los Angeles, and Parachutes was released there in November. The song slowly caught on as Coldplay toured North America in February 2001. It peaked at just #48 in the US on May 19, 2001, but many who heard the song sought out the album, which eventually sold over 2 million copies there. Their next singles, "Trouble" and "In My Place," reached #115 and #117 (respectively) in 2002 but were Top 10 UK hits a year earlier in the UK, where they had exploded. Over the next few years, Coldplay became one of the biggest acts in America and across the globe.
  • During the Coldplay episode of VH1's Storytellers series, Chris Martin recalled that the song was named after the book that happened to be nearest to him when he was finishing writing it: The UK telephone directory, which is named Yellow Pages.
  • Martin initially wrote the words and melody, then the rest of the band wrote the other bits and pieces (the hook, the riff, fills, etc.).
  • "Yellow" is a term that can mean cowardly or afraid. From this standpoint, the singer could be afraid and nervous to show his love, until he "ran across" and "jumped across" for her. He finally got the nerve to express his love. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Stefan - Winona, MN
  • The video is one continuous shot of Chris Martin walking on a beach in Studland Bay, Dorset, England. The plan was to shoot the band walking along a sunny beach with lots of people lying around, but Coldplay drummer Will Champion's mother died shortly before the shoot. The film crew and extras were already hired, so with the band's blessing, Martin went by himself while the other members attended the funeral. It was raining that day, so instead of using the extras, they had Martin alone on the beach. The Parachutes album is dedicated to Champion's mother. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Rich - Llanelli, Wales
  • The video was shot at a fast shutter speed to achieve the slow-motion. In order for Martin to sing along, he had to lip-sync to the song played at double speed.
  • In 2020, Coldplay shared a previously unseen clip of the scrapped music video for "Yellow" filmed alongside the aforementioned extras on TikTok. Shot in the day, it shows Martin dressed in a red sweater and walking barefoot across the sand while beachgoers linger behind him.
  • Coldplay was in England recording other tracks for the album while "Yellow" was being mixed in New York. They hated the results of the mix and flew to New York to make sure they got the sound they were looking for.
  • Many Americans first heard "Yellow" when the TV network ABC used it in on-air promos in 2000 as part of a campaign featuring bright yellow backgrounds. Coldplay was unhappy with the use of the song, with Martin later telling the band's biographer, Gary Spivack: "We were young and quite honestly didn't even know what ABC-TV was or what they were planning to do with the song."
  • Parachutes won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. "Yellow" was nominated for Best Rock Song, but lost to "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" by Train.
  • When performing this song, Chris Martin used to change the song's melody. However, R.E.M's Michael Stipe advised against it: "Stop doing that. People want to hear the songs the way they know them." The Coldplay vocalist began singing all their songs in a straightforward way.
  • Martin says his favorite color is blue, not yellow.
  • Chris Martin told Pandora that at first, "Yellow" was a "joke, Neil Young song," but it turned into something far more significant.
  • The song trended on TikTok as people used it to talk about something or someone they love. Users named the loves of their lives, such as significant others, family members, and pets, their "yellows."
  • In 2014, Martin included a reference to "Yellow" in the Ghost Stories song "Ink":

