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"But It's Better If You Do" is a song by American rock band Panic! at the Disco. It is the ninth track on their debut studio album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, and was released on May 1, 2006, through DCD2 and Fueled by Ramen.

Background[]

The title of the song is a direct quote from the 2004 film "Closer".[2] The line, delivered by Natalie Portman's character, Alice, reads: "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off... but it's better if you do".

In an interview with MTV, songwriter Ryan Ross elaborated on the song's meaning:

"It’s a song about being in a strip club but not actually liking being in there. So I wanted it to be about the sort of complex inner-monologue. It’s not completely fiction, though. It’s based on a scenario when I was going through a breakup with a girl, and I was in one of these clubs but wishing I didn’t have to be. Because in reality, I don’t like strip clubs. I think they’re kind of ecch. When I wrote it, I never thought about it being played in strip clubs. But I guess it would be kind of a change from what they usually play in there. It would be a surreal experience, for sure. I think the tempo is too fast, though. So maybe someone would have to do a chopped-and-screwed version or something."[3]

On January 15, 2016, Urie wrote annotations for several of Panic! at the Disco's songs on a lyric site called Genius. Urie wrote the following for "But It's Better If You Do":

  • 'Now I'm of consenting age / To be forgetting you in a cabaret / Downtown somewhere were a burlesque queen / May even ask my name / As she sheds her skin on stage / I'm seated and sweating to a dance song on the club's PA / The strip joint veteran sits two away / Smirking between dignified sips of his dignified / Peach and lime daiquiri':

"I had never been to a burlesque show. We were so infatuated with Victorian imagery, early 1900s stuff, and like a burlesque show seemed so cool—all the Vaudeville shit. I don’t even think any of us had been to a strip club when we wrote this song.

The first time I went to a strip club, I walked in and saw this one girl, Kelsey, who I went to elementary school with. Instant blast from the past, all these memories flooded back to me. I was like, ‘Kelsey?’ She was like, ‘Brendon? Holy shit. I am going to dance to one of your songs.’ And she danced to “But It’s Better If You Do.” It was awesome."[4]

Music video[]

Video Credits
Title Panic! at the Disco: But It's Better If You Do [Official Video]
Premiere Jun 29 2006 (Total Request Live)
Jul 18 2006 (YouTube)
Length 3:36
Director Shane Drake


Official versions[]

Version Released on Date Length
[5] Album/Single A Fever You Can't Sweat Out • "But It's Better If You Do" Sept 27 2005 3:26
Acoustic/Live
[6] Live 1 Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) Jun 13 2006 2:51
[7] Live from Glasgow "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" UK 7-inch gatefold sleeve Oct 2006 -
[8] Live 2 Live in Denver Nov 14 2006 ~4:43
[9] Live 3 ...Live in Chicago Dec 02 2008 3:49
[10] Live 4 iTunes Live Sept 27 2011 3:27
[11] Live 5 (Partially performed) All My Friends, We're Glorious: Death of a Bachelor Tour Live Dec 14 2018 4:30

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
Now I'm of consenting age
To be forgetting you in a cabaret
Somewhere downtown where a burlesque queen
May even ask my name
As she sheds her skin on stage
I'm seated and sweating to a dance song on the club's PA
The strip joint veteran sits two away
Smirking between dignified sips of his dignified
Peach and lime daiquiri

[Chorus]
And isn't this exactly where you'd like me?
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance
And paying in naivety?
Oh, isn't this exactly where you'd like me?
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance
And paying in naivety?

[Verse 2]
Oh, but I'm afraid that I
Well, I may have faked it
And I wouldn't be caught dead
D-dead, d-dead, d-dead in this place
Well, I'm afraid that I
Well, that's right, well, I may have faked it
And I wouldn't be caught dead in this place

[Chorus]
And isn't this exactly where you'd like me?
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance
And paying in naivety?
Oh, isn't this exactly where you'd like me?
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance
And paying in naivety?

