Clocks by Coldplay

Photo A G on Unsplash

Sometimes I think we can risk overthinking it. We try to pull things apart, read into what someone is saying, seek the hidden meaning behind what has said or has occurred. This week’s song, Clocks, by Coldplay, is a great example of this.

The lyrics are cryptic in places, but when read in total a theme seems to emerge.

The lights go out and I can’t be saved

Perhaps a reference to the idea that we can’t always find the answers to make sense of life.

Tides that I tried to swim against, have brought me down upon my knees.

Maybe reflects the idea that sometimes we might battle and push, but it won’t make any difference.

Come out of the things unsaid.

Could be about us getting drawn into our interpretation of what someone actually means rather than what they have said. Our desire to try to uncover things which weren’t revealed.

Trouble that can’t be named.

Possibly a reference to the concept of trying to discover something that we can’t just pin down with words.

The thing with all of this is that I’ve just interpreted all these lyrics with an intention to uncover a common theme. And whilst this could be an accurate interpretation, it very much leaves me in the place of analysing and theorising instead of just enjoying the song. The next line puts it perfectly:

A tiger’s waiting to be tamed, singing: You are, you are.

All our analysing and interpreting sometimes just entraps us rather than allowing us to be set free. Whilst we’re busy trying to create meaning which might or might not be there, we could have been just enjoying life. The song seems to playfully go on to this very idea:

Confusion that never stops. The closing walls and the ticking clocks gonna come back and take you home.

And this week that leaves me with a challenge. What will I choose, to be caught up in over analysing every detail or what has been said or happened in life, or to choose to move forward with lightness and acceptance that not everything might be easy to reduce to a simple sentence or motive? It’s not that analysis and interpretation doesn’t have its place. It’s just that I don’t want to spend too much of my life caught up in it when it’s not needed.

Need to refocus? Why not consider booking an appointment with the author, Dr Dave Wood?

Clocks by Coldplay is taken from the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head.