Throughout our lives, we experience at least one bitter relationship that leaves us filled with guilt and anger. Chris Martin, lead singer of the British alternative rock band Coldplay, explains this intangible terror, in a song called "Trouble". The song was released in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2000. Not long after, the song became a hit, and would go onto win countless awards and gain worldwide popularity. Martin uses personification and symbolism to illustrate different ways of feeling after a bitter relationship. Afterwards, he uses the literary device refrain to describe the theme in an apologetic tone. Finally uses repetition to exemplify his conflict with his conscience which leaves the listener wondering the "what if" of their past.
This is a six-stanza free verse love song, which explains feelings of remorse after a relationship has come to an end. The first three stanzas consist of a Quatrain, which go in-depth of self-realization of the mistakes he made in the past. The fourth stanza has five lines, which illustrate how lonesome he feels. The third and fifth stanza is refrain, since it is a chorus. The chorus creates an apologetic tone, which can also be picked up throughout the rest of the song. The last three lines also have repetition to demonstrate on how his guilt manifests into a superego.
Martin uses personification and symbolism in the second line of the first stanza, which states, "A spider web, it's tangled up with me" to explain how there is an internal fight he must overcome. The term "spider web" repeats a few more times in the song that captures the audience to relate to their selves.
The empathy is evident in his voice while he sings in an apologetic tone. Most people can say sorry but not mean it. "And I never meant to cause you trouble...never meant to do you harm", is an example how he sings it in the chorus that carries that sweet sincereness. This is where we see refrain come into his lyrical play. The quatrain can be established in the third and fifth stanza.
Martin does not use end rhymes in this song often, but one in particular is distinctive. Consisting of five lines, the fourth stanza contains two literary devices. With lines two and four, he rhymes ‘middle’ with ‘bubble’. This stanza alone can be accepted the loneliness after realizing the mistakes he made. Along with this stanza, alliteration can be found in "So I twist and turn" in line three. A reiteration of this would be a sense of uneasiness or discomfort.
The underlying message of the song comes from Chris' perception of the intense situation. However, he almost set himself to "run away” from the situation. The third line of the second stanza implies the numerous times when he was frustrated, and it was "his way" of dealing with any struggle in his previous relationship.
In my opinion, the most powerful part of the song is the conclusion. Martin uses repetition in the last stanza (“They spun a web for me”). This line is repeated three times to acknowledge his conflicted conscience is still present. This effect presumes a lasting fight that many individuals face after breaking up with their significant other.
There can be many interpretations of this song due to Martins' intricate lyrics. We fear the relationships that take an emotional toll on us. That most people has had a "spider web" which can hold them back from getting over a ex-girlfriend/ex-boyfriend. At the end of the day, we have to consider that there are always going to be "troubles"; we just have to overcome them with time.
When I heard this song, it brought out a defensive and heavy-hearted side of me I did not want to revisit. I knew exactly how difficult it was for me to get over someone, but it changed me into the person I am today. Initially "I never meant to do you wrong," but not everything always goes as planned. This song taught me to learn from my past, and that I can always use it as a reference when there are "hard times" in the near future.