“Sparks” by Coldplay is one person begging another to remember the good times they had together.

This track was first released in 2000 on the album, Parachutes, which was Coldplay’s first studio release. The song features acoustic instrumentation and many of the recognizable tenets of singer-songwriter Chris Martin’s vocals.

It’s indisputably a love song, but more specifically, the lyrics are about someone who attempts to get another person to remember them again. Through various means, he tries his best to spark their memory and bring back some nostalgia for the moments that they shared.

This song falls in direct contrast to “Shiver,” another Coldplay song in which Martin plays a character who is down on his luck and can’t seem to find the right person. The narrator in “Sparks” takes on a more charismatic and persuasive persona, although it comes with the admission that he’ll probably mess things up again anyway.

Verses

“Did I drive you away? / I know what you’ll say / You say, ‘Oh, sing one you know'”

In these first lyrics, the singer ponders whether he was responsible for the end of the relationship, and he’s quick to say that he knows what the person’s answer will be. He ends the stanza with a metaphor that could also be taken literally. One read of the line could be that his partner has grown sick of this conversation and merely wants to change the subject. In another interpretation, instead of just asking him to talk about something else, she’s requesting that he play a song instead.

“But I promise you this / I’ll always look out for you / Yeah, that’s what I’ll do”

Here, the singer gives his heartfelt assurance that he’ll always be there for his love. He’s saying that he’ll always be there to protect or help this person in any way.

“My heart is yours / It’s you that I hold on to / Yeah, that’s what I do / And I know, I was wrong / But I won’t let you down / Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I will, yes, I will”

The character in the song is fully committed to the person he’s singing to. He is very attached to them and has accepted the fact that he made a mistake. His promise here is that he won’t disappoint his love again.

Bridge

“Yeah, I saw sparks / Yeah, I saw sparks / And I saw sparks / Yeah, I saw sparks / Sing it out”

This refrain on the way out is there to signify how badly he wishes that the person he’s singing to would remember all the good times. The sparks refer to the spark of love, and he desperately hopes that the love spark will be enough to spark the memories.

The narrator of the song sincerely thought that this person was the one for him. The end of their relationship came as a complete shock to him. Unfortunately, the sparks that he felt were only on his side and not hers.

Chorus

“I say, ‘Ohh’ / I said, ‘Ohh’ / I cry, ‘Ohh'”

These simple words help to express his heartfelt desire to get this person to remember him and the feelings they felt for each other.

“Sing it out / La-la-la-la, oh-oh”

These lyrics make up the outro and seem to suggest that the singer in the song still has some hope despite the dire situation. He’s willing to sing out in spite of his pain.

Lyrics

Did I drive you away?
I know what you’ll say
You say, “Oh, sing one we know”

But I promise you this
I’ll always look out for you
Yeah, that’s what I’ll do

I say, “Ohh”

I say, “Ohh”

My heart is yours
It’s you that I hold on to
Yeah, that’s what I do

And I know, I was wrong
But I won’t let you down
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I will, yes, I will

I said, “Ohh”

I cry, “Ohh”

Yeah, I saw sparks
Yeah, I saw sparks
And I saw sparks
Yeah, I saw sparks
Sing it out

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Christopher Anthony John Martin / Guy Rupert Berryman / William Champion / Jonathan Mark Buckland

Sparks lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Mgb Ltd.