Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off

"Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"
Single by Panic! at the Disco
from the album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
Released August 7, 2006
Format CD, Enhanced CD, 7" vinyl
Recorded 2005
SOMD! Studios
College Park, Maryland

Dang! Studios
Lewisville, Texas
Genre Alternative rock, dance-punk
Length 3:20
2:57 (Radio Edit)
Label Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen
Writer(s) Ryan Ross
Producer Matt Squire
Panic! at the Disco singles chronology
"But It's Better If You Do"
(2006)
"Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"
(2006)
"Build God, Then We'll Talk"
(2007)

"Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" is a single by the alternative rock band Panic! at the Disco, from the album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Released on August 7, 2006, it is the third commercially released single from that album and fourth overall ("The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" was only released promotionally). The song is sometimes referred to by the shortened title "Lying Is the Most Fun" for radio.

The song's title was taken from a line of dialog in the 2004 film Closer (based on a 1997 play of the same name). The line, spoken by Natalie Portman's character, Alice, is "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, but it's better if you do." "But It's Better If You Do", another song by Panic at the Disco, was released as a single prior to "Lying is the Most Fun".

In the United States, the song peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart,[1] number 96 on the Pop 100,[2] and number 4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[3]

The song also reached number 39 on the UK Singles Chart,[4], in the process becoming the longest un-bracketed title of a song to enter the UK Top 40 and number 26 on the ARIA Charts,[5]. The song also number 33 in New Zealand.[6]

This song was included in the video game Saints Row 2.

Contents

Music video

The music video was directed by Travis Kopach and filmed on June 19, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. The video was premiered on MTV2 on July 14, 2006. It features people with fish tanks on their heads. The video only shows the band in one scene (the paramedics are the band members), because the band felt that their looks were distracting from their music.

According to one interpretation, the husband feels unloved by his wife whom he knows has been unfaithful. At one point the woman picks up a fish and puts it in her fish tank, representing her sleeping with another man. This makes her husband lose it and kill himself.

Those who believe in the above interpretation say that the number of fish in a person's tank represents the number of people a person has slept with. This leads people to believe that the woman in the video has been promiscuous outside her marriage while her husband only has one fish in his tank. However, upon closer inspection, it can be seen that he has numerous fish in his tank as well, although only the one is brightly orange in color and easy to see.

The band includes a fifteen-second intro instead of starting the vocals right at the beginning.

The band has reported on Steven's Untitled Rock Show that they chose this plot for the video because they felt it was very different from the other treatments they were being offered from other directors.

Track listings

UK CD/Digital (August 2006)

  1. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"
  2. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (live from Astoria)

UK enhanced CD (August 2006)

  1. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"
  2. "Build God, Then We'll Talk" (Live from Astoria)
  3. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" (video)
  4. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" (live video from Astoria)

UK 7" picture disc (August 2006)

  1. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"
  2. "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" (live from Astoria)

WMI CD/Digital (January 2007)

  1. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" (radio edit)
  2. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" (album version)
  3. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (live from Astoria)
  4. "Build God, Then We'll Talk" (live from Astoria)

References