"Trouble" is a song by British
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
, for their debut album, ''
Parachutes
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
'' (2000). The band wrote and co-produced it with British record producer
Ken Nelson. The song's arrangement is built around the acoustic piano. It was released on 23 October 2000 as the album's third single, reaching number 10 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and becoming the band's second top 10 single in the country. Although "Trouble" failed to chart in the United States, the music press deemed it almost as successful as its predecessor, "
Yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...
".
Two different
music videos
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
were released: one for Europe and another for the United States, which is currently the only one available on the band's official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel. There is also an associated release titled ''Trouble – Norwegian Live EP'', which came out in the summer of 2001 and consisted of five tracks recorded live by the band at
Rockefeller Music Hall
Rockefeller Music Hall, ordinarily referred to simply as Rockefeller, is a concert venue located in Torggata, downtown Oslo, Norway. The building, known as "Torggata Bad" ("Market Street Bath"), used to house a public bathing facility. To this day ...
in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. It was released exclusively in Norway, being Coldplay's fourth EP and first live release.
Production
According to Coldplay's lead singer
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...
, the song's writing was inspired by his own behaviour. Martin recalls, "There were some bad things going in our band ... the song is about behaving badly towards somebody you really love and I was certainly doing that to some members of the band." The four members of Coldplay are credited as co-writers of "Trouble".
British record producer
Ken Nelson and the band produced "Trouble" for their debut album, ''Parachutes''. The track was recorded four times before the band got the take they preferred. However, they decided that the first three versions were not "working". The last take was recorded into
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
with a
shaker to provide the
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
to the track. For the backing track,
Will Champion
William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned various instruments during his childhood, being influenced by ...
played the drums and Martin on the piano which they recorded in a little wooden room. After
Guy Berryman
Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he began to play bass from an early age, ...
's bass was recorded, guitarist
Jonny Buckland
Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is an English-born Welsh musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Pantymwyn, he began to play guitar from an early age, being in ...
added the guitar section. In recording the piano section of the track, the band used two microphones—one was brighter-sounding and the other had a fuller sound. Nelson, who wanted to keep the song simple, chose the fuller sound microphone for the mixing.
"Trouble" was mixed in New York by American mix engineer
Michael Brauer Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer. He received a Grammy for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on John Mayer's ''Continuum'', "Best Alternative Album" for Coldplay's ''Parachutes'', and also "Best Rock Album" for Coldplay's ''Viva la ...
. The initial mixed version, which was sent back to the band and Nelson, fell short of their desired quality, so it had to be redone. According to Nelson, "the vocal was overcompressed and the piano was too bright". Despite this, Nelson did not blame Brauer because he was recording the album when the track was being mixed.
Composition
The song's lyrics have "softer emotional themes", including apologies, unrequited love, and longing.
[Roach, p. 49] Its musicscape follows the
minimalistic Minimalism is a movement in visual arts, music, and other media that began in post–World War II Western art.
Minimalism may also refer to:
*Minimalism (computing), a philosophy of programming and configuring computers
*Minimalism (philosophy), ...
approach. "Trouble" is built around a piano, with a
snare drum
The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
background that was mixed very low. The snare drum section tends to be inaudible when the guitars come in.
According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes, Inc., the song's
time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
follows the common 4/4, with a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
of 70 beats per minute. Martin's vocal range in the song spans from F
3 to A
4, the highest note being sung using the
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
register, despite the fact Martin can reach this note in full voice.
Release
"Trouble" was released as the third
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
off ''Parachutes'' on 23 October 2000 in the United Kingdom and on 30 July 2001 in the United States.
An associated
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. titled ''Trouble – Norwegian Live EP'' was released in the summer of 2001. In 2003, the song was featured on Coldplay's
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
called ''
Live 2003''.
As they have for their other songs, Coldplay has refused to accept several offers to use "Trouble" for promotional tools. In 2004, the band rejected a multi-million
Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
offer from
Diet Coke
Diet Coke (also branded as Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Diet or Coca-Cola Light Taste) is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on ...
and
Gap to use the song and "
Don't Panic", the fourth single from the album. They asked manager
Phil Harvey to not refer such offers to them because "a discussion might lead to compromise". American actor
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
was interested to use the song for the soundtrack of his 2001 film ''
Driven'', but the band declined. The song was used in the season 1 finale of the FX television series ''
The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...
''.
Reception
"Trouble" was a commercial success. It reached number 10 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, making it the band's second top 10 single in the United Kingdom after "Yellow". The performance of "Trouble" has been attributed to the "colossal home sales" of ''Parachutes'' in the United Kingdom.
[Roach, p. 54]
The positive reception of the single continued when the British outfit
Lost Witness
Lost Witness is the English trance producer and DJ Simon Paul (also known as Si Paul), working in collaboration with songwriter Edward Barton, writer of the 1983 Jane & Barton single, "It's a Fine Day" (later covered by Opus III in 1992), and ...
made a remixed version of the song, which was released and became "an unlikely dance floor anthem". With three singles successfully released, the band decided to abandon their initial plans of issuing "Don't Panic" as the fourth single of the album, deemed enough for a single album in the United Kingdom. "Don't Panic", however, was eventually released in some European regions.
