Spies

With its dramatic arrangement and themes of espionage, "Spies" was broadly inspired by Coldplay's love for James Bond. Upon closer inspection, the song can be interpreted as a comment on fear and anxiety, with Chris Martin comparing his worries to inescapable undercover agents: And the spies came out of the water But you're feeling so bad 'cause you know That the spies hide out in every corner

This song was banned in China due to "inflammatory political content," even though the lyrics don't reference any particular country. During a concert at Brixton Academy in London in 2001, Martin commented on the banning: "Everybody thinks we're the most kind of innocent plasticine band ever, but that song has been banned in China, which we thought was cool. If you play it backward, it says 'free Tibet.'"

"Spies" took three days to record. During an interview with Sound on Sound, the song's producer, Ken Nelson, recalled: "We had Chris in one room, it was like a little cubby hole, and he was in there for about three days while we were trying to get a decent take of this. And we had Will, the drummer, in another room, and Guy, the bass player, was playing in the control room. So they were quite separate, but that was the way we decided to do it, and it just took a long time to get a really good take of it. You get to a point where each take they do will be quite good, and you know you're close to it, and you've just got to keep going. It's quite frustrating."