Coldplay was getting quite stale there for awhile. Luckily, Beyonce has this tendency to resuscitate anyone she works with. Thus, “Hymn For the Weekend,” the latest single and video from Coldplay’s seventh album, A Head Full of Dreams, offers a sumptuous combination of auditory and visual delights, accentuated by the release of the music video for the song this weekend.
As the video commences with the peaceful quiet of a shrine in India, director Ben Mor then cuts to Chris Martin as the wayward traveler in a taxi taking in the distinct sights of the city, including a Bollywood movie poster of Beyonce (who wasn’t actually able to be present to shoot the video). Opening with the spiritual line “Drink from me, drink from me,” it’s only natural that Mumbai would end up becoming the backdrop for the song. Ironically, Martin wanted the original lyrics of the song to be “Drinks on me, drinks on me,” in the vain hope that Coldplay could be the type of band to create a party anthem à la Flo Rida. Sitting atop a roof, Martin admits to his Bollywood angel Beyonce, “You know you make my world light up/When I was down, when I was hurt.”
The levity of his spirit after having someone to turn to for emotional comfort and support shines through as he bounds through the streets with Indian children covered in paint, dancing and singing joyfully in the square with them. In spite of the beauty of the video, let’s still hope people won’t somehow find a way to take offense to it as they did with Taylor Swift’s culturally infiltrating “Wildest Dreams” video.
