God Put a Smile upon Your Face

Single infobox | Name = God Put a Smile upon Your Face

Artist =

"God Put a Smile upon Your Face" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their second album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head". The song is built around an acoustic and electric guitar sound, that accompanies it with an uptempo drumming. The song was released in July 14, 2003 as the fourth single from "A Rush of Blood to the Head".

Regional singles were released for Canada, Europe, Australia, and an enhanced version for Taiwan. Promo singles were released for the United Kingdom and United States. Since only promo copies were released, the single was only able to chart at #100 in the UK. This song was also released as downloadable content for the game "" on June 19. The track has been widely sampled by various artists.

Background

When writing "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" Martin said: "That came out of playing live and wanting to have something with a bit more bounce. We were really getting into things like PJ Harvey and Muse – things with a bit more energy." [cite web|url=http://www.coldplay.com/content/ezine/documents/ezine6.pdf|title=Coldplay E-Zine: Issue 6|accessdate=2008-08-31|publisher="coldplay.com"|format=PDF]

When asked about the development of the song, during a track-by-track reveal, Guy Berryman said: "When we came to record it in the studio we struggled because there was something just not quite right about it and I wasn't happy about where we'd left it and where we were happy to leave it and we couldn't put our finger on what it was and so it was a really nice day one day, me and Chris were just trying, I was actually just trying to record bass at the time and me and Chris were just sitting down trying to brainstorm it and work out what was wrong and so I started trying to just do a few different bass lines and stuff. Between the two of us we came up with just this kind of groove, which stays on the same note as opposed to change, it's quite technical but it kind of added a bit of bounce to the song and it made it roll along in a much more fluid way. It was a bit mechanical before and it's just interesting how something small like that can really change the whole vibe of a song. It was just nice because from there on it was one of our favourite tracks and it almost didn't get on the record but it's now one of our favourite tracks." [cite web|first=Will|last=Jenkins|url=http://www.2-4-7-music.com/searches/index.asp?ArtistName=Coldplay|title=Coldplay Interview|accessdate=2008-09-02|date=2002-09-08|work=Crud Magazine]

Music and lyrics

The song features an acoustic and electric guitar sound. The song starts with a hushed acoustic ballad, the song then builds into a roar of an electric guitar and soaring with vocals. [cite web|first=Neva|last=Chonin|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/08/20/DD61861.DTL|title=Coldplay opens up vast yet intimate world|accessdate=2008-09-03|date=2002-08-20|work=San Francisco Chronicle] The song also includes an uptempo metronomic drumming rhythm. [cite web|first=David|last=Cheal|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/10/12/nosplit/bmplay12.xml|title=Perfect Playlist: Coldplay|accessdate=2008-09-02|date=2006-10-12|work=The Daily Telegraph] [cite web|url=http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=547|title=Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head Review|accessdate=2008-09-03|publisher=Sputnik Music]

The first line of the third verse allude to a definitive moment with the cryptic reference to God: "Now when you work it out, I'm worse than you/Yeah, when you work it out I wanted to/Now, when you work out where to draw the line/Your guess is as good as mine."cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/lyrics/coldplay/god_put_a_smile_upon_your_face/14623068/lyrics.jhtml|title=God Put a Smile Upon Your Face Lyrics|accessdate=2008-09-03|publisher=MTV] The fourth verse in line two emphasize the line between sin and pleasure, in which Martin sings about everyone is sinful and falls short and that there are no degrees: "Don't ever say you're on your way down/God gave you style and gave you grace/And put a smile upon your face." When the song is performed live, Jonny Buckland begins a long ripping off guitar riffs while Chris Martin plays an acoustic guitar. [cite web|first=Gil|last=Kaufman|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1507343/20050810/coldplay.jhtml?headlines=true|title=Coldplay Dazzle Crowd With Blinding Lights And Dorky Dancing|accessdate=2008-09-03|date=2005-08-10|publisher=MTV]

Release

Coldplay released "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" in the UK on 7 July 2003. This was followed with releases in the US and Canada on July 14, 2003.cite news|url=http://www.coldplay.com/ezine/ezine9.pdf|title=Coldplay Ezine: Issue 9 |date=July 2003|publisher="coldplay.com"|pages=2|accessdate=2008-09-17|format=PDF] The song was later released on July 21, 2003 in Australia and Taiwan. [cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/12/1057783268414.html|title=Coldplay, hot band|date=2003-07-12|work=Los Angeles Times|publisher="theage.com.au"|accessdate=2008-09-17] When the song was released, it featured the song "Murder". [cite web|url=http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=25542|title=Coldplay to release singles boxed set|accessdate=2008-09-03|date=2007-02-01|publisher=Music Week] The single cover features bassist Guy Berryman, art-directed by Sølve Sundsbø. Regional singles were released for Canada, Europe, Australia, and an enhanced version for Taiwan. Promotional singles were released in the UK and US.

