"Ass Back Home" (edited version titled as "Get Yourself Back Home") is a song by American group
Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes was an American rap rock band from Geneva, New York. The group formed in 1997 when Travie McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley during their high school gym class. The band's music displays a wide variety of influences, including hip h ...
featuring British singer-songwriter
Neon Hitch
Neon Hitch (born 25 May 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. She was signed to Mike Skinner and Ted Mayhem's label, The Beats, before it closed down. She was later discovered on MySpace by Benny Blanco, who flew her to New York City to ...
. The song was first released on October 31, 2011,
as the second single from the group's fifth studio album, ''
The Papercut Chronicles II
''The Papercut Chronicles II'' is the fifth and final studio album by American rap rock band Gym Class Heroes. It was released through Decaydance Records, Warner Bros. Records and Fueled by Ramen on November 15, 2011. It serves as a sequel to t ...
''. The track was co-written and produced by
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...
, who also produced previous hit "
Stereo Hearts
"Stereo Hearts" is a song by American group Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5. The song was released on June 14, 2011, as the lead single from the group's fifth studio album, ''The Papercut Chronicles II''.
Composition and rec ...
". "Ass Back Home" became the group's third biggest hit on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
when it peaked at number 12,
also reaching number one in Australia, 11 in New Zealand and number 10 in Ireland.
Composition
"Ass Back Home" is a midtempo pop song that runs for 3 minutes and 39 seconds. It follows through a percussive beat influenced by electro.
[ The song contains influences of dub, rock and reggae and features the use of a "shimmering" guitar. The overall sound of the song has been described as "breezy".][ The lyrics are centered around the troubles a couple experiences when one partner is away on business.][ The male protagonist sings praises to his partner as the female protagonist urges her partner to come home.][
]
Critical reception
Kyle Anderson of ''Entertainment Weekly'' praised the song as "stealthily sincere".IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
named "Ass Back Home" the best track on the album, writing "The breezy dub rock flavor of shimmering guitar and an adorable hook from Neon Hitch turn 'Ass Back Home' into the best of the album, as McCoy's beat-riding flow works wonders as he sings the praises of his patient woman."Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
rated the song four out of five stars, writing that "The result makes for a more fascinating collab than if, say, they'd roped Ke$ha in on the track (although we wouldn't be adverse to that either), as Hitch's fresh but distinctive vocal ticks make for a far more interesting listen. In fact, she easily steals the show here, cracking the whip on an AWOL Trav on the head-nodding and Big Mac-sized chorus. That she manages to succeed on that alone is a huge achievement in itself."
Chart performance
"Ass Back Home" made its first chart appearance in Ireland on the chart week ending February 2, 2012 – when it debuted at number twenty-seven on the Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
. On its second charting week, the single rose seventeen places to number ten, marking the group's fourth top ten hit in the country; after "Cupid's Chokehold
"Cupid's Chokehold" is a song by American rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, featuring the vocals of Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. The song relies heavily on the music and chorus from Supertramp's hit song "Breakfast in America" written by Roger ...
", "Clothes Off!!
"Clothes Off!!" is the fifth single from Gym Class Heroes' third album, '' As Cruel as School Children''. It features vocalist Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. It was released in June 2007, and peaked at number 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. O ...
" and "Stereo Hearts".
Music video
A lyrical music video was made available onto YouTube on October 31, 2011 to accompany the release of "Ass Back Home", at a total length of three minutes and forty-four seconds. An official music video, directed by Dugan O' Neal was then made available on December 9, 2011—amassing over eighty-three million views as of June 19, 2021.
The music video features Neon Hitch as Travie McCoy's girlfriend. It shows clips of him and the rest of the band on the road and on tour also showing clips of Neon Hitch at home and sad without Travie. At the end Travie returns home and embraces Neon Hitch.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Covers
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
band, Secrets
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
, covered the track for the compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
''Punk Goes Pop 5
''Punk Goes Pop Volume 5'' is the thirteenth compilation album in the '' Punk Goes...'' series created by Fearless Records and the fifth installment in the ''Punk Goes Pop'' series to contain bands covering mainstream pop music. It was released on ...
'', which was released on November 6, 2012.
References
{{Authority control
2011 singles
Gym Class Heroes songs
Number-one singles in Australia
Songs written by Ammar Malik
Songs written by Benny Blanco
Songs written by Matt McGinley
Songs written by Robopop
Songs written by Travie McCoy
Torch songs