I Write Sins Not Tragedies
"I Write Sins Not Tragedies" is a song by American rock band Panic! at the Disco. It is the second single from their debut studio album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2006), and was released in the United States as a digital download on November 16, 2006. The song is built upon a pizzicato cello motif that was played by session musician Heather Stebbins. It reached a peak of No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the band's only top-40 hit until the release of "Hallelujah" in 2015, and only top-10 hit until "High Hopes" in 2018. While the song failed to reach the top 10 of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at No. 12, the song's success on the Hot 100 and Mainstream Top 40 (at No. 2) made the song one of the biggest modern rock hits of 2006, and it is still one of the band's most-played songs on alternative radio stations.[8]
"I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
In the United Kingdom, the song was released on February 27, 2006, as a limited-edition single with a free sticker. Because the sticker was included with the CD single, the song was not eligible for the UK Singles Chart; Official Charts Company rules state that stickers are not allowed in single releases. Later, due to the popularity of the track and following further single releases of "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" and "But It's Better If You Do" reaching the top 40, the single was re-released on October 30, 2006. Despite receiving significant radio airplay upon its re-release, the single reached only No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart.
Many US 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 a goddamn door?" were changed by replacing "whore" with a "shhh" sound and removing "god" in "goddamn". Some stations – generally modern rock stations – still play the original version. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" was ranked No. 3 in Billboard's Best 2000s Video poll,[9] and Variety ranked it as one of the best emo songs of all time in 2022.[10] The song was covered by Fall Out Boy, fellow Decaydance band, for their live album, Live in Phoenix. Fall Out Boy commonly uses the song's chorus as a lead-in to "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" in concert.[11]
Title[edit]
The title of the song, while not mentioned in the lyrics, 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."[12]
UK 7-inch poster bag (February 2006)
UK CD single (February 2006)
WMI CD single (May 2006)
UK CD single (October 2006)
UK 7-inch gatefold sleeve (October 2006)
UK 7-inch picture disc (October 2006)
Enhanced CD single (October 2006)