The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes (2000).

"Yellow" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, giving Coldplay their first top-five hit in the United Kingdom.

"Yellow" was written in Rockfield's Quadrangle studio near Monmouth in Wales, where Coldplay began working on their debut album, Parachutes.

Lead singer Chris Martin was inspired by the sight and the song's main melody, consisting of a chord pattern, popped into his head.

At first, Martin did not take it seriously and sang the tune to the rest of the band in "his worst Neil Young impersonation voice".

When guitarist Jonny Buckland started playing it and supplemented it with his ideas, they had created the riff, "and it sort of got a bit heavier".

Martin also told Stern that through the years depending on the attitude and manner of whoever interviews him, he would make up some story about a song or album titles just to move on to the next question.

Nelson's manager gave him a copy of an EP and single by Coldplay, and showed interest in working with them after seeing the band perform live.

The references in some of the lyrics, including swimming and drawing a line, "are all metaphorical slants on the extent of his emotional devotion".

[15] A month after the album was released in the United States via record label Nettwerk, "Yellow" was used as the theme song for ABC autumn television promotions.

[17][20] The song was also used as the theme music for The Cancer Council Australia's "Daffodil Day",[21] in recognition of that organisation's official flower's yellow hue.

Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone has noted "Yellow" is "unrepentantly romantic", adding that "the band creates a hypnotic slo-mo otherworld where spirit rules supreme".

Although the band supposed "Yellow" would decline inside the Top 20, they would have considered its performance a triumph since the album's lead single, "Shiver", had only reached the 35th position.

"Yellow"'s second-week sales were stronger than the first week, and the song eventually reached number four, giving the band their first Top 10 single in the United Kingdom.

[35] The music video for "Yellow" was filmed at Studland Bay in the county of Dorset, South West England on 23 May 2000.

However, drummer Will Champion's mother's funeral was being held on the day of filming, so it was decided that only Martin would appear in the video, which was also the immediate explanation of his mood during this part.

At the shoot, Chris Martin had to sing the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would be in sync, a common yet difficult practice of music videos.

[citation needed] In 2022, Canadian duo Tegan and Sara paid homage to the music video for their new single, also called "Yellow".

An early version of the song with different lyric arrangement and instrumentals was performed during the band's NME Tour in January 2000.

[40] They performed Parachutes' lead single, "Shiver", and the new song, "Yellow"; but it was the latter that had an immediate studio audience impact.

Another live version featuring only piano and vocals performed and broadcast in Los Angeles on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic was included on the Japanese "Clocks" EP.

More recently an acoustic piano version the song was recorded in the studio for Starbucks charity compilation album Every Mother Counts 2012.

[45] Warne was a personal friend of Martin, and he had previously accompanied Coldplay for a live performance of "Don't Panic" on the harmonica during a Melbourne concert in 2016.

[51] The song is regarded as a career-making record by Rolling Stone magazine and has since been considered the centrepiece of the Parachutes album.

[5][29] Martin Roach claimed in his book Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy that although "Shiver" earned the band their first UK Top 40 single, it was "Yellow" that changed "everything"; he also mentioned how the track "exemplifies much of what made [them] popular".

[4] In a 20th-anniversary article, The Independent credited the song for altering the course of 21st-century rock, given how it was responsible for beginning Coldplay's trajectory as one of the biggest bands in the world.

[26] Similarly, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included "Yellow" on their "Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" list for being one of the most successful and important recordings in music,[52] while Barry Walters from Spin magazine noted that Coldplay is still known in the United States for their "surprise smash".