Released 1996 Genre Alternative rock Writer(s) Jay Ferguson, Sloan | Format CD single
7" Label Murderecords Producer(s) Sloan | |
"The Lines You Amend" is a song by Canadian rock band Sloan, and the third single released from their 1996 album, One Chord to Another. The song was written by Jay Ferguson. It is the band's first song written by Ferguson to be released as a single.
Reception
Bassist-vocalist Chris Murphy described the song as being "about suicide", and said, "We sort of breeze through it like it's a cutesy number, but the lyrics are heavy." One lyric makes reference to Ringo Starr's song "Photograph".
The song has been praised by critics for its melodic strength, with one critic describing it as "Beatle-esque pop". Billboard magazine's critic suggested it was in the style of Violent Femmes. Rolling Stone's critic wrote that the song begins sounding like "The Ballad of John and Yoko", but then becomes "a likable hybrid of T. Rex and Crowded House."
Portions of the music video were filmed in a York University lecture hall.