while the track was rewinding, and the rest of his bandmates soon joined him. Healy then asked for the production of "We Are Monkeys" to be put on hold so they could record a demo of the new composition. As he performed with the rest of Travis, he changed the word "swing" to "sing" on the chorus. Since lead guitarist Andy Dunlop had brought his banjo into the studio for "We Are Monkeys", the instrument was overdubbed into the recording. The night after recording the demo, Healy decided to change all instances of "swing" to "sing" and modify the lyrics so that the song described the healing powers of singing. The track was recorded between October 2000 and March 2001 at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, California, and was included on The Invisible Band as the opening track. Along with "Flowers in the Window", Healy dedicated the song to his wife Nora Kryst in the album booklet. In the United States, record label Independiente added "Sing" to triple A radio on 23 April 2001 and to alternative radio the following day, while in the United Kingdom, the label serviced the song to radio during the same month and issued it as a physical single on 28 May 2001. The song was released on CD in Australia on the same day. Composition and lyrics Musically, "Sing" is a pop song with folk elements, which includes a banjo played by Dunlop. Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer described the song as "front-porch blues, if your front porch opens onto central London". Set in common time, it is written in the key of F minor and has a tempo of 80 beats per minute. Healy sings lead vocals and plays guitar while Dougie Payne plays bass and Neil Primrose plays the drums. Dunlop additionally plays piano on the song. The song begins with a synth chord that leads into a rhythm consisting of strumming guitars and the banjo. Additional strings on the song were provided by Millennia Strings and arranged by British composer Joby Talbot. Lyrically, "Sing" is a love song discussing the inhibitions of a relationship, having been referred to as a "bridge between the hopeless and the hopeful". The chorus partly consists of the repetition of "sing". Healy explained, "First of all, I love the idea of having the word 'sing' repeated in the chorus of a song—it's just so