Songfacts®:

• Coldplay address the worldwide refugee crisis during this song, highlighting their plight. We hear about the migrants being forced to move "in the dead of night," children crying and the desperate people "hovering without a home."
• Coldplay donated all proceeds from the song to Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), an international NGO which rescues migrants and refugees in peril at sea in the Mediterranean. The band are patrons of the charity.
• The song was written by their Viva La Vida collaborator Brian Eno. He was assisted on the production by Marckus Dravs, who is known for his work with Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons and Kings Of Leon.
• The song's wacky animated space video was directed by Diane Martel and Ben Jones. The scenes of extraterrestrials fleeing their war torn planet acts as an appropriate metaphor for migrants around the world who have been forced to flee their homelands.