In the United States, the single's chart performance was nearly as successful as that of "Yellow"'s.
It has reached number 23 on the ''Billboard''
Adult Top 40
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
and 28 on the ''Billboard''
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
. Martin has claimed that the single had saved them from being a "one-hit wonder" band. The band, thinking it was not a "great single", surmised it would not perform well in the United States.
Music videos
The original European version of the music video for "Trouble" was directed by British director
Sophie Muller
Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 ''Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's son ...
. It features Martin as a prisoner in a dark warehouse, tied with ropes to a chair, being circled by cars in the freezing cold. The other members of the band are seen on the upper floor in a
slow motion
Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use o ...
sequence where Buckland and Champion struggle with bass guitarist
Guy Berryman
Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he began to play bass from an early age, ...
, tying him to another chair and forcing him to look in front. At this point, Martin's struggling causes his chair to tip over, and he hits the ground on his side. He sings the final line of the song ("They spun a web for me..."), before the darkness abruptly turns to daylight. A sunrise is then revealed, but as the camera pans out, it is revealed to be fake and part of a large theatre backdrop, with Martin still lying on his side, tied to the chair.
A US version of the music video was directed by
Tim Hope
Tim Hope is a British director, performer and animator best known for his pop videos for Coldplay, R.E.M., Bingo Players and Captain Ango Pango, and his short film ''The Wolfman''. His pop video for the Coldplay song "Trouble" won him an MTV Vide ...
. The video follows the motif of "Don't Panic" by showing the band as two-dimensional cut-outs. The band are aboard a horse carriage that cruises along a forest. On top of a mountain, a woman (Nerys Davies) waters plants inside a house. A little crow flies from the carriage up to the house, where it transforms into a more menacing bird. It flies over the house and turns into a black cloud, which pours rain onto the land. The rain burns little holes on the things it falls into, and crow feathers protrude from the holes. Finally a tornado grabs the house and lifts it from its foundations placing it along others in a more suburban setting. Finally a tornado lifts up the house, spinning it across the sky and then dropping it precisely on a normal suburban street. The video's acclaimed visuals earned Hope an
MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction is a craft award given to both the artist as well as the art director of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the award's full name was Best Art Direction in a Video, and after a brief removal in 200 ...
in 2002. It was also nominated for
Breakthrough Video
Breakthrough or break through may refer to:
Arts Books
* ''Break Through'' (book), a 2007 book about environmentalism by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger
* ''Break Through'' (play), a 2011 episodic play portraying scenes from LGBT life
* ...
.
Covers
UK Funky
UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music born in United Kingdom that is heavily influenced by Soca, soulful house, tribal house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky blends beats, bass lo ...
artist
Cooly G
Merrisa Campbell, known by her recording alias Cooly G, is a British singer, rapper, producer and DJ, living in London. She has released two albums of bass music on Hyperdub: '' Playin' Me'' (2012) and ''Wait 'Til Night'' (2014).
Music
Her full-l ...
covered "Trouble" for her debut full-length album ''
Playin' Me'' (2012).
Track listing
CD single
#"Trouble" – 4:33
#"
Brothers and Sisters" – 4:49
#"
Shiver
Shivering (also called shuddering) is a bodily function in response to cold and extreme fear in warm-blooded animals. When the core body temperature drops, the shivering reflex is triggered to maintain homeostasis. Skeletal muscles begin to s ...
" (Jo Whiley Lunchtime Social) – 4:21
Australian CD single
#"Trouble" – 4:32
#"
Don't Panic" - 2:19
#"Brothers and Sisters" – 4:48
#"Shiver" (Jo Whiley Lunchtime Social) – 4:26
''Norwegian Live EP''
#"Trouble" (Live at Rockefeller Music Hall) – 4:35
#"
Shiver
Shivering (also called shuddering) is a bodily function in response to cold and extreme fear in warm-blooded animals. When the core body temperature drops, the shivering reflex is triggered to maintain homeostasis. Skeletal muscles begin to s ...
" (Live at Rockefeller Music Hall) – 5:44
#"Sparks" (Live at Rockefeller Music Hall) – 3:54
#"
Yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...
" (Live at Rockefeller Music Hall) – 5:02
#"Everything's Not Lost" (Live at Rockefeller Music Hall) – 6:03
Personnel
*
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...
- lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar
*
Jonny Buckland
Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is an English-born Welsh musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Pantymwyn, he began to play guitar from an early age, being in ...
- lead guitar
*
Guy Berryman
Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he began to play bass from an early age, ...
- bass guitar
*
Will Champion
William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned various instruments during his childhood, being influenced by ...
- drums, percussion
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
2000 singles
Coldplay songs
Capitol Records singles
Parlophone singles
Music videos directed by Sophie Muller
Rock ballads
Songs written by Guy Berryman
Songs written by Jonny Buckland
Songs written by Will Champion
Songs written by Chris Martin
2000 songs
Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (British record producer)
2000s ballads
Number-one singles in Iceland