The music video was released in October 2003, [cite web|url=http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=37853|title=Coldplay - "God Put a Smile upon Your Face"|accessdate=2008-09-04|publisher=Mvdbase.com] and features a narrative theme. The video opens in a black-and-white feature, then intercuts a performance of the band footage with the story of a businessman who is humiliated and horrified to find that he is gradually disappearing after bumping into a mysterious stranger with no shoes. The businessman is played by actor Paddy Considine. The band collaborated once more with director Jamie Thraves, who previously directed the band's third video "The Scientist". [cite web|author=MTV News staff report|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1473802/20030715/puff_daddy.jhtml|title=For The Record: Quick News On P. Diddy And Hammer, Ja Rule, White Stripes, Coldplay, Joe Strummer, Shakira & More|accessdate=2008-09-05|date=2003-07-15|publisher=MTV] cite web|url=http://www.coldplay.com/ezine/ezine10.pdf|title=Coldplay E-Zine: Issue 10|accessdate=2008-08-31|publisher="coldplay.com"|format=PDF]

Reception

Critics were positive towards the song. In the "Rolling Stone" review of the album, critic Rob Sheffield wrote: "'God Put a Smile Upon Your Face' is the slinkiest and best thing Coldplay have ever done." [cite web|first=Rob|last=Sheffield|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/coldplay/albums/album/171751/review/5943034/a_rush_of_blood_to_the_head|title=Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head Review|accessdate=2008-08-31|date=2002-08-26|work=Rolling Stone] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters wrote: "Buckland's lead fills highlight the wondrous 'God Put a Smile on Your Face', as the song's chorus reaches heights that rival those of their fellow countrymen Doves." [cite web|first=Adrien|last=Begrand|url=http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/c/coldplay-rush.shtml|title=Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head|accessdate=2008-08-31|date=2002-09-06|publisher=PopMatters] Ted Kessler of "NME" wrote: "Over a pounding garage tattoo Martin poses a deep, mortality-based teaser ("where do we go from here?"), asserts some self-belief ("God gave me style, God gave me grace") and then hits upon the bottom line as the song's mood suddenly improves with another fat and glorious chorus: "Yeah, when you work it out I'm the same as you....your guess is as good as mine". [cite web|first=Ted|last=Kessler|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/coldplay/6656|title=Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head Review|accessdate=2008-08-31|date=2002-08-22|work=NME]

The song is available on "" video game as a downloadable song. The game also includes other Coldplay songs such as "Yellow" and "Violet Hill". [cite web |url=http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/881/881555p1.html |title=Coldplay gets Emotional with Guitar Hero 3 |accessdate=2008-06-13 |last= Brudvig |first= Erik |coauthors= |date= 2008-06-13 |publisher=News Corporation |work=IGN Xbox360] Plan B sampled the track on his 2007 mixtape "Paint it Blacker". The song was also covered by Mark Ronson on his album "Version", [cite web|first=David|last=Sinclair|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article3378597.ece|title=Mark Ronson live reviews|accessdate=2008-09-05|date=2008-02-16|work=The Times] [cite web|first=Jim|last=Cantiello|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1563050/20070621/winehouse_amy.jhtml|title=DJ Mark Ronson Compiles His Versions Of Songs|accessdate=2008-09-05|date=2007-06-21|publisher=MTV] which he performed live with Adele at the 2008 Brit Awards. [cite web|first=Thomas H.|last=Green|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/02/25/btronson125.xml|title= Party time with Mark Ronson|accessdate=2008-09-05|date=2008-02-25|work=The Daily Telegraph]

Track listing

International CD

#"God Put a Smile upon Your Face" – 4:58
#"Murder" – 5:36

Australian CD

#"God Put a Smile upon Your Face" – 4:58
#"Murder" – 5:36
#"Politik" (Live) – 6:44
#"Lips Like Sugar (Live)" - 4:52

References

External links

* [http://www.coldplay.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.wikicoldplay.com Coldplay Wiki]