Hear Coldplay’s Tender, Stripped-Back Version of ‘Everglow’
On new single version of Coldplay‘s “Everglow,” Chris Martin sounds nearly unaccompanied. He’s joined by brief harmony vocals and splashes of ethereal electric guitar. “If you love someone, you should let them know,” he sings, stretching his voice to a mighty falsetto.
The track ends with a 1977 audio sample of Muhammad Ali speaking to a live crowd in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. “God is watching me,” he says at the track’s subdued conclusion. “God don’t praise me because I beat Joe Frazier. God don’t give nothing about Joe Frazier … He wants to know: How do we treat each other? How do we help each other? So I’m going to dedicate my life to using my name and popularity to helping charities, helping people, uniting people, people bombing each other because of religious beliefs. We need somebody in the world to help us all make peace. So when I die, if there’s a heaven, I’m gonna see it.”
During the quartet’s headlining performance at June’s Glastonbury Festival, a technical glitch forced Martin to deliver an unreleased solo performance of “Everglow.” The band, pleased with the results, then recreated that mood in the studio for this new single version. Coldplay showcased the recording session in a newly posted Facebook clip.
The original, full-band “Everglow” features on Coldplay’s seventh studio album, 2015’s A Head Full of Dreams. After a November 19th performance at India’s inaugural Global Citizen Festival, the group will continue promoting the LP with dates in Australia and New Zealand throughout December. Following a string of international concerts across June and July 2017, Coldplay will kick off their North American leg August 1st in East Rutherford, New Jersey.