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Song: I Write Sins Not Tragedies (2005)
Artist: Panic! At The Disco
Album: A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (Decaydance Records/ Fueled By Ramen/ADA)
I Write Sins Not Tragedies appeared on the first album by Panic! at the Disco.
The band is variously described as EMO, electropunk, baroque, or pop-rock. The album was released on September 27, 2005. I Write Sins, written by Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith, was the second single released from the Album. The song is known for its beginning riff, played on a cello by session musician Heather Stebbins.
The song began to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2006, reaching No. 7 on the charts. It was the only top forty hit for the band until recently in 2015, with Hallelujah. On the strength of this big hit, the album was certified double platinum.
Their second album, Pretty Odd, (2008) was quite different and was not as successful as their first. Their third album was entitled Vices & Virtues, released in 2011.
The lyrics of the song I Write Sins were edited for many U.S. stations because of the lyrics The poor groom’s bride is a whore” and “Haven’t you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?” Whore was replaced with a “shhh” sound and the “god” was taken out of “goddamn.” Many rock stations continue to play the original. The video for the song, below, won the MTV Music Video Awards video of the year. The video for their 2008 song, Nine in the Afternoon, also won Best Pop Video.
I Write Sins Not Tragedies Beginning Lyrics
Oh,
Well imagine,
As I’m pacing the pews in a church corridor,
And I can’t help but to hear,
No, I can’t help but to hear an exchanging of words:
“What a beautiful wedding! What a beautiful wedding!” says a bridesmaid to a waiter,
“And, yes, but what a shame, what a shame the poor groom’s bride is a whore.”
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