Okay, yes, I know what you’re thinking. It’s Coldplay. Whatever, KTP – manipulative and obvious, and I’m never going to take you seriously again.
Hear me out.
Chris Martin’s singing is indeed cringeworthy at the beginning of this song, like at that point in his career he was like “I’m just gonna wing this because people will buy it anyway because I am the golden god of pop music,” but if you wait, if you give it a minute, and the only reason I ever did was because my friend Desiree popped this video onto my Facebook wall one day – I can’t even remember why, I must have been whining about something or another via IM because that is how we communicate best – so I felt it was the least I could do to actually get through the whole damn song. And well then. At 4:16 Martin’s voice calms the fuck down and he brings out the husky man-voice I like of his and then there it is. Stabby stab stab!
Because the lyrics:
Lights will guide you home
and ignite your bones
and I will try to fix you
Just hearing him sing those words makes you think everything’s going to be okay, everything’s going to be just fine, and he will cradle you in his strong arms and wipe your tears away and you will wake up in the morning to a sunshiny day and freshly baked cinnamon buns.
But the truth is a man can’t fix you. And a woman can’t fix a man. The world is such a big messy place. Everyone knows (at least everyone at my age, honey) that when you fall in love with a guy and then you realize that guy is very damaged, you can’t fix him. You can’t find a broken guy and fix him. I’ve tried it. It totally doesn’t work. You have to make sure you’re whole yourself, and if you get it in your head that this beautiful man could be happy if only you could fix him, well, you’re the one who needs fixing. Because if you are whole and a broken, beautiful man comes along and his words stab you in the heart and make you want to fix him you will STOP because you will know better.
You will know better. You lucky, strong, lonely woman.
*Here is a youtube video that has the studio recording of the song, and the husky low voice comes in at 4:25. It’s easier to hear without the massive live audience of the first clip, but there’s also something beautiful about the mass hysteria that laces that first clip, singing along as he brings it down. Whatever, I don’t know. Where’s my wine?
**Somehow this is a Thanksgiving post, wherein I am giving thanks for everything I have even though yeah I will say it, I’m sad for all the things I have lost. All the things.
Funny, I never factored gender into it. Your perspective is very interesting and oh so true.