According to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, this acoustic ballad is about "the joy someone leaves you with after they've gone." Martin explained the story behind the song during a Beats 1 interview: "I was in the ocean one day with this surfer guy, who spoke just like you'd imagine a surfer guy to speak... He was like, 'Yo dude, I was doing this thing the other day man, it gave me this total everglow!' I was like, 'What an amazing word!' Then the song came completely out. To me, it's about – whether it's a loved one or a situation or a friend or a relationship that's finished, or someone's passed away – I was thinking about, after you've been through the sadness of something, you also get this everglow. That's what it's about."
Gwyneth Paltrow provided additional vocals despite separating from Chris Martin in March 2014. It is possibly the only break up song in history to have the ex–other-half on backing vocals. "We just did it in the studio one day," Martin told Rolling Stone "It was just a friendly kind of thing."
Martin asked Paltrow to contribute to the song after coming up with the lyric, "How come things move on. How come cars don't slow." The Coldplay frontman credits Paltrow with giving him the idea for the song after she said to him, "Isn't it strange that when someone dies the world keeps on moving?" Martin told Q magazine, "She came up with the idea so I said, 'Is there any chance you'd sing that line cos it's your idea' Like any human, she was like, 'I can't do that! I'm not a professional!'"
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