I Write Sins Not Tragedies

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"I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Single by Panic! at the Disco
from the album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
Released	February 27, 2006 (UK) April 27, 2006 (U.S.) October 30, 2006 (UK re-release)
Format	CD, 7"
Genre	Pop/Rock
Length	3:06
Label	Fueled by Ramen, Decaydance Records
Writer(s)	Ryan Ross
Producer(s)	Matt Squire
Chart positions
#1 (Peru) #5 (New Zealand) #7 (USA Hot 100) #4 (Pop 100) #12 (Modern Rock Tracks) #12 (Australia) #25 (UK) #29 (Netherlands)
Panic! at the Disco singles chronology
"The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" (2006)	"I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (2006)	"But It's Better If You Do" (2006)
Alternate cover
Singles Marked # Have This Cover

"I Write Sins Not Tragedies" is the first single by the alternative rock band Panic! at the Disco, from the album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005). It was released on April 27, 2006 on both compact disc and 7 inch vinyl. The song was written by Ryan Ross. Brendon Urie had once said that he thought the song was being overplayed and "There were more songs on the record than just this one."

The song tells the story of a groom. He's pacing the church corridors because he is nervous about the coming wedding. As he's pacing, he overhears a conversation in another room. This is where the bridesmaid and the waiter come in. The bridesmaid is being the typical girl who swoons over weddings, saying how beautiful it all is. The waiter, being the equivalent to a high school gossiper, bursts her bubble with a juicy bit of information "The groom's bride is a whore". The groom storms into the room, catching the bridesmaid and waiter off guard. He's extremely emotional and upset over what he just heard, and he says "Haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door", wishing he had never heard them because to him, ignorance is bliss. Then he rethinks it and comes to the conclusion that it would be better to sit down and figure this thing out with some rationality. He tries to look at the bright side of things, thinking "Well technically our marriage is saved", meaning they won't have to worry about all of the possibilites of divorce and such.

In the UK, the song was released on 27 February 2006 as a limited edition single with a free sticker. Due to the fact the sticker was included with the CD single, it was chart ineligible. Stickers, according to UK chart rules, are not allowed to be contained in single releases, which is why it could not enter the UK singles chart on its first release. Later, in September 2006, due to the popularity of the track and following further single releases there of "But It's Better If You Do" and "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off", going top 40 there, the single was re-released on 30 October 2006.

Contents 1 Music Video 2 Title 3 Trivia 4 Track listing 5 Charts 6 References

[edit] Music Video

This is Panic! at the Disco's first single to be made into a music video. The video for the song takes place at a strange, circus-themed wedding. The video starts as the bride and groom (played by Daniel Isaac) are about to be married. After an argument over the groom's active circus family, the woman runs out, and is followed by one of her guests. The ringmaster of the circus performers, played by Panic! at the Disco's singer Brendon Urie, leads the man outside, where his fiancée and the guest who pursued her out of the church are kissing. Urie and the groom bow to the camera, and the groom becomes the new leader of the circus people. Thus, Urie can be seen as, in fact, the groom's conscience the entire time.

The music video won "Video of the Year" during the 2006 Video Music Awards. This marked the first occasion since the 1989 VMAs that the winner of Video of the Year did not win anything else (with Neil Young's "This Note's For You" winning the award).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Title

The title of the song refers to Douglas Coupland's novel, Shampoo Planet, wherein the main character, Tyler Johnson, says: "I am writing a list of tragic character flaws on my dollar bills with a felt pen. I am thinking of the people in my universe and distilling for each of these people the one flaw in their character that will be their downfall--the flaw that will be their undoing. ...What I write are not sins; I write tragedies."

[edit] Trivia

• Many U.S. radio stations, in response to the language found in the song, wanted an edited version. The lyrics "The poor groom's bride is a whore" and "Haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?" were changed by replacing "whore" with a "shhh" sound and removing the "god" in "goddamn". Some stations - generally Modern Rock stations - still play the original version.
• According to vocalist Brendon Urie, he and guitarist Ryan Ross suffered from the flu while filming the video clip. Panic! at the Disco - Interview 2006. Retrieved on 2006-17-12.

[edit] Track listing

UK 7" Poster Bag - February 2006

• A. I Write Sins Not Tragedies

UK CD/Digital - February 2006

1. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
2. Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks (Demo Version)

WMI CD/Digital - May 2006

1. I Write Sins Not Tragedies - 3:10
2. Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks (Demo Version) - 3:57
3. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage (Tommie Sunshine Brooklyn Fire Remix) - 5:04

UK CD/Digital - October 2006 #

1. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
2. Karma Police (Live in Denver)

UK 7" - October 2006 #

• A. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
• B. But It's Better If You Do (Live from Glasgow)

UK 7" Picture Disc - October 2006 #

• A. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
• B. I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Live in Denver)

Enhanced CD - October 2006

1. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
2. Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks (Demo Version)
3. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage (Tommie Sunshine Brooklyn Fire Remix)
4. I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Video)

[edit] Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position[1]
Australia Singles Chart	12
Australia Download Chart	8
Canadian Hit Charts (Airplay)	60
Dutch Top 40	29
Peru Top 12	1
RIANZ New Zealand Top 40	5
UK Singles Chart	25
UK Official Download Chart	44
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	7
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock	12
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	4
U.S. Billboard Hot Ringtones	5
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	25
World Singles Top 40	22

[edit] References

1. ^ References for chart positions:
   • Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies: Charts. Music Square. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.
   • Panic! at the Disco: Artist Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.

Panic! at the Disco
Brendon Urie | Ryan Ross | Jon Walker | Spencer Smith
Brent Wilson
Discography
Albums/EPs: A Fever You Can't Sweat Out | Live Session EP
Singles: "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" | "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" | "But It's Better If You Do" | "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" | "Build God, Then We'll Talk"