Coldplay Reveals ‘Yellow’ Inspired By Spring In Brandermill

Chris Martin, frontman of iconic British rock band Coldplay, has revealed that hit song “Yellow” was inspired by a visit to Brandermill in April of 1999. The song’s lyrics “and it was all yellow” is a reference to the pollen that, in Martin’s own words, “blanketed the community like a dusting of [expletive] snow.”

Coldplay performed a small concert at Sunday Park that year, well before the release of their debut album Parachutes and the international acclaim that followed. At the time, Martin was recovering from a recent breakup, and the pollen “hung over his head like a yellow storm cloud.”

“I was in a really low place,” says Martin, “and my bloody allergies weren’t helping anything.” Martin said the lyrics for “Yellow” came to him in a fog of pollen.

“A gust of wind blew across the rezzy, and it stirred up this huge yellow cloud, and I swear I could see the lyrics right there in the haze.” 

Martin rushed back to his hotel and composed the song we all know and love.