This Isn't Everything You Are
{{Infobox song
| name = This Isn't Everything You Are
| cover = ThisIsn'tEverythingYouAre.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Snow Patrol
| album = Fallen Empires
| B-side = Plastic Jesus
| released = 14 October 2011
| recorded = 2011
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Alternative rock, soft rock
| length = 4:57
| label = Polydor
| writer = Gary Lightbody{{cite web|title=This Isn't Everything You Are | Allmusic|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/this-isnt-everything-you-are-t24661300|work=Allmusic|accessdate=19 March 2012}}
| producer =
| prev_title = Called Out in the Dark
| prev_year = 2011
| next_title = New York
| next_year = 2011
}}
"This Isn't Everything You Are" is a song by Northern Irish–Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol, released as the second single of their sixth album, Fallen Empires (2011) and was released as a digital download on 14 October 2011.
Background and writing
The second single from their sixth album "Fallen Empires" is a lighter-in-the-air anthem that finds them returning to their traditional sound after the electronica elements of their previous single, "Called Out in the Dark."{{cite web|title=This Isn't Everything You Are by Snow Patrol Songfacts|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=24565|publisher=Songfacts|accessdate=19 March 2012}} It was released on 13 November 2011.
Lightbody told Billboard magazine that he wrote the song "to try to protect" the three people experiencing difficulties, adding that he wanted, "to show them that there were people there for them whenever they needed. Sometimes it's hard to reach out, it's hard to ask for help. It's a recurring theme on the record."
The radio and video edit of the song excludes the lines "Is he worth all this, is it a simple yes? / Cause if you have to think, it's fucked / Feels like you loved him more, than he loved you / And you wish you’d never met."
Critical reception
The song received favorable reviews from music critics. Mike Haydock from BBC Music wrote that it is a "great pop song, full of sparkle and warmth."{{cite web|title= BBC - Music - Review of Snow Patrol - Fallen Empires|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/jcm5|work=BBC|first=Mike|last=Haydock|date=18 March 2012}} Simon Gage from Daily Express expressed that "it's anthemic with big guitar breaks".{{cite web|title=Snow Patrol, 'Fallen Empires'; Daily Express|url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/283113/CD-review-Fallen-Empires-Snow-Patrol-Fiction-|work=Daily Express|first=Simon|last=Gage|date=11 November 2011}} While naming it an "arena rocker", Melissa Maerz from Entertainment Weekly also praised "moments like the gospel-choir chorus of the track", calling it "genuinely affecting."{{cite web|title=Fallen Empires review - Snow Patrol Review - Music Reviews and News - EW.com|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20558285,00.html|work=Entertainment Weekly|first=Melissa|last=Maerz|date=10 November 2011|access-date=19 March 2012|archive-date=29 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529100806/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20558285,00.html|url-status=dead}} Andy Gill from The Independent also wrote a positive review, saying that "the uplifting title hook, a cross between Coldplay and Elbow, provides the album's most affecting moment."{{cite web|title=Snow Patrol, 'Fallen Empires'; The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-snow-patrol-fallen-empires-fiction-6260048.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-snow-patrol-fallen-empires-fiction-6260048.html |archive-date=2022-05-07 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Independent|first=Andy|last=Gill|date=19 March 2012}}{{cbignore}} Dave Simpson of The Guardian called it "a doomed love song with a tragic twist."{{cite web|title=Snow Patrol, 'Fallen Empires'; The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/nov/10/snow-patrol-fallen-empires-review?newsfeed=true|work=The Guardian|first=Dave|last=Simpson|date=10 November 2011|accessdate=19 March 2012}}
The song was named the 'Best Track of the Year' by Dan Jenko of FMV Magazine.
Music video
A music video to accompany the release of "This Isn't Everything You Are" was first released onto YouTube on 14 October 2011 at a total length of four minutes and twenty-two seconds. It contains footage filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was directed by Brett Simon and finds Snow Patrol becoming a house band.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Digital download
| title1 = This Isn't Everything You Are
| note1 = album version
| length1 = 4:57
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = UK 2-track Promo CD-single
| title1 = This Isn't Everything You Are
| note1 = radio edit
| length1 = 4:02
| title2 = This Isn't Everything You Are
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 4:57
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = German 2-track Promo CD-single
| title1 = This Isn't Everything You Are
| note1 = radio edit
| length1 = 4:02
| title2 = Plastic Jesus
| length2 = 3:31
}}
Chart performance
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2011)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|Flanders Tip|9|artist=Snow Patrol|song=This Isn't Everything You Are}} |
| {{singlechart|Wallonia Tip|16|artist=Snow Patrol|song=This Isn't Everything You Are}} |
| {{singlechart|Ireland|18|artist=Snow Patrol|song=This Isn't Everything You Are|year=2011|week=46}} |
| {{singlechart|Dutch100|42|artist=Snow Patrol|song=This Isn't Everything You Are}} |
| {{singlechart|UK|40|artist=Snow Patrol|song=This Isn't Everything You Are|date=2011-11-26}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardadultalternativesongs|21|artist=Snow Patrol|accessdate=23 December 2014}} |
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col"| Country ! scope="col"| Release date ! scope="col"| Format ! scope="col"| Label |
| scope="row"| Netherlands[https://itunes.apple.com/nl/album/this-isnt-everything-you-are/id471318419 This Isn't Everything You Are - Single van Snow Patrol]{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} iTunes
|rowspan="2"| 14 October 2011 |rowspan="2"| Digital download |rowspan="2"| Polydor Records |
|---|
| scope="row"| United Kingdom[https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/this-isnt-everything-you-are/id471318419 This Isn't Everything You Are - Single van Snow Patrol]{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} iTunes |