    All I know
    Is that I love you so
  • When "Yellow" arrived in 2000, rap-rock acts such as Korn and Limp Bizkit were dominating the charts. In 2020, Will Champion told the publication i he believed "Yellow" was popular because it made for a refreshing change for American audiences. "I think, especially when we took the song to America, it was something that was very different to what was on the radio," he said. "There was a lot of that nu metal, like Limp Bizkit. It was heavy, very masculine music. I think 'Yellow' represented something that was possibly underrepresented."
  • Coldplay tried this song at five or six tempos before settling on the "Yellow" we know and love today. Recalling the recording process, Champion said: "We had so many debates and arguments about how fast it should be. Should we speed it up? Should we slow it down? It had a huge range of versions, and it was very difficult. It's always the way; one song on an album will get the proper screwdriver treatment. 'Yellow' was the first one of those songs. You persist until it's either dead or excellent."
  • The Parachutes album cover features a photograph of a yellow spinning globe as shot on a disposable camera by Martin. The globe later appeared in the music videos for "Shiver" and "Don't Panic" and accompanied Coldplay throughout the Parachutes World Tour.
  • Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher reportedly told Coldplay backstage after their concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London in 2000 that "Yellow" inspired him to start making music again. Elton John, meanwhile, was quoted as saying "Yellow" was "the only song from the last five years that I wish I had written."
  • A Mandarin-Chinese-language cover by Katherine Ho appears in the 2018 comedy movie Crazy Rich Asians. While Coldplay was initially opposed to letting the film use the song, director Jon M. Chu convinced the band to change their minds after writing a letter to them explaining why it meant so much to him. "I know it's a bit strange, but my whole life I've had a complicated relationship with the color yellow," Chu wrote. "From being called the word in a derogatory way throughout grade school, to watching movies where they called cowardly people yellow, it's always had a negative connotation in my life. That is, until I heard your song."
  • Coldplay is said to have turned down a multimillion offer from the American drink manufacturer Gatorade to use this song in a television advertisement. Explaining their stance against commercials, Martin told The Irish Times in 2002: "We get offered huge amounts of money routinely to have our songs used in advertisements, but we turn them all down. In fact, now we've asked that we don't even be informed of the offers anymore. Just turn them down straight away. I know we could divert the money offered into worthwhile causes, but we'd be cheating the people who bought our records, wouldn't we?"
  • The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included "Yellow" in their "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" list. It was compiled in 2004 by the Rock Hall's chief curator, James Henke, alongside the museum's staff and various rock critics and music experts.
  • Coldplay performed "Yellow" at the Celebrating Steve Jobs event in Cupertino, California, in 2011, following the Apple founder's death from pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. Before launching into the song, Martin revealed they first played it for Jobs in 2001, adding: "He said it was s--t! He said we'd never make it!"
  • Following Coldplay's performance at Sound Relief, a benefit concert held to raise funds for those affected by the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia, in 2009, "Yellow" made a return to the ARIA Top 50 Singles chart. It reentered the chart at #48, over eight years after the song's original debut.
  • After Coldplay's run of four shows at Wembley Stadium in August 2022, "Yellow" returned to the UK singles chart, peaking at #52.

Comments: 101

  • Not Kevin from The Year 2000Gianna from Calabasas, Ca, the most amazing thing is that they wrote the song and released it about Kevin in 2000, and when Kevin was only 4y/o and still 8 years before he was diagnosed. True geniuses.
  • Culli from U.s.Music, all music is life.
  • Frank from 80237"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you" Van Gogh's favorite color = yellow.
  • Hfopaffdwp from Bvlamy favorite song of all time, reminds me of my mom.
  • Fidxburhjmmkg from UsThank you Gianna from Calabasas.
    Always thought this song was about an Asian girl, and designed to cause Asian girls clothes to fall off.
    But now knowing the true backstory to this song, I'm more disgusted with it. Because it's such a lyrically vague yet well thought out song, that I'm still convinced it was also designed for what I had feared originally.
    I cut them very little slack for keeping it vague enough to appeal to a larger demograph for success, and they should have been more transparent to its origin.
  • J Tripper from Santa Monica Watch the video at 1.5 speed. You’ll love it.
  • Gianna from Calabasas, Casorry to burst all your theory’s about this song and who it is about. but in Calabasas, CA, there was a boy named kevin cordasco. he battled Neuroblastoma, are rare condition that afflicts less than 700 children annually. Kevin was diagnosed with stage 4, high risk neuroblastoma at just 10 years old. he willingly underwent experiment treatment of all kinds yet none of them could save his life. young kevin became and advocate sharing his story and speaking out. he delivered an emotional message in front of thousands at a benifit for the American Cancer society Relay for life. he was an honors student, an athlete, a musician, and his favorite color? yellow. he met many influential people such as coldplay, the writers of breaking bad (who changed their series ending because of a suggestion made by kevin) and many more. coldplay wrote this song in kevin’s honor. kevin cardasco passed away March 11th, 2013. you can donate to his cause at something yellow.org . all the money donated goes to specific cause to help our heros! this is not fake please look it up and help out kids and adults suffering like kevin did
  • Anonymous from II always thought the song was about a person sick with anorexia, mainly because of the lines referring to "skin and bones" And because of the fact that people with eating disorders often acquire a yellowish tone to their skin (hypercarotenemia)
  • Seaglass from California This song always gives me god bumps. Melodic and poetic, there are so many ways it can resonate for you. It makes me think of someone singing it to a beloved who has passed. A beloved who is transforming from a corpse to an ethereal soul (your skin and bones turning to something beautiful). The imagery I have is that the singer can no longer stand the loss and slices a wrist (I drew a line for you) and bleeds out (for you I bleed myself dry). But I tend to the macabre.
  • Havieman from UsThis song brings me back to a more peaceful time where life was meaningful and beautiful. I have to admit everytime a play this song i find myself singing it at 100 decibels or higher, iove to sing a long and watching live videos on YouTube im not the only one.
  • Noni from Brisbane AustraliaYellow is rediculously wonderful, but have you heard Aussie Dean Rae sing it bloody awesome mate.


