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Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
| cover = TheOffspringPrettyFlyforaWhiteGuy.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Standard artwork
| type = single
| artist = the Offspring
| album = Americana
| B-side =
* "No Brakes"
* "All I Want" (live)
| released =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
* Pop punk
* punk rock
* alternative rock
| length = 3:07
| label = Columbia
| writer =
* Dexter Holland
* Steve Clark
* Joe Elliott
* Robert John "Mutt" Lange
| producer = Dave Jerden
| prev_title = I Choose
| prev_year = 1997
| next_title = Why Don't You Get a Job?
| next_year = 1999
| misc =
}}
"'Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)'" is a song by American punk-rock band the Offspring. It is the fourth track from the band's fifth studio album, 'Americana' (1998), and was released as its first single in November 1998. The song peaked at number 53 on the US 'Billboard' Hot 100, number five on the 'Billboard' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number three on the 'Billboard' Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was a major success internationally, reaching number one in 10 countries, including Australia, where it stayed at number one for six weeks and was certified quadruple platinum.
The song appears as the seventh track on the Offspring's 2005 'Greatest Hits' album. It was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic in "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi".
Composition and lyrics
Beginning with a sample of the pseudo-German nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" from Def Leppard's 1983 song "Rock of Ages", chanted as a replacement for the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4" to start the recording, the song ridicules a "wannabe gangsta" who is immersed in hip-hop culture, not because he truly loves or understands it but because it is trendy, makes him feel tough ("Friends say he's tryin' too hard, and he's not quite hip/But in his own mind, he's the, he's the dopest trip") and because he believes it attracts women ("and all the girlies say I'm pretty fly, for a white guy"). The Give it to me baby verse was done by voice actress Nika Futterman.
As summed up by Dexter Holland, the people described in the lyrics "are from, like, Omaha, Nebraska, regular white-bread boys, but who act like they're from Compton. It's so fake and obvious that they're trying to have an identity." Holland detailed that he meets many teenagers like those in his native Orange County, "going to the mall, where they buy FUBU, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ice Cube's latest record."[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,274657,00.html Dexter Holland's 'Americana' Tour] Given rap culture is the starting point, Holland clarified that it was not an attack on African-Americans, but "poseurs of any kind", but without wanting "to be preachy about it... We're getting amusement out of it more than anything else."
Critical reception
'Daily Record' commented that on "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", the band "has obviously been inspired by early-Beastie Boys and Run DMC songs.""Chart Slot". 'Daily Record'. February 12, 1999. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
Music video
The music video for the song, directed by McG, begins with the "white guy" and some girls singing the opening lines, and Offspring guitarist Noodles walking on the pavement with his guitar, playing the introductory riff. The "white guy" drives through town in his lowrider and tries to act cool in front of African-Americans, playing with his car's hydraulic system and interrupting a break dance session to dance himself. He is then carried by a group of girls to a pool party and thrown into the pool. He jumps out of the pool and finds some bikini clad dancers in front of him. These scenes are cut with the band playing. The video ends with the "white guy" returning home and scaring his little sister, who is wearing a fairy costume, because of his dishevelled appearance.
According to Dexter Holland, the band wanted Seth Green to play the "white guy" but he was unavailable. After seeing an audition tape with "five unknowns", they settled on Israeli actor Guy Cohen, who went on to cameo in the "Why Don't You Get a Job?" video and occasionally appear at Offspring concerts.
Track listings
'US promo CD'
'US 7-inch vinyl and UK cassette single'
'Australian CD single'
'UK CD single 1'
'UK CD single 2'
'Italian 12-inch vinyl'
DVD appearances
The music video also appears on the 'Complete Music Video Collection' DVD. It was released in 2005. The DVD also contains a storyboard version of the video, in which the storyboard plays over top of the music video.'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero'
The song was released as downloadable content for the video game 'Rock Band'. The song was released in the first "Offspring pack", which was released on October 7, 2008, along with "Gone Away" and "Self Esteem".
The song was released on the 'Guitar Hero: Van Halen' spinoff track list on December 22, 2009. It was later made available as downloadable content for 'Guitar Hero Live', containing the music video.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!scope="col"|Chart (1999)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)
|5
|-
!scope="row"|Austria (3 Austria Top 40)
|10
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)
|8
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)
|31
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles ('RPM')
|93
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)
|8
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)
|47
|-
!scope="row"|Germany (Official German Charts)
|18
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
|15
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)
|10
|-
!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)
|12
|-
!scope="row"|Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)
|5
|-
!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)
|16
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
|30
|-
!scope="row"|US Alternative Songs ('Billboard')
|21
|-
!scope="row"|US Mainstream Rock ('Billboard')
|31
|}
Certifications
Release history
Legacy
* The song was used in the 'Close Enough' episode The Weird Kid.
* The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi".
References
Category:Songs about white people
Category:The Offspring songs
Category:1998 singles
Category:1998 songs
Category:Comedy rock songs
Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Macaronic songs
Category:Music videos directed by McG
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in Finland
Category:Number-one singles in Greece
Category:Number-one singles in Italy
Category:Number-one singles in Norway
Category:Number-one singles in Scotland
Category:Number-one singles in Sweden
Category:Songs written by Dexter Holland
Category:Songs written by Joe Elliott
Category:Songs written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Category:Songs written by Steve Clark
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
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