Music Friday: Chris Martin Doesn't Need Achilles' Gold to Get a Shot at Love

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. When The Chainsmokers and Coldplay released “Something Just Like This” in 2017, the lyric video set a YouTube record with more than 9 million views in 24 hours. To date, that video has been seen an astonishing 2.2 billion times.

“Something Just Like This” uses a precious metal reference to tell the story of a young man who discovers that he doesn’t have to possess superhuman qualities to get a shot at true love.

In the first verse, Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin compares himself to legendary heroes and faces the harsh reality that he doesn’t stack up.

He sings, “I’ve been reading books of old / The legends and the myths / Achilles and his gold / Hercules and his gifts / Spiderman’s control / And Batman with his fists / And clearly I don’t see myself upon that list.”

His level-headed girlfriend is far more realistic about what is really important in a relationship.

Martin sings her response: “I’m not looking for somebody / With some superhuman gifts / Some superhero / Some fairytale bliss / Just something I can turn to / Somebody I can kiss / I want something just like this.”

Written by members of both The Chainsmokers and Coldplay, “Something Just Like This” became an international sensation when it hit the airwaves in February of 2017. The song charted in 39 countries, and topped out at #3 spot on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100 lists and #2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018.

Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers told New Musical Express (NME) how the song came together during a studio session.

“We found some chords that everyone loved and then Chris plugged a mic into the PA in the studio and free-styled for an hour. This song was the result,” Taggart said. “We’ve never seen a song written in such a stream of conscious. It’s hard to maintain your identity when working with such an established artist, but we feel this song is a great balance between both us and Coldplay.”

The song was released by both bands. It was the second single from The Chainsmokers’ debut album Memories… Do Not Open. A live version, recorded in Tokyo, appeared as the first single from Coldplay’s Kaleidoscope EP.

The Chainsmokers and Coldplay dazzled the audience of the 2017 BRIT Awards with a remarkable live rendition of “Something Just Like This.” The video of that performance has earned more than 120 million views on YouTube and can be seen below. Here are the lyrics if you’d like to sing along…

“Something Just Like This”
Written by Andrew Taggart, Guy Berryman, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion. Performed by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay.

I’ve been reading books of old
The legends and the myths
Achilles and his gold
Hercules and his gifts
Spiderman’s control
And Batman with his fists
And clearly I don’t see myself upon that list

But she said, where’d you wanna go?
How much you wanna risk?
I’m not looking for somebody
With some superhuman gifts
Some superhero
Some fairytale bliss
Just something I can turn to
Somebody I can kiss

I want something just like this
Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo
Oh, I want something just like this
Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo
Oh, I want something just like this
I want something just like this

I’ve been reading books of old
The legends and the myths
The testaments they told
The moon and its eclipse
And Superman unrolls
A suit before he lifts
But I’m not the kind of person that it fits

She said, where’d you wanna go?
How much you wanna risk?
I’m not looking for somebody
With some superhuman gifts
Some superhero
Some fairytale bliss
Just something I can turn to
Somebody I can miss

I want something just like this
I want something just like this

Oh, I want something just like this
Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo,
Oh, I want something just like this
Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo

Where’d you wanna go?
How much you wanna risk?
I’m not looking for somebody
With some superhuman gifts
Some superhero
Some fairytale bliss
Just something I can turn to
Somebody I can kiss
I want something just like this

Oh, I want something just like this
Oh, I want something just like this
Oh, I want something just like this

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube / The Chainsmokers.