  • Joe from ManchesterI always thought the song is about heroin...
  • Rod W.bruyere from Los Angeles,californiaThis song was originally called 'blue' mainly because the missing word in the entire song lyrics is in fact 'blue' ie; 'and blue' meaning look at what god does for us all.

    I took my turn with her was a bad thing to do ... She was so beautiful but left USA for London back in the 70's. To find her I would have actually swam across the sea if I had to. I drew a line for her because I gave her an ultimatum 'shape up or ship out' and felt 'what a thing to do cause I might really lose her then' and it was all yellow and blue. And if I cant find you, I will bleed myself dry from loving you. In a not so good relationship. My beautiful english princess. At the time of freedom and free love. Flower power.
  • Anil V from HyderabadThis song made my day.
  • Gail from Benton, ArThis song played on the radio the day my son passed away. Once a year I visit his grave and somehow, the song finds its way to my radio every year on the anniversary of his death, as I pull up at the cemetery. This song has a very special place in my heart and makes me think fondly of my son. Thanks Coldplay for writing this.
  • Kimberly from Landing, NjOur Champion
  • Kimberly from Landing, NjStar light Star bright may we wish upon a star tonight. Stars shine 4 the beautiful people that stop and pause to aknowlege gods given gift and musical notes of nature. God Bless the believers of beuti. in our world of judgement and uncertanty. Ty for the notes.
  • Elizabeth from Grants Pass, OrIt's so beautiful it makes me cry. I realized that it's a random song derived from stars and a phone book. But heres *my* interpretation. It describes a deep love and companionship between two people. One either gets sick and dies or commits suicide. The other can't stand that "hole in the chest" feeling; that lifeless feeling, as if he or she has been bled dry. Unable to overcome the loss, the remaining person (deciding to be reunited and cross the line that separates this life from the next) commits suicide.
  • Ronny from London, United Kingdomi love this song. it reminds me of my dad,just because it was one of his favourite songs and is my favourite song. music keeps me and him close <3 and this song is just amazing, i never really understood the meaning but it makes me think of love. x
  • Megan from Stevenson, AlThis is by far the best song Coldplay has ever made! LOVE THIS SONG! :) Chris' voice is gorgeous in this song! <3
  • Melodie from Philly, PaI was at a Coldplay concert long ago (when you could see them for 15 bucks) and Chris Martin said that the song was about coke that was yellow. I am not into that sort of thing so it threw me back a bit so I remember it like it was yesterday. But then again they said on Behind The Music that it was from a yellow pages, but this was after they became mainstream.... so who really knows.
  • Sarah from Brisbane, AustraliaI'm not sure if this is correct but a friend once told me the song is about one of Chris's really close friends who died of anorexia or has anorexia (one of the two). Any way whenever I hear the song it makes me think of that, and I get this obviously from the lyrics "your skin and bones" also yellow. Anorexic people get yellowish skin, teeth, nails. But yeah like I said I'm not sure if this is correct but it's what I heard and it's easily related to the song.
  • Dorkybowtie from Fireless, Pa'For you I'd bleed myself dry'; amazing lyric here. I really dig coldplay. This song means something to me, but I can't release the feeling from my inner person in a way anyone would understand. But anyone who's beem moved by the song, as I have, knows what I mean anyways. Again, the song's amazing.
  • Tiffany from Denver, CoYou may all disagree, but I always felt this song to be about a girl who he loved who didn't love herself. Yellow could signify jaundice, which happens with eating disorders. "You skin and bones, turn into something beautiful..." just reminds me of a girl starving herself to be beautiful. He's trying to tell her he loves her, but she isn't believing it. He does all things for her says the stars shine for her, wrote a song for you, but it's all tainted by yellow. Just my opinion... isn't that was music is all about? being able to translate it to fit your life and yourself?
  • Adam Pittard from Bedford, United Kingdomif chris said the track has no specific meaning or there is no truth of reason behind the song then there isnt. but it duznt mean that there wasnt a meaning when he wrote the song, you must remember this, everything changes in time. first time i herd it i thought-love song. then i looked deeper and after realising chris martin is blatently on ecstacy in the video and it all made sense. it's about life on ecstacy. listen to the lyrics, and try not to link them together, they are spontaneous. "your skin and bones, turn into something beautiful" the feeling you get on ecstacy. the middle part where he stops on the beach, he is acting out a phase that love and ecstacy both include, then he says 'i swan across, i jumped across for you' there is a come-down associated with ecstacy and he was loosing the feeling he had but then realised all he needed to do was carry on in the first place, just like love. love ecstacy
  • Maria from Chennai, Indiai heard this song throug televison such a wonderful song i like his voice verymuch coldplay rockzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Loves2sing from Us, AlI think it can mean many things to many people....really. The part I really like "look at stars how they shine for you", what a lovely thing to say a someone you love...
    Love the song my favorite by Cold Play.
  • Kaley from Calgary, Abi was watching an interview with coldplay on rove.. it was hilarious.
    "jonny, after all these years do you have any clue what the song yellow is actually about? bananas.
    it was amazing.
    i kind of doubt it is anything at all to do with someone who is jaundice.
  • Arieal from Lafayette, LaI believe that this song means a lot and absolutely nothing at the same time. Its a good song, it was well written, but everyone has their opinions. This is mine.
  • Jon from Dallas, TxAmazing how some people come up with the craziest explanations, about GOD?, get real. Some people had it right. YELLOW was picked from the yellow pages just because. It could have been any other word, this one just sounded good. The song YELLOW itself DOES NOT mean anything at all, it's not about god a person a relationship. It's about absolutely nothing. Chris Martin doesn't even know what it is about when he was asked in an interview before the Grammy's. Funny how some people red into it and dream up a meaning while the writer Chris Martin himself has no clue what it is about. It's just a song.
  • Just_me from Indianapolis, InI think you are all crazy! Why do people read so much into things. Do you really think they made that much of an effort to make the song all ambiguous? It's just an incredibly awesome song and we are dancing to it at my wedding! :)
  • Mark from London, United KingdomDear sir

