Clocks - Live in Buenos Aires

Like many Coldplay songs, "Clocks" is about love. The lyrics are about being in a conflicted, but very intense relationship as precious time slips away. Furthermore, this song is a comment on the moral crises we face on a daily basis, as reflected in the line: Am I part of the cure? Or am I part of the disease? Speaking about this lyric with MTV, Chris Martin said: "I reckon everybody in the world questions whether they're useful to the world or not." He continued: "Some people think they're doing marvelous things. Hitler thought he was doing great things for the world, and yet we'd all say, 'No, no, no, he was doing terrible things.' Some people would say that Coldplay is a great thing for music and the world. Other people would regard us as the devil incarnate, so of course it's always a conflict."

Lead singer Chris Martin wrote the lyrics and the piano riff for "Clocks" in 15 minutes in a studio in Liverpool, shortly before Coldplay released the album. Since they didn't have much time, they put it aside and planned to work on it for their next album. When the band's manager, Phil Harvey, heard the demo, he convinced them to do whatever was necessary to record it for A Rush Of Blood To The Head, especially since the song deals with the importance of time. Consequently, Coldplay delayed the release of the album by two months to finish "Clocks."

Martin's interest in clocks could be traced back to his great-great-grandfather, William Willett, a builder who successfully campaigned for the establishment of British Summer Time in 1916. Martin told Melody Maker: "He used to ride his horse early in the mornings in summer and no one else would be up. He thought it was a real shame that people were missing these hours of sunlight, so he had the idea of shifting the clock forward so it stayed light longer in the evening."