Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" | ||
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| Single by The Offspring | ||
| Released | 1998 | |
| Format | CD | |
| Genre | Punk-Rock | |
| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Offspring singles chronology | ||
| Gone Away (1998) |
Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) (1998) |
Why Don't You Get A Job? (1999) |
| Alternate covers | ||
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| Alternate CD single cover | ||
"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" is a single, released by The Offspring, from their 1998 album Americana. It achieved significant pop and alternative radio play and popularity, peaking at number 53 on the US charts, number 1 on the UK charts and Australian charts. It is arguably The Offspring's most successful song commercially.
The song samples from Def Leppard's song "Rock of Ages" the nonsense German-like phrase “Gunter glieben glauchen globen”. The phrase was said in the 'Rock of Ages' track as a replacement for '1, 2, 3, 4' to start the recording.
The song ridicules a "wannabe gangsta" (or "wigger") who is immersed in hip-hop culture not because he truly loves it, but because it is trendy, makes him feel tough and makes it seem that he can get all the girls ("and all the girls say I'm pretty fly - for a white guy"). The song openly mocks the upper class suburban kids who listen to rap music for this reason.
The album discusses unpleasant realities of American life. In this case, consumerism, mixed with conformity, makes many people pretend to be something they are not. It also points out the hypocrisy that most people rebel because they want to be accepted or admired by others.
[edit] Track Listing
- Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) (3:08)
- Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) [The Geek Mix] (3:07)
- No Brakes/ All I Want (Live)
[edit] Trivia
- The song came #1 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1998.
- The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as “Pretty Fly For A Rabbi” on his 1999 album Running with Scissors.
- In Unreal Tournament, there is a hidden area on one of the maps, which showcases a picture of the lead map designer, CliffyB. It has the caption of “Pretty Fly...”. Shooting the picture instantly causes the text to change to "(For a white guy!)".
- Australian country music singer James Blundell performed a country version of the song as a "musical challenge" on the Andrew Denton Breakfast Show.
- Members of a fly crew sometimes adopt the quote "All the girlies say I'm pretty white for a fly guy" as their motto.
- An alternate version of the cover exists where the 'wigger' is in different attire, and the '31' tattoo is on his left arm rather than his right arm, like on the original. There is also an explicit language warning that does not exist on the normal single cover.
| Preceded by "A Little Bit More" by 911 |
UK Singles Chart Number 1 single January 24, 1999 for 1 week |
Succeeded by "U Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden & Duane Harden |
| Preceded by The Whitlams No Aphrodisiac |
Triple J Hottest 100 #1s 1998 |
Succeeded by Powderfinger These Days |
