"In My Place" is a song by Britishrock bandColdplay. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members and released on their second album,A Rush of Blood to the Head. The track is built around thumping drums and chiming guitars. It was released on 5 August 2002 as thelead single fromA Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number two on theUK Singles Chart. The song also reached number 17 onBillboard'sModern Rock Tracks.
In an interview withQ magazine, lead singerChris Martin stated that "In My Place" was a song Coldplay had left after recording their debut albumParachutes (2000).[1][2] When the band finished recording their second albumA Rush of Blood to the Head, Martin said that the album was complete.[1] However, after guitaristJonny Buckland played the song on his guitar, Martin said that they now needed to record it and include it on the album.[1] Martin also said that: "That's about where you're put in the world, and how you're given your position, and the way you look, and how you have to get on with it."[3] In an interview, Buckland revealed that the song was hard to record, as the band had played the song live.[4] He also commented that when they started recording the song, they did not know how it should sound, due to the band members' contrasting ideas.[4]
The song opens with a single crash cymbal followed by twobars of 4/4 drumming, then a plaintive three-note guitar line rings through a strummy rhythm, and Martin's vocals.[5][6] Its instrumentation is varied with the sound of thumping drums, chiming guitars, a singalong chorus, and astring arrangement.[5][6][7] The song also features guitarlicks.[8][9] The lyrics emphasise: "But I wait for you/if you go, if you go/leave me down here on my own/then I'll wait for you."[10] The song's lyrics also include references to a desire for weary optimism.[11]
The song is written in the key ofA major.[12] It has been noted that the song's drum intro bears a close resemblance to the beginning of theRide song "Dreams Burn Down".[13][14]
Coldplay released "In My Place" on 5 August 2002 as the albumA Rush of Blood to the Head'slead single.[15][16] It was pressed with twoB-sides: "One I Love" and "I Bloom Blaum".[17][18] The cover artwork features Buckland, with art directed bySølve Sundsbø.[19]
The music video for "In My Place" was directed bySophie Muller. It debuted on 17 June 2002 onAOL.[5][20] It features the band playing in a huge, nearly empty, white studio room, with a bluish light resembling sunlight coming from an off-screen source. The video starts off with a closeup ofWill Champion playing the drums as the song begins; while the rest of the band plays, Chris Martin, who is sitting in a corner, gets up and joins them in the song. Throughout the video, Martin sings directly to the camera, interspersed with shots of the other members of the band playing their instruments. During the guitar solo, Martin runs up to two women who are seen sitting on a step in the background, talks to them for a while, and then runs back to sing the rest of the song. The two women in the background were members of the video crew: a makeup artist/wardrobe assistant and the video commissioner.[5]
The video was subjected to a spoof byBad Lip Reading on theirYouTube page. It was dubbed with the song "Yeti" that was composed and recorded, like BLR's other videos, to humorously reinterpret the lip movement and action in the video. "Yeti" has received over three million views on YouTube as of April 2017.[21]
"In My Place" peaked at number two onUK Singles Chart on 17 August 2002,[22] kept off the top by "Colourblind" byDarius Danesh.[23] It spent one week on the top 10[24] and stayed in the chart until 23 November 2002.[25] The song re-entered the UK top 40 in July 2011.[24] The song reached number seventeen onBillboard'sHot Modern Rock Tracks in 2002.[26] The band were yet to have a number one single.[27] In 2005, "Speed of Sound", the lead single of the band's third album,X&Y, also reached number two, but never the number one position.[27] "Speed of Sound" was marked as Coldplay's most successful single until "Viva la Vida", reached number one in 2008.[28]
Critics were positive towards the song. In theEntertainment Weekly review of the album, critic David Browne wrote: "Songs like 'In My Place' and 'Warning Sign' marry lyrics imbued with deep regret and mistakes ('You were an island / And I passed you by' in the touching latter song) with lyrical melodies and guitar hooks that twinkle and sparkle".[29] Adrien Begrand ofPopMatters wrote: "When the shimmering, pretty lead-off single 'In My Place' represents the album's weakest moment, you know you've got something extraordinary. [...] 'In My Place' is another surprisingly simple song, carried by Jonny Buckland's chiming guitar and Chris Martin’s heartfelt vocals. It really shouldn't amount to much, but Coldplay make it work very well".[30]
Amy M. Bruce ofThe Towerlight wrote that "With a slew of introspectiverock songs like 'In My Place' and 'God Put a Smile upon Your Face,' this album is worthy of the hype surrounding the band's first album".[31] Jules Willis of theBBC said that "It's a fantasticpop tune that justifies Coldplay's status as one of UK's most exciting bands".[32]The A.V. Club andNME listed the track at number 14 and number 43, respectively, on their "Best Songs of 2002" editorials.[33] The annualPazz & Jop Critics Poll ranked "In My Place" at number 15.[34] In 2010, the song was among the works selected forThe Xfm Top 1000 Songs of All Time book.[35]
In 2003, "In My Place" was featured on Coldplay'slive album,Live 2003.[39] In 2012, "In My Place" was featured on Coldplay'slive albumLive 2012. The song appeared in the 2006season 4 episode "Saving Sammy" onCBS' television seriesCold Case.[40] The song was used as a closing montage song about a case from 2003.[40] The track appeared again on the 2002 episode "Girls Own Juice" of the television seriesFastlane.[41] The song is also featured in as playable in the 2009 video gameGuitar Hero 5.[42]
All versions of the official single included theB-side, "One I Love".[4] This track was performed on the subsequentA Rush of Blood to the Head Tour and is featured onLive 2003.[43]
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