Don't Panic

"Don't Panic" is a reflective ballad about the end of the world. It's named after the phrase that appears on the front of the fictional guidebook The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the Douglas Adams science-fiction franchise of the same name. Chris Martin referenced The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy again in 2008 on Viva la Vida's "42."

Coldplay performed this song at their first gig at The Laurel Tree in Camden, London, on January 16, 1998. It had a slightly different melody then, with this version eventually appearing on the band's second EP, The Blue Room.

The Parachutes version of "Don't Panic" was recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales, and Parr Street Studios, Liverpool, with British producer Ken Nelson. Speaking to Sound on Sound magazine, Nelson said it was one of his favorite songs on the album, adding: "This was a live take – acoustic guitar, vocal, drums, and bass. Johnny did two takes of overdubbed guitar and we used a little bit of one, a little bit of the other. And they have this little pump organ, they don't use it live, it's a two-and-a-half octave keyboard where you have to pump with your feet – Chris plays it, and he can sing at the same time. It's on quite a few of the tracks, though it's very subtle."