    I have a diagnosis of Schizophrenia and once my brain literally blew up and all I saw was yellow.

    Isn't this what the song is about?
  • Robin from Pensacola, FlHere is about this song. After my son died in a skateboard accident I went to the gym and put a quarter in the 'skittle's machine since he loved skittles. his favorite skittles were the yellow ones. About 15 yellow skittles came out when the machine was totally assorted.
    This is when I found out about this song. Now years before I had written this poem about our Hawaiin surfer tribute by scattering his ashes in the sea, (see Swallowed by the Sea also)
    Is this all coincidence?

    We held hands,

    Our wind against the water, white blown back
    Against dark winged edges, painted black by winter's age.

    We spun a circle,

    On the dizzy water's edge. From under our deep legs dangled the foam and shapes we chose, noses in and tails out, unbroken and floating.

    We said the words,

    And met our unsung notes on lips grown cold and frozen, stiff, the tongue numbed before it dumb.

    We splashed our water,

    In the wells of our water souls pushed up the gushing voices, let them go forth, and on the sea-syllables sounded  the carrion like carriage, towards some unknown and undiscovered land.

    I loosed the cover

    And let my sparkles go from the hand that first held that skin and that bone, sifting like the sea sand through it, drifting hours away, and down through sun filtered waters, shining back and falling with only time in their path.

    For there is time

    Which recedes across the ruled horizon like the wintry sunset of browns and grays to disappear behind the edge, down to Davey's deep dark and his dumb tongued mute.

    No sound escapes nor bough bends across his fathomed brow.
  • Nilanjana from Mumbai, IndiaA song that is bound to bring a smile to anyone's face. It's a crazy song, a song celebrating the craziness of love, a song that happily skips out of the boundaries of restraint and moderation and tells everyone to "run across" and "jump across" for love. "For you I'd bleed myself dry" - why not? Aren't there crazy moments when we feel like doing something like that, out of joy, not sadness? When the only thing that makes everything seem sane is the bottomline "you know i love you so". An all-time favorite.
  • Emma from Brooklyn, Nythis song is so beautiful!!! i love it so much!!!!!!!!! yellow is now one of my favorite colors!!!!!!!!!!
  • Briar from Hazard, KyI know I'm gonna get heat for this but this has got to be the most over played and over rated songs out there. I like that song that Coldplay does at the start of Garden State but that's it.
  • Hanna from Steamboat, Cowow, there are a lot of opinions here... i saw them in concert a few years ago and it was raining and Chris said, "lets bring a little sunshine in..." and it was the most amazing experience of my life.. he sang with more enthusiasm and appreciation for every fan, being it was one of the last songs they sang, and he played it twice through for us because the audience was so into it.. i think it means that you should always see the poositive. Yellow is a cheery, optimistic color, and I think he is just saying that if you really believe something or love someone or something, you have to remain poositive and happy about it and it will work out for you. Chris and the band really put their heart and soul into their music and its beautiful.
  • Eva from Sugar Land, TxSuch a sweet song... Coldplay's just plain awesome, ya know? Beautiful melodies and such a sweet chorus. Absolutely lovely and charming.
  • Anthony from Cape May, NjVery nice song, it reminds me of that special someone you love
  • Katie from Los Banos, CaThis song is cool
    Brooke White has a cover version of this song that I like more, though
  • Christina from North Bay, OnThis is the greatest song on earth. Ever since I first heard it, I've wanted a guy to stand outside my window and play this for me, like John Cusack with 'In your eyes' in Say Anything.
  • Mike from Philadelphia, PaTHIS PERSON IS 100% CORRECT!!!!