[Bridge]
Well, I'm afraid that I
Well, I may have faked it
And I wouldn't be caught dead
D-dead, d-dead, d-dead in this place
Well, I'm afraid that I
Well, that's right, well, I may have faked it
And I wouldn't be caught dead in this place

[Chorus]
And isn't this exactly where you'd like me?
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance
And paying in naivety?
Oh, isn't this exactly where you'd like me?
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance
And paying in naivety?
Praying for love and paying in naivety
Praying for love and paying in naivety, oh


Track listings[]

UK CD and digital[12] (May 2006)
1. "But It's Better If You Do" - 3:03
2. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (91X Acoustic Session) - 3:09
UK 7-inch poster bag[13] (May 2006)
1. "But It's Better If You Do" (Album Version) - 3:26
2. "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" (Tommie Sunshine Brooklyn Fire Remix) - 3:09
UK 7-inch colored vinyl[14] (May 2006)
1. "But It's Better If You Do" (Album Version) - 3:26
2. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (iTunes Session)
WMI CD[15] (October 2006)
1. "But It's Better If You Do"
2. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (91X Acoustic Session) - 3:09
WMI CD and digital[citation needed] (September 2006)
1. "But It's Better If You Do" (Album Version) - 3:26
2. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (91X Acoustic Session) - 3:07
3. "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" (Live in Denver) - 4:10

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (2006) Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[citation needed] 89
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[citation needed] 23
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[citation needed] 1
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[citation needed] 4
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[18] 74
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[citation needed] 81

Certifications[]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000
*Sales figures based on certification alone

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone
xShipments figures based on certification alone


Official audio[]

Credits[]

Lead Vocalist Brendon Urie
Background Vocalist Ryan Ross
Engineered by Sean Cornell
Mastered by UE Nastasi
Produced by Matt Squire
Additional Production by Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, Brendon Urie and Brent Wilson
Written by Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith and Brendon Urie
Accordion Ryan Ross and Brendon Urie
Bass Guitar Brent Wilson
Double Bass Heather Stebbins
Drums and Percussion Spencer Smith
Trumpet William Brousserd
Published by
  • ℗ 2005 Fueled by Ramen LLC [United States]
  • WEA International Inc. [International]

References[]

  1. https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/321712956
  2. https://www.reddit.com/r/panicatthedisco/comments/9okq46/references_in_patd_songs_part_1_a_fever_you_cant/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
  3. https://www.mtv.com/news/976z4s/panic-at-the-disco-may-have-written-next-stripper-anthem
  4. https://genius.com/8385759
  5. https://open.spotify.com/track/2ZqTtndqAZDRAWw2vgZwQK?si=4270ae0f6ee54cec
  6. https://music.apple.com/us/album/but-its-better-if-you-do/157812882?i=157812956
  7. https://www.discogs.com/release/1505584-Panic-At-The-Disco-I-Write-Sins-Not-Tragedies
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f87-X2DCbE8
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WADcG0a06bE
  10. https://music.apple.com/us/album/but-its-better-if-you-do-live/466190661?i=466190701
  11. https://open.spotify.com/track/7wnYW5zboAaiHE5KBaVc0Z?si=d18c8c3720624af2
  12. https://www.discogs.com/release/1507929-Panic-At-The-Disco-But-Its-Better-If-You-Do
  13. https://www.discogs.com/release/732730-Panic-At-The-Disco-But-Its-Better-If-You-Do
  14. https://www.discogs.com/release/1446878-Panic-At-The-Disco-But-Its-Better-If-You-Do
  15. https://www.discogs.com/release/11798889-Panic-At-The-Disco-But-Its-Better-If-You-Do
  16. https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Panic%21+At+The+Disco&titel=But+It%27s+Better+If+You+Do&cat=s
  17. https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Panic%21+At+The+Disco&titel=But+It%27s+Better+If+You+Do&cat=s
  18. https://www.billboard.com/artist/panic-at-the-disco-2/chart-history/ark/
  19. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Panic%21+At+The+Disco&ti=But+It%27s+Better+If+You+Do&format=Single&type=#search_section

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