Coldplay>Yellow

I've been avoiding Coldplay since this blog began. Like U2, I felt a bit snobbish towards them - it all seemed too obvious when it comes to songs with a spiritual edge. Still, I love both Coldplay and U2 and enjoy listening to pretty much everything they've written (although X&Y (2005) is ultimately very disappointing compared with the first two albums).

The first time I heard Coldplay was on Virgin Radio whilst driving around South Wales on work duty. As soon as 'Yellow' finished I couldn't wait to find out who wrote it. Within a day of hearing it I bought the album Parachutes (2000). The whole album is pretty good, but 'Yellow' is simply a masterly track. It just sounds like a worship song to me - in parts the lyrics work as song from God to Man, and conversely, it works the other way, too.

Not long after the song had become a hit, I travelled to Frankfurt to a huge gathering of Christians. A speaker there, who was talking about the song, suggested that the colour 'yellow' in the Old Testament represented 'faith'. I've never been able to find any scholarly support for this theory, but it sounds like a good effort. Either way, the song never fails to make me think of Jesus, his sacrifice and the loving Father who sent him.