Last month it was a fun Beatles romp. For November, it’s a love song wrapped in an existential crisis. Or vice versa. Either way, Clocks, released by Coldplay in late 2002, was a hit. The song appeared on numerous charts, peaking at 29 on the Billboard  Hot 100 and reaching number one on the Billboard  Adult Alternative chart. The song also came out a year before lead vocalist Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow were married. An omen?

Clocks is famous for its piano riff that plays throughout. It’s more difficult to master on the ukulele but is instantly recognizable. Last summer, Trevor had me working on a few famous rock riffs to break up the monotony of practice. The riff for Clocks was one those. Later I got the sheet music for the full song written in a different key. The riff follows the chord progression of: C major, G minor, D minor with a variation to C major, G minor, F major.

Clocks is a repetitive but challenging song to learn on the uke. I use a lot of real estate on the fretboard, and the bridge is particularly demanding. In an attempt to vary the music a bit, I add my own touch in places. This song has a resigned tenacity to it, as reflected in the lyrics:

Lights go out and I can’t be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
Brought me down upon my knees
Oh, I beg, I beg and plead
Singin’, come out of things unsaid
Shoot an apple off my head
And a trouble that can’t be named
A tiger’s waiting to be tamed
Singin’

You…are
You…are

Confusion never stops
Closing walls and ticking clocks
Gonna come back and take you home
I could not stop that you now know
Singin’, come out upon my seas
Curse missed opportunities
Am I a part of the cure
Or am I part of the disease
Singin’

You…are
You…are
You…are
You…are

And nothing else compares
Oh, nothing else compares
And nothing else compares

Home, home, where I wanted to go
Home, home, where I wanted to go
Home, home, where I wanted to go
Home, home, where I wanted to go

I put together two different videos for the song. The first has a few elements (clocks everywhere!) to mirror the urgency the song imparts:

The second is simply a straight performance:

For the next month I’m taking a break from what I usually do to revive “Uketide” Tunes. Lots of Christmas songs to perform, and my daughter will be joining for a few, which is always entertaining! Otherwise, more “regular” music coming next year. At some point I hope to tackle a Carpenters song…