    Cari, Knebworth, England wrote:

    Chris Martin has stated that he came up with the word 'Yellow' while trying to think of something that would fit the song lyrics and on looking around the room he was sitting in spotted a copy of the Yellow Pages on a nearby shelf.
  • Sir Pennyworth from Yorkshire, EnglandI concur with the comment from San Dimas, although unfortunately there was merry laughter transpiring at the plight of the poor bed wetting Chris Martin, he was quite a bedwetting Chap! Cheers for his success, Cheers for his overcoming his bedwetting problem, and if he didnt try to use the stacks of cash to absorb the urine
  • Josh from San Dimas, Caactually On VH1's Storytellers program, Chris Martin revealed that his inspiration for the song's title came from the Yellow Pages.[2]
    He did this in fact after all the Songfacts speculation, to deflect attention that it was inspired by a childhood bedwetting problem!
  • Josh from San Dimas, CaIt was actually widely known in London that 'yellow' was due to Chris Martin's frequent bedwetting problem, and it was all yellow too was about every time he would wake up to a differennt day with the same thing happening
  • Tanya from London, Englandthis is a special song for me a couple of years ago i was invited to speak at Downing Street in London as a parent of an autistic child and as you can imagine i was very very nervous this song come on in the taxi taking me there and the words really helped me relax and confirm why i had to make the speech in front of all those politicians on behalf of my little boy Jack and other children like him..........
    I kept singing the these lines to myself before i got up to speak.....
    Your skin
    Oh yeah, your skin and bones,
    Turn into something beautiful,
    You know, you know I love you so,
    You know I love you so.
  • Trevor from Belle Vallee, CanadaI thought the song was about the Yellow wiggle Greg Page who is very sick with a disease that effects his balance. I think it may be a form of cancer but not sure. Anyway maybe i'm wrong but I hope the yellow wiggle gets better.
  • Richel from Santa Ana, Cai think those of you saying that the song is about jaundice or some type of sickness is either TOO analytical of the song, or is just scanning the surface of the song...
    it's evident that chris described his true feelings for a person in this song...it was just a coincidence that he picked YELLOW as a name for this song, and YELLOW happened to symbolize cowardice or being afraid - afraid to tell someone your true feelings.
  • Leah from Salisbury, Ncyellow is a type of personality. its a fun loving playful person....obviously the person he's singing about is like that.
  • Julie from Marikina, OtherHehe, everyone has diff. opinions about this song (which is good, since people are not only listening to the song, but delving deep into it). I watched a concert of theirs, and Chris Martin said that just before they first played the song (live), he just happened to see the word "Yellow." So he said, "Here's our new song, Yellow." Then he added the word yellow to the rest of the lyrics to fill it up. I don't know if he was kidding, but that's what he said. ^_^
  • Sylvie from Tulsa, OkI'm surprised by all the ideas about what this song means! I thought he was singing to his yellow labrador, of course. I'd bleed myself dry for her anytime. I absolutely love this band's sound.
  • Priscilla from Melbourne, AustraliaI will always remember this song as it was a song he sang for me. Never knew what he meant when he was singing and it could be just a coincidence. But I know he knows I love him and he always knew that from the start and I think he is just scared, or maybe I am just not the one he is looking for. I know he cares a lot about me as a friend, and I always appreciate the things that he does for me queitly, and he always wanted me to be happy, just like the song, look at the stars, how they shine for you.
    Thank you for everything and I truly hope you have a happy life. Hope you find the one you love and live the life you love.
  • Noe from Los Angeles, CaThis song is about GOD, the word "yellow" means divine, "your skins and bones" means us, "i bleed myself dry" means death and it goes on about God, and " i drew a line for you" i'm guessing it means heaven and earth.
  • Angela from Baltimore, MdWell, this song DOES remind me of a brotherly love: IT TOTALLY REMINDS ME OF JESUS and no other love compares to this song. I am not a freak that relates my faith to everything but for real let me show you the relationships.

