In an interview with Q magazine, lead singer Chris Martin stated that "In My Place" was a song Coldplay had left after recording their debut album Parachutes (2000).

[1] However, after guitarist Jonny Buckland played the song on his guitar, Martin said that they now needed to record it and include it on the album.

[4] The song opens with a single crash cymbal followed by two bars 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 a string arrangement.

In the Entertainment 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".

[15] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters wrote: "When the shimmering, pretty lead-off single 'In My Place' represents the album's weakest moment, you know you've got something extraordinary.

Currently storming the charts a la 'Yellow', 'In My Place' is another surprisingly simple song, carried by Jonny Buckland's chiming guitar and Chris Martin’s heartfelt vocals.

[17] Jules Willis of the BBC said that "The second track, the first written post-Parachutes and sounding like a refugee from that album, is the grower 'In My Place'.

[25] "In My Place" peaked at number two on UK Singles Chart on 17 August 2002,[26] kept off the top by "Colourblind" by Darius Danesh.

[31] "Speed of Sound" was marked as Coldplay's most successful single until "Viva la Vida", reached number one in 2008.

[5][33] 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.

Throughout the video, Martin sings directly to the camera, interspersed with shots of the other members of the band playing their instruments.