Peak
53
Weeks
16
Score
1,049
Chart Year
1999
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,[12] who went on to cameo in the "Why Don't You Get a Job?" video and occasionally appear at Offspring concerts
Fly is a slang term for "cool," and this song calls out youngsters who becomes wannabe gangstas as its trendy. Guitarist Noodle explained to Kerrang!: "It's about a kid that tries to mingle with the cool gangsters and it just doesn't work out. He makes a complete fool of himself. It's about guys who want to be so cool." Offspring frontman Dexter Holland elaborated in an interview with the Colorado Springs Independent. "I always took 'fly' to be this kind of word that white people co-opted from the black world, going all the way back to Superfly and other blaxploitation movies," he explained. "Once it has been taken up by white culture, it was kind of the opposite of fly, right? I knew that some people would pick up on the obviousness of the fact that the song was taking the piss out of a certain kind of person. And I figured that the guys who thought it was about them would think it was cool and like it. Even if they didn't get that the joke was on them." This begins with a sample of the fake German nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauten globen" from Def Leppard's "Rock Of Ages." It was inserted as a replacement for the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4" that often starts recordings. The "Uno dos tres cuatro cinqo cinqo seis" line was sung by Higgins XX-13, the cousin of a member of the band's internet mailing list. Musically, the song drew inspiration from the band War, particularly their 1975 classic "Low Rider." "I really like that Latino sound - bands like Santana and War and all that," Dexter Holland told MTV. "Living in LA, you're constantly exposed to Latin and Hispanic culture, and I wanted to bring that influence into our music." A New Zealand group called Hemi & Sharon did a parody of this song entitled "Pretty Fly For a Maori Guy." That same group also did a parody of OMC's "How Bizarre" called "Stole My Car." >> The song topped the charts in several countries, including Australia, where it went four times platinum, Japan and the United Kingdom. Sugar Ray's "Fly" director McG, who went on to direct action flicks like Charlie's Angels and Terminator Salvation, helmed the music video about a suburban white kid who tries to earn a cool rep around the neighborhood. Offspring frontman Dexter Holland hoped to get Seth Green for the role, but the part went to unknown actor Guy Cohen, who also appeared in the band's "Why Don't You Get a Job?" clip. "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" was the lead single from The Offspring's fifth album, Americana. In the early '90s, they were part of Epitaph Records, a celebrated punk label helmed by Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. When punk rock suddenly got very popular in 1994, it was largely due to Green Day's Dookie album and The Offspring's Smash, which includes "Gotta Get Away" and "Self Esteem." Green Day was on a major label by this time (Reprise) but The Offspring were still signed to Epitaph. Smash earned the label a huge windfall, but they couldn't keep The Offspring, which left for Columbia Records. They did manage to hold on to most of their other big acts that benefited from the punk boom, including NOFX and Rancid. The Offspring's first Columbia album, Ixnay On The Hombre, was released in 1997 and didn't do nearly as well as expected. Americana did a lot better thanks to "Pretty Fly" and "Why Don't You Get a Job?." That's voice actress Nikita Futterman who sings "Give it to me, baby!" on "Pretty Fly." She voiced Asajj Ventress and Dono in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Lola in Nickelodeon's CatDog, and Cuckoo Loca in Disney's Minnie's Home Makeover. Futterman has also lent her voice to Futurama, American Dad, Rugrats, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Weird Al Yankovic did a parody of this entitled "Pretty Fly (For A Rabbi)" for his album Running with Scissors. >> This was used on King of the Hill in the 1999 episode "Escape From Party Island."
Gunter glieben glauten globen Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) And all the girlies say, I'm pretty fly for a white guy Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis You know it's kind of hard just to get along today Our subject isn't cool but he fakes it anyway He may not have a clue and he may not have style But everything he lacks, well, he makes up in denial So don't debate, a player straight You know he really doesn't get it anyway Gonna play the field, and keep it real For you no way, for you no way So if you don't rate, just overcompensate At least you'll know you can always go on Ricki Lake The world needs wannabes, ah Hey, hey, do that brand new thing Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) And all the girlies say, I'm pretty fly (for a white guy) He needs some cool tunes, not just any will suffice But they didn't have Ice Cube so he bought Vanilla Ice Now cruising in his Pinto, he sees homies as he pass But if he looks twice they're gonna kick his lily ass So don't debate, a player straight You know he really doesn't get it anyway Gonna play the field, and keep it real For you no way, for you no way So if you don't rate, just overcompensate At least you'll know you can always go on Ricki Lake The world loves wannabes, ah Hey, hey, do that brand new thing Now he's gettin' a tattoo Yeah, he's gettin' ink done He asked for a "13", but they drew a "31" Friends say he's trying too hard And he's not quite hip But in his own mind He's the, he's the dopest trip Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) Give it to me, baby (uh huh, uh huh) Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis So don't debate, a player straight You know he really doesn't get it anyway Gonna play the field, and keep it real For you no way, for you no way So if you don't rate, just overcompensate At least you'll know you can always go on Ricki Lake The world needs wannabes, ah The world loves wannabes, ah Let's get some more wannabees, ah Hey, hey, do that brand new thing
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 5, 1998 | 72 | 54 |
| 2 | Dec 12, 1998 | 70 | 56 |
| 3 | Dec 19, 1998 | 62 | 64 |
| 4 | Dec 26, 1998 | 59 | 67 |
| 5 | Jan 2, 1