    Yellow (Cowardly, Sickly, and other "negative words"... and that we are but to HIM we are beautiful, loved enough to do all He did for us)

    Look at the stars,
    Look how they shine for you,
    And everything you do,
    Yeah, they were all yellow.

    (The stars were set in the sky to make light in heavens for us-Genesis)

    I came along,
    I wrote a song for you,
    And all the things you do,
    And it was called "Yellow."
    (He did just that "came along" and He had the Bible written for us many songs, many prayers, many stories that all create one beautiful song)

    So then I took my turn,
    Oh what a thing to have done,
    And it was all "Yellow."
    (He took His turn on the cross and in death and did it for us "Oh what a thing to do")

    Your skin
    Oh yeah, your skin and bones,
    Turn into something beautiful,
    You know, you know I love you so,
    You know I love you so.
    (We DO become beautiful in the image of God in the likeness of Christ when we are saved and the sin of our flesh is no longer a grotesque plague of death to the eyes of God BECAUSE OF CHRIST)

    I swam across,
    (He did just that and calmed the sea as well)
    I jumped across for you,
    (He went over to death and came BACK again...OH WHAT A THING TO DO!!!)
    Oh what a thing to do.

    Cos you were all "Yellow,"
    (Cause we ARE all yellow... on one hand the negative things associated witht he color yet the color that shines the brightest in the sky and even on paper and is the color of GOLD)
    I drew a line,
    I drew a line for you,
    (Jesus drew a line in the sand for an adulterer)
    Oh what a thing to do,
    And it was all "Yellow."
    (IN THE SAND!!!... IT WAS YELLOW)

    Your skin,
    Oh yeah your skin and bones,
    Turn into something beautiful,
    And you know
    For you I'd bleed myself dry
    For you I'd bleed myself dry
    (WHo can't figure THIS PART OUT?!?! Did He not bleed dry even the WATER spilled from Him for His abounding love for us)

    It's true, look how they shine for you,
    Look how they shine for you,
    Look how they shine for,
    Look how they shine for you,
    Look how they shine for you,
    Look how they shine.

    Look at the stars,
    Look how they shine for you,
    And all the things that you do.

    (Again BACk to the stars that we are just yellow and yet the whole SKY was set in place FOR US because HE LOVED US!)
  • Irwan from Delft, NetherlandsI don't know where does the word yellow come.. but to me.. this song is a love song that reminds me to someone I really love. Just do what I do... imagining "the one" with this song as background.. isn't she or he yellow?:)
  • Dennis from Toledo, OhThis song, like many other Coldplay songs, uses an unusual tuning to allow open strings to create sounds you don't normally hear on a guitar. It's the little things that make this song sound so nice.
  • Stacey from Someplace, AustraliaYellow is important it is the colour of the sun and the sun is the reason we can see things like the moon and its the source of life, so the girl was his life his everything and he did everything for her only to find out she was yellow bellied and superficial eg "youre skin and bones turned into something beautiful" this and fix you are coldplays only good songs but when coldplay is good its real good
  • John from Monvtille, NjBest Coldplay song. It's so beautiful.
  • Emily from Chicken, NvYellow comes from the yellow pages.

    o_o
  • Cliff from Tvm, Indiaits a beatutiful song...coldplay sure played this zeppelin_made_song beautifully...wonder wat it would sound like if zeppelin sang it in their days
  • Izzie from Lala, HiI think that this is one of the most beautiful love songs EVER.
  • Chrissy from West Islip, Nycoldplay sounds nothing like radiohead..
  • Amy from Chester, EnglandOn 'storytellers' Chris said that the band were in a pub playing darts when thinking about this song. it was missing a hook, and on the table next to them was a copy of the yellow pages. it fit, and was used. (big up Guy the bassist in the Talk video, his acting is fab!)
  • Andy Acreman from Poole(yes It Is A City Dam It), England"Its about drugs. Yes Everyone Lets Love Our Wimmin. The first letters of this mantra spel YELLOW. It was written about the drug of choice for coldplate ECSTACY. Chris Martin." - RunningBull, Westward ((Wales this is all false ))
  • Cari from Knebworth, EnglandChris Martin has stated that he came up with the word 'Yellow' while trying to think of something that would fit the song lyrics and on looking around the room he was sitting in spotted a copy of the Yellow Pages on a nearby shelf.
  • Jojo from Sydney, AustraliaI think "Yellow" comes from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In the first few pages, he says yellow yellow, several times - all I see is yellow. Also "Don't Panic" definitely comes from there as well. First rule, don't panic!
  • Michael from Hong Kong, Hong KongThis song rocks.

