"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" is a song by American punk-rock band

the Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guit ...

. It is the fourth track from the band's fifth studio album, ''

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

'' (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 successful 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 A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album. It was parodied by

Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic ...

in "

Pretty Fly for a Rabbi "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" (alternatively called "Pretty Fly (For a Rabbi)" in Australia) is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of " Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by The Offspring, and it was released from the 1999 album '' Running with ...

Composition and lyrics

Beginning with a sample of the pseudo-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" from

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

's 1983 song "

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

", 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 Nika Futterman (born October 25, 1969) is an American voice and television actress. She is known for her voices in various animated series, including Asajj Ventress in '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' and Adam Lyon in ''My Gym Partner's a Mon ...

. As summed up by

Dexter Holland Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland (born December 29, 1965) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter and last remaining original member of the American rock band the Offspring. He is also the creator of t ...

, the people described in the lyrics "are from, like,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, regular white-bread boys, but who act like they're from

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

. 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 Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, "going to the mall, where they buy

FUBU FUBU (, ) is an American hip hop apparel company. FUBU stands for "For Us, By Us" and was created when the founders were brainstorming for a catchy four-letter word following other big brands such as Nike and Coke.Keith Perrin interviewed by Ian ...

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

, and Ice Cube's latest record." 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." When asked about the musical similarities with the Offspring's previous hit " Come Out and Play", Holland said he expected comparisons but added that the band attempted to "take it further than ‘Come Out and Play’", with a particular focus on more percussion.

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 Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history ...

songs."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the song, directed by

McG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

, begins with the "white guy" and some girls singing the opening lines, and Offspring guitarist

Noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Ind ...

walking on the pavement with his guitar, playing the introductory riff. The "white guy" drives through town in his

lowrider A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...

and tries to act cool in front of African-Americans, playing with his car's

hydraulic system Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid coun ...

and interrupting a

break dance Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

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

, 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? "Why Don't You Get a Job?" is a song by American rock band the Offspring. The song is the 11th track on the Offspring's fifth studio album, ''Americana'' (1998), and was released as its second single on March 15, 1999. The song also appears as t ...

" video and occasionally appear at Offspring concerts.

Track listings

US 7-inch single and UK cassette single Australian CD single European CD single UK CD1 UK CD2 Italian 12-inch single

DVD appearances

The music video also appears on the ''

Complete Music Video Collection ''Complete Music Video Collection'' is an extensive video album (released in DVD and Universal Media Disc, UMD formats) by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released to accompany the ''Greatest Hits (The Offspring album), Greatest ...

'' 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.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Legacy

* The song was used in the ''

Close Enough ''Close Enough'' is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel. Originally intended to air on TBS in 2017, the project faced various delays and setbacks before eventually premiering on HBO Max on July 9, 2020. The series has received ...

'' episode The Weird Kid. * The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "

References

{{Authority control Songs about white people The Offspring songs 1998 singles 1998 songs Comedy rock songs Satirical songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Macaronic songs Music videos directed by McG Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Sweden Songs written by Dexter Holland Songs written by Joe Elliott Songs written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Songs written by Steve Clark UK Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles