Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)

Infobox Single
Name = Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)


Caption =
Artist = The Offspring
from Album = Americana
A-side =
B-side =
Released = November 9, 1998
Format = CD
Recorded = 1998
Genre = Punk rock
Length = 03:08
Label = Columbia
Writer = Dexter Holland
Producer = Dave Jerden
Certification =
Chart position =* #1 (United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Finland)
* #2 (Germany, Austria)
* #3 (US Modern Rock)
* #4 (Switzerland)
* #5 (US Mainstream Rock)
* #10 (France)
* #53 (US Hot 100)
Last single = "I Choose"
(1997)
This single = "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"
(1998)
Next single = "Why Don't You Get a Job?"
(1999)
Misc =Extra album cover
Upper caption = Alternate covers
Background = khaki


Lower caption = Australian 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.

Beginning with a sample of the quasi-German nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" from Def Leppard's 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" (or "wigger") who is immersed in hip-hop culture not because he truly loves 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 makes it seem that he can get all the girls ("and all the girlies say I'm pretty fly - for a white guy"). The song openly mocks the middle-class suburban youths who listen to rap music for this reason. One line in the song is "Now cruisin' in his Pinto, he sees homies as he pass", however, the car in the video is actually a an early '60s Chevrolet Impala.

Music video

The "white guy" (played by Guy Cohen) drives through town in his lowrider and tries to act cool in front of people, playing with car's hydraulic system and interrupting a break dance session to dance. He is then carried by girls watching it to a pool party and thrown into the pool. These scenes are cut by the band's playing. The video ends with the white guy returning home and scaring a little girl wearing a pixie costume.

Track listing

Initial pressing

#"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" - 3:08
#"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Geek Mix) - 3:07
#"All I Want" (Live) - 2:02

Alternate pressing

#"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" - 3:08
#"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (Geek Mix) - 3:07
#"No Brakes" - 2:06

econd alternate pressing

#Album Version - 3:08
#The Geek Mix - 3:07
#The Baka Boys Low Rider Remix - 3:03
#"All I Want" (Live) - 2:02

References in popular culture

*The song came #1 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1998.

*Was featured on the "Escape From Party Island" episode of "King of the Hill"

*The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as “Pretty Fly for a Rabbi” on his 1999 album "Running with Scissors".

* Other parodies have been made, such as "Pretty Fly for a Jedi", "Pretty Fly for a Draenei" and others. They are frequently and incorrectly attributed to "Weird Al" Yankovic on file sharing networks.

*David and Goliath sells a T-shirt with the song's title (minus the parentheses) on it.

*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.

*The Nintendo DS game makes a reference to this song by having a character say "You're pretty fly for a white mage."

*The Dublin Coffman Marching Band plays "Pretty Fly" in their 2008 fun show.

* The song was made available as a downloadable song for the music video game series "Rock Band" on October 7, 2008.