Coldplay aren't exactly known for their country music hits — nor was anyone clamoring for them to dabble in that particular genre — but on Monday night they performed an original twangy tune with its heart in exactly the right place: Houston. Onstage in Miami, singer Chris Martin said that was the one and only time they'd play this song, called "Houston #1," dedicated to the people still bearing the brunt of Tropical Storm Harvey's relentless rains.
"This is because we all grew up loving country music, and of course that's kind of what we think of when we go to Texas," the Coldplay frontman told the crowd, with an American flag hanging out of his back pocket. "So, if you'll bear with us, this is a new song and we'll never play this again. It's a once off and it's called 'Houston.' We're gonna sing it in Miami for everybody here, and we're gonna send it over there to everyone who missed the show."
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Coldplay were in Houston on Friday and were scheduled to play that night when the dire forecast for the storm forced them to cancel and leave. Martin explained that they used some of that extra time off to pen the song.
"I am dreaming of when I get back to Houston," thesong begins. "I am dreaming of that fair and special place/ I'm dreaming of when Houston has no problem in that city where they send you into space./ I'm dreaming of when I get back to Texas — Corpus Christie, Harris County, Galveston."
Thankfully, the British Martin does not try to sing in a country accent, though the lyrics are rather hoaky, particularly when he says, "Oh, Houston, you've got to keep on keeping on." Well, they can't all be "Fix You."
While Martin promised they'd never again play "Houston#1," we expect this isn't the last we'll hear of the band's nod to the hurricane's victims. Martin's pal Beyoncé did just pledge to do all she can to help her hometown, so that may eventually mean recruiting friends to the cause too.