    In that it doesn't really rock, but on a totally other level, it rocks so hard the ground cracks and sends you to a firey death in the core of the planet, still weeping at the song's beauty.

    Loves it I does.
  • Marlow from Perthmassive hit in aussie land too
  • Ashley from Naples , Flokay jaundice is when you're born with a different blood type than your mother. your skin looks yellow but i fades away after infancy. seriously, who would write a song about that? the random phone book thing seems the most logical, and i'm thinking the "drug references" people have found are a bit of a stretch. just because a song is simple doesn't mean it's not good.
  • Kortney from Rome, GaThe color yellow isn't actually at all significant to the meaning of the song...I watched a special on tv and Chris Martin himself said that he added the word yellow because there was a pause in the song, and he looked over on the shelf and saw a yellow book..it just ended up sounding right.
  • Runningbull from Westward Ho!, WalesIts about drugs. Yes Everyone Lets Love Our Wimmin. The first letters of this mantra spel YELLOW. It was written about the drug of choice for coldplate ECSTACY. Chris Martin.
  • Grace from Fairfax Station, VaThis song is so beautiful. Coldplay always does the most beautiful songs. However, what does "yellow" mean? It's the only idiotic part of the song.
  • Ginny Fred from Westward Ho!, EnglandI recently bought a bootleg album (very early coldplay) with a few tracks i've never herad before: Blue, Green and Violet. They're fab!!
  • Christian from Richmond, WiDamn Martin is a terrible lyricist.
  • Tim from Birmingham, EnglandWatched a programme on british TV here at the weekend, and chris martin said that the colour has no relevance. He was trying out some neil young chords and needed a 2 syllable word, looked around the room, saw a copy of the yellow pages, and there you have it.
  • Scott from North Kingstown, RiI saw COLDPLAY this summer in MA, usa. CM was quite chatty that evening....he talked a bit about YELLOW, how it introduced the band to the US, how great it was to get such a positive response, and then he said "there's been alot of discussion about the meaning of the name of this song.....truthfully, I happend to be looking at the "YELLOW PAGES" while writing it, and the color stuck!...Good thing we don't have the 'purple' or 'lapis' pages in the UK"!!
  • Christine from Toronto, CanadaI had an interview with chris martin in canada last year and i had asked him what he specifically meant by using the word YELLOW. He said it means caution, he was doing all he could for the girl (in the song) but she was pusing him away because she was unsure or just being caution. and he drew a line at the end of the song just strongly realizing she is an unsure person.
  • Robert from Pittsburgh, PaOne of the things I learned about songs is the
    best are slightly ambiguous - and thus allow for
    multiple interpretations, so you can personalize
    its significance to you. To me, yellow is the
    color of warmth, the color of the sun. The line
    "I drew a line" refers to the notion of drawing a
    line in the sand where you won't allow someone
    to cross (to defend yourself and those you love).
    [Again - these are my interpretations]
    I love the song - because it speaks to me - and
    I can relate to it. And that was nicely
    confirmed for me when I recently attended their
    Columbus Ohio Twisted Logic gig - and melted like
    all the rest of the audience.
  • John from Clinton, MsI've seen all the comments on Yellow, but nobody addresses the line about "I drew a line". In the drug culture that is snorting cocaine..."doing a line". Somebody give me the rationale for that being in this song with alternative meanings.
  • Lola from Sydney, Australiai have always loved this song. but it has become extra important to me since the guy i love played it over the phone for me. i have listened to this song non stop for the last couple of days...it reminds me of him and makes him feel closer....i love the words.....and the way cm sings it....."look at the stars,look how they shine for you"....i love u ash
  • Natalie from Redding, CaI remember when this song first came out on Mtv2. I instantly connected to it and I think it was the video that really did it for me.So much so that if I would happen to see it on Mtv or Mtv2, (because at this time they were not in heavy rotation) I would stop what I was doing to watch. The singer is walking on the beach and he looks like he is soaking wet. You can see the ocean off to the side and the sun is slowly rising until at the end of it is finally day. It is a very simple video for a wonderful song that never gets old for me. Trouble is another great song from this album as well as Shiver which is my favorite coldplay song yet.
  • Michael from Kearny, NjCancer, Jaundice, Heroin... C'mon people, read the lyrics! They were written during the recording of this song (in about five minutes). Chris Martin has said that aside from the yellow stars in the sky outside of the studio, the words were thrown together on the spot (and it shows). Stop reading into things that aren't there and get over yourselves!!!
  • May from Davao City, Othera simple yet romantic love song. not too mushy, yet you can still feel goosebumps especially if someone sings this song to you. just love the reason why color yellow's used as the main color/imagery in this song.all of us are indeed cowards when it comes to revealing our true feelings, especially as far as love is concerned. oh well, that's how love is!!!it also brightens our day just like the color yellow!!!
  • Geri from Nova Scotia, CanadaThere is a very haunting quality to this man's voice. Very nice tune...
  • Jill from Charleston, IlColdplay is great! I have both albums (Parachutes and AROBTTH)...absolutely awesome, I just listened to Parachutes yesterday :)
  • Taryn from Ducksvill, Akyello is also the color of positivity. maybe it was about a girl was so overwhelmingly happy with life and was filled with love and laughter. that's my idea.
  • Dusan from Berkely, Iathis song is great. I think this song is about how you see things from a different prospective when you are in love and how he will do anything for this person. "for you i'd bleed myslef dry"
    I absolutely love the line "look at the stars look how thye shine for you" just great, words cant really explain the greatness of this masterpiece
  • Esteban from Panama, OtherThis is a great song and I've heard lots of theories about it, from being about a asian girl (your skin...) to some original ones, like Amanda's. What I really care is that this song is a love anthem, and a great one!
  • Susan from New Egypt, NjI hadn't heard this song until recently. Very recently recovered from cancer myself, my love always called me sunshine. Everything around me was yellow. He played the video for me and I just sat there, tears pouring. To me, the song means the continuation of my life. Forever yellow. It is the most powerful thing I have ever heard, and felt.
  • Sarah from Salem, MaThe only thing similar about Radiohead and Coldplay is that they are both British bands with lead singers who can do nice falsettos. While Coldplay mostly writes pretty love songs, Radiohead tends more toward ambigous lyrics that deal with less happy topics like isolation, paranoia, depression, and death.

