Strawberry Swing
Encyclopedia
"Strawberry Swing" is a song by English alternative rock
band Coldplay
and is the fifth and final single from the band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
.
A promo CD single for the song was released on 6 July 2009. The official single was released on 13 September on digital download. On 31 July 2009, the free "Strawberry Swing" application
was launched on iTunes. The single made to the A-list of BBC Radio 1
and the C-List on BBC Radio 2
.
A live version of the song appeared on Coldplay's live album
, LeftRightLeftRightLeft
.
The song is part of the international soundtrack to the Brazilian soap opera Tempos Modernos.
music, and is built around finger-picked, distortion-free guitars with a heavy bassline and psychedelic synths. Lead singer Chris Martin
explained how the song's musical style came into existence: "My mum comes from Zimbabwe, so I spent a lot of time there. I used to work in a studio where people played that." The overall sound of the song was also inspired by Delakota
song "The Rock", which utilizes a backward guitar loop.
In an interview with coldplay.com, Martin stated that he thought "Strawberry Swing" is arguably the best song on Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.
video featuring Chris Martin lying on the ground against animated chalk drawings. The video premiered on 4Music
and Channel 4
on 29 July 2009. The video begins with Martin waking up in his house. Once he sees that a woman is being held hostage by a giant squirrel, he turns into a superhero and attempts to save her. Along the way, Martin faces attacks from the squirrel and a giant fish in the ocean. When Martin finally gets to the squirrel's home, he rescues the lady by drawing a nut-shaped bomb that blows the squirrel up. The two then fly away and begin to kiss. The animation suddenly stops and Martin gets up off the chalk-colored floor in real speed and walks away. The music video was directed by Shynola
. The video was nominated in the Best Animation in a Video category at the UK Music Video Awards 2009. In August 2010, the video was nominated for "Breakthrough Video" at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
.
In September 2009, the originality of the Shynola-directed video was questioned by singer-songwriter Andy J Gallagher; he argued that "Owen Trevor [who directed Something Else] had virtually the same idea at least a year before." In an official PDF
statement, Shynola stated "Having never seen Mr. Trevor's video before, we can categorically deny that his video was any influence on our video. Any similarities are purely coincidental." The PDF also contained image-by-image rebuttals of Gallagher's claims, and added that the video was mainly inspired by the "dreamlike weirdness" of animator
Winsor McCay
's artwork.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
and is the fifth and final single from the band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
.
A promo CD single for the song was released on 6 July 2009. The official single was released on 13 September on digital download. On 31 July 2009, the free "Strawberry Swing" application
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
was launched on iTunes. The single made to the A-list of BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and the C-List on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
.
A live version of the song appeared on Coldplay's live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, LeftRightLeftRightLeft
LeftRightLeftRightLeft
LeftRightLeftRightLeft is a live album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released at 9:00 am GMT on 15 May 2009. The album was given away for free at all of the remaining concerts on the Viva la Vida Tour and is available as a free download on the band's official website...
.
The song is part of the international soundtrack to the Brazilian soap opera Tempos Modernos.
Writing and composition
"Strawberry Swing" contains influences from afro-pop and highlifeHighlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
music, and is built around finger-picked, distortion-free guitars with a heavy bassline and psychedelic synths. Lead singer Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
explained how the song's musical style came into existence: "My mum comes from Zimbabwe, so I spent a lot of time there. I used to work in a studio where people played that." The overall sound of the song was also inspired by Delakota
Delakota
Delakota were an English indie dance band from the late 1990s. The band mixed elements of Baggy, retro rock music, indie pop and modern dance music to produce a sound which was often compared to Primal Scream....
song "The Rock", which utilizes a backward guitar loop.
In an interview with coldplay.com, Martin stated that he thought "Strawberry Swing" is arguably the best song on Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.
Music video
The music video for "Strawberry Swing" is a stop motionStop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
video featuring Chris Martin lying on the ground against animated chalk drawings. The video premiered on 4Music
4Music
4Music is a music and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and available on some digital television providers in the Republic of Ireland - its web component can be found at with its own and pages. It is the only channel within the Box Television Network to be branded under Channel 4 and...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on 29 July 2009. The video begins with Martin waking up in his house. Once he sees that a woman is being held hostage by a giant squirrel, he turns into a superhero and attempts to save her. Along the way, Martin faces attacks from the squirrel and a giant fish in the ocean. When Martin finally gets to the squirrel's home, he rescues the lady by drawing a nut-shaped bomb that blows the squirrel up. The two then fly away and begin to kiss. The animation suddenly stops and Martin gets up off the chalk-colored floor in real speed and walks away. The music video was directed by Shynola
Shynola
Shynola is the collective name of a group of, then, four visual artistsbased in London who have collaborated on a variety of projects,most notably a number of acclaimed music videos for several pioneering artists....
. The video was nominated in the Best Animation in a Video category at the UK Music Video Awards 2009. In August 2010, the video was nominated for "Breakthrough Video" at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year...
.
In September 2009, the originality of the Shynola-directed video was questioned by singer-songwriter Andy J Gallagher; he argued that "Owen Trevor [who directed Something Else] had virtually the same idea at least a year before." In an official PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
statement, Shynola stated "Having never seen Mr. Trevor's video before, we can categorically deny that his video was any influence on our video. Any similarities are purely coincidental." The PDF also contained image-by-image rebuttals of Gallagher's claims, and added that the video was mainly inspired by the "dreamlike weirdness" of animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator.A prolific artist, McCay's pioneering early animated films far outshone the work of his contemporaries, and set a standard followed by Walt Disney and others in later decades...
's artwork.
Track listing
- Digital download:
- "Strawberry Swing" - 4:09
- Promotional CD:
- "Strawberry Swing" (Radio edit) – 4:07
- "Strawberry Swing" (Album version) – 4:11
- "Strawberry Swing" (Instrumental) - 4:11
Release history
| Date | Country | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-07-06 | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Promotional CD |
| 2009-09-13 | United Kingdom, Germany | Digital download |
| 2009-07-29 | United Kingdom | Music video (airplay) |
| 2009-08-03 | Worldwide | Music video (digital download) |
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Tipparade | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
158 |