I recently stumbled on the song “Fix you” by Coldplay.
I think I get the general meaning of the song but there are a few pieces that I don’t really understand.
I’d like some help from native English speakers or any forum users that know English better than me.
Stuck in reverse
Does that refer to the reverse gear of a car?
A metaphor for “can’t move forward”?
ignite your bones
I don’t have a clue!
Another car metaphor?
Fix you
This just sounds wrong
I always used “to fix” for something wrong or something broken. We can actually feel “broken” sometimes, but the idea of “fixing” someone just feels rude to me.
I would expect those words in a Sergeant Hartman speech to his rookies.
Am I wrong?
Genius is a nice platform for understanding lyrics.
Some extra context I found there:
“Fix You” is the fourth track and second single from Coldplay’s third album X&Y. It was written by Chris Martin for his then-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, to comfort her after her father passed away.
Good job. I have a couple nuances that some might find interesting. “Bones” is commonly used to refer to the whole body or person (synecdoche), as in “These old bones tire easily.”
“To fix” someone can also mean the opposite of what one might think. (I thought that was the source of confusion before the context was given.) It can mean to harm someone, usually as retaliation and usually by framing the person for something. For example “I’m going to fix you,” he said with a snarl. I think this derives from the usage where a person in authority might corruptly fix a situation (fixing your charges or fixing a traffic ticket), but the usage has been flipped.
), i.e. make you feel more courageous (again), less sad.