    I agree with Amanda on the Buddhist interpretation. Also, he compares her to the stars--they are both yellow. I think this can be interpreted as a song sung by a man to an amazing woman (the stars shine for her) who he thinks is too good for him, so he does something amazing in return by believing in himself and showing his love for her.
  • Travis from Lawrence, KsAnd there may be similar sounding songs here and there, but Coldplay generally doesn't sound like Radiohead. Sounds like somebody is only familiar with Radiohead's mainstream stuff, which is most similar to Coldplay, but still not really.
  • Whitnee from Portland, OrI don't think it's about literally being yellow, but I do think it's using anemia and other things as a metaphor of what he would do for this love... "I'd bleed myself dry"
  • Kt from Ny, NyI believe that the first lines of this song outline what comes throughout the rest. Stars symbolize hope, wishes, dreams.. so in turn the world "yellow" throughout the rest of the song refers to a dream or wish. This dream/wish is someone who he loves. He does everything to reach her and in the end everything was always all "yellow." The stars shined for her because he was so in love with her that his wish was to reach her.
  • Hans from Oakdale, CaThe "yellow" in the song comes from how the person being sang to is a drug user, more specificaly a heroin addict thats my opinion and im sticking to it
  • Amanda from Tampa, FlLooking outside the "Jaundice" theory, here is something to think about; Yellow has a lot of meanings in certain cultures. It also stimulates the nervous system and envokes wisdom. Buddha dressed all of his priests in yellow to show intellect. To be "all yellow" means you are quick witten because your nerves are in an active condition throughout the body.
  • Virnalisa from Santo Domingo, Otheri think that it doesn't have to do with sickness ,i think that the song is about love and that when u'r in love u see everything differently.
  • Alatriel from Lothlorien, OtherYes to all you jaundice people I disagree I think that though he may have been singing to a girl with jaundice that it is a love song, just a simple, powerful love song.
  • Brian from Paoli, InIt's amazing how these guys not only sound like Radiohead, but their lead singer looks exactly like Thom Yorke...
  • Rudi from Melbourne, Australiathis song is about a person who has jaundice. (is jaaundiced? i don't know how to say it.)
  • Cristina from Indianapolis, InI love this song and all of Coldplay. But no one has really said what the song is about and whats with yello. Thanks
  • Erin from Melbourne, AustraliaThis song was used to promote the Anti Cancer Council Of Victoria's annual Daffodil Day, to raise money for cancer research.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."