Spies by Coldplay - Songfacts

Album: Parachutes (2000)

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With its dramatic arrangement and themes of espionage, "Spies" was broadly inspired by Coldplay's love for James Bond. Upon closer inspection, the song can be interpreted as a comment on fear and anxiety, with Chris Martin comparing his worries to inescapable undercover agents:

And the spies came out of the water
But you're feeling so bad 'cause you know
That the spies hide out in every corner
This song was banned in China due to "inflammatory political content," even though the lyrics don't reference any particular country. During a concert at Brixton Academy in London in 2001, Martin commented on the banning: "Everybody thinks we're the most kind of innocent plasticine band ever, but that song has been banned in China, which we thought was cool. If you play it backward, it says 'free Tibet.'"
"Spies" took three days to record. During an interview with Sound on Sound, the song's producer, Ken Nelson, recalled: "We had Chris in one room, it was like a little cubby hole, and he was in there for about three days while we were trying to get a decent take of this. And we had Will, the drummer, in another room, and Guy, the bass player, was playing in the control room. So they were quite separate, but that was the way we decided to do it, and it just took a long time to get a really good take of it. You get to a point where each take they do will be quite good, and you know you're close to it, and you've just got to keep going. It's quite frustrating."
Speaking to BBC Radio 2's Jo Whiley on the 20th anniversary of Parachutes, Coldplay drummer Will Champion said this was his favorite song on the album. Champion also revealed he struggled with the recording of "Spies," adding: "I could write these things, but I couldn't play them particularly well. I could hear the things in my head, but my hands and feet couldn't perform them properly. So I struggled for a long time with that particular song."
Coldplay shot a music video for "Spies" in 1999. However, before unveiling the video to the general public, the band decided they wanted to release another one of their earlier singles instead: "Bigger Stronger." Coldplay didn't have time to film a new video for "Bigger Stronger," so they kept the footage for "Spies" and switched out the song.

Set in Dorset, England, the video depicts the band having afternoon tea on a beach. Mat Whitecross directed it; the British filmmaker subsequently helmed the critically acclaimed docudrama The Road to Guantánamo.
Mince Spies, an EP featuring a cover of Judy Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and a remix of "Yellow," is named after this song. Just 1,000 copies were pressed and sent out to Coldplay's fan club in 2001, making it one of the band's rarest releases.
"Spies" is the third song on Coldplay's debut album, Parachutes. It peaked at #1 in the UK in 2000 and scooped the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2002. Explaining the meaning behind the album title on Coldplay's official website, Martin said: "Some of the songs, the themes, concern things being bad and then getting good, or being good and staying good, or being bad and not getting good. And that is really reflected in that title."

Comments: 19

Eight from IrelandWhen I hear this song it reminds me of soldiers in war and maybe hiding from the enemy. Or perhaps maybe get out of your comfort zones... I don't know but this song is absolutely brilliant.
Joshua from Antelope, CaGovernment song because spies are everywhere and they can spy but we can't touch them and vice versa.
Conrad from Cape Town, South Africathis song is a real great inspiration to my and walk with God and to achieve all my goals and infact anything i wanna do in life, this means that anything that is negative towards you or your life is nothing but a spy and cannot touch you its just there to scare you from doing just what you want to do and make yourself a success and actually taking the risk in life that most people are afraid of taking to fulfill their dreams and aspirations. so to me the spies are media every single negative thought i have and that other people have about me. all cold plays songs have what ever meaning you want it to have to you. that's why i love this band this is true music for the soul and mind it has truely helped me in life, nothing scares me i will do just what i want in terms of building my legacy for my kids and family. Peace
Prathap from Chennai, IndiaI think its about societal pressure and self-doubts... and in the last stanza, he gives an optimistic touch to the song by conveying they are nothing but spies that cant actually touch you....
Vivel from Killian, LaI love songs about paranoia. They're always great, because paranoia can be written about so many ways--this is one of the musically/lyrically best i've heard. (Don't think schizo though--paranoia in itself is good.)
Jonathan from Deer Park, NyIt reminds me of a person going through life and people are doing ALL they can to stop him. Everyone he knows is a "Spy" trying to ruin him.
Hanna from Steamboat, Coi think there is so much more meaning beyond some political rant... i mean, it could be related to victims of abuse, people who dont feel safe in their own house (oh, i forget everything I learned) It shows how things like that go so against our absic understandings of nature and people and how it all should work. but wow, what a great melody. oh, and it could also refer to your demons, things you regret, (you cant touch them, no, cos they're just spies) its like your mistakes are always watching over your shoulder or something.
Benjamin from Birmingham, Al"i said how do you live, as a fugitive, down here, where I cannot see so clear..." That is why it was banned from China; they are still very "clingy" to government's power over the people. It's really sad, when you think about it...
Jimmy from Phoenix, AzI think the song is supposed to allude to the book Nineteen Eighty-Four which attacks totalitarian or even communist countries so it would make sense why it is banned in China.
Sam from Provo, Utgreat song, the guitar part is so cool!
Mark from Manila, Otheryeah this song got the coolness inside it! lolz
except when Chris says
"if we dont hide here the gonna find us"
that background sound was like yellow's
just a thought...
Alex from Toronto, CanadaI don't get it either. This was their first album, and they haven't released it yet. Yet, it was "banned" in China.
Sam from Booya, CaChris is talking about the human way of life. everything. he's saying everywhere we go and in everything we do, there are spies. by spies, he means influences. he's saying they come out of the water because water is the prime neccessity for our survival. so he's saying that EVEN in water, the very thing we need to live, there are spies. So basically, he's saying there's spies EVERYWHERE and we can't hide from them. there's spies even in water, the most basic essential. and i believe by spies, he's referring to influences such as the media or whatever.
Schapov from Eburg, OtherI think that's the song about 'demons'. Unseen entities that surround us during our entire lifespan. Perhaps Chris is religious or occult minded guy, who believes that we are influenced by some kind of outside forces. That he calls them 'spies' is just his word choosing.
Andrew from Cluj, Romaniato me it makes perfect sense as being about a paranoid schizophrenic person - there's an old story i know about a woman who got sick in the head, she thought that there were people following her, the spies,right? she was commited to a hospital for the rest of her life; this song seems to end in a happier tone though...
Ashley from Moncton, CanadaThis song really confuses me. I just don't get it- the words are weird. The spies came out of the water? They can't touch you because they're all spies? It confuses me.
Alissar from Sydney , Aki think its about living in fear of something which really isn't there - a fabrication of imagination or even will. Like spies, they can see you and observe upon you, but they 'can't touch you' - they just watch, therefore are not genuine threats. Living your life inhibited and supressed by something - like 'fugitives'. Perhaps reference to the communist countries like China who supposedly control and subodinate their people by using fear and punishment (?)
Gabe from Utica, NyThis song is really cool. I think the reason y this album was banned in China bc is insulted them in their assumption that this song was criticizing China on bein spies. (This is just a prediction) But this song is sooo good. It's also my little sister's favorite Coldplay song.
Dusan from Berkely, Iawhy did it get banned in china, i dont quite understand the concept of the song and abviously i dont have all the intricacies of it. So could someone please explain it to me?

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