"The Scientist" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. It is built around a piano ballad, with lyrics telling the story about a man's desire to love and an apology. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the second single from A Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number 10 in the UK Charts. It was released in the United States on 15 April 2003 as the third single and reached number 18 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 34 on the Adult Top 40 chart. Critics were highly positive towards "The Scientist" and praised the song's piano riff and Chris Martin's falsetto. Several remixes of the track exist, and its riff has been widely sampled. The single's music video won three MTV Video Music Awards, for the video's use of reverse narrative. The song was also featured on the band's 2003 live album Live 2003 and has been a permanent fixture in the band's live set lists since 2002. Background Lead singer Chris Martin wrote "The Scientist" after listening to George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Martin revealed that while working on the band's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, he knew that the album was missing something. One night, during a stay in Liverpool, Martin found an old piano that was out of tune. He wanted to work on Harrison's song, "Isn't It a Pity", but he could not manage to do so. When the song came to Martin, he asked that the recorder be turned on. He concluded by saying that he came across this chord sequence and noted that the chord was "lovely". Martin recorded the vocals and piano takes in a studio in Liverpool. When asked about the development of the song, during a track-by-track reveal, Martin said: "That's just about girls. It's weird that whatever else is on your mind, whether it's the downfall of global economics or terrible environmental troubles, the thing that always gets you most is when you fancy someone." The liner notes from A Rush of Blood to the Head, on the other hand, states that "The Scientist is Dan", a reference to Dan Keeling, the A&R