Fix You
Artist: Coldplay
Song: Fix You
Album: X&Y
Model: Lulu Lockhart
Location: Hanley Swan, Worcestershire

Notes:-
If I could write songs, I’d want to have written this one. It has everything I appreciate about music in it. It’s about death and trying to nurse a loved one through their personal and inconsolable grief. It was written for Gwyneth Paltrow after the death of her father. It begins with a church organ’s pipes and Chris Martin’s gentle voice stating his understanding of the trauma she’s going through. Telling her that he will try to ‘fix’ her. The song builds with acoustic guitars and piano and prophecies of lights guiding her home.

The dark turns to light and the tempo and volume increase, slowly with the addition of drums and electric guitar as the lyrics talk of tears streaming down her face as she lets her emotions flood out. The song ends as it started, with simple voice and piano and a promise that he will ‘try to fix you’.

I’ve experienced this a few times in my life. Watching loved ones going through terrible trauma that I can’t make go away. I was powerless, useless and yet so desperate to take the pain away. Of course, my pain is nothing to theirs but it doesn’t make the hurt go away. I told myself to just be there, be strong, be helpful practically and slowly, gently, the pain will subside. It does of course but the memories are all too clear, too dreadful. Seeing tears stream down a loved one’s face caused by true loss or hurt is an underestimated pain. I just wanted to make it go away, do the right thing and make them happy again. Reality isn’t that easy.

Despite its subject, the song is uplifting and hopeful. I wanted to get the look of a broken doll and the idea that people could be ‘fixed’ with tools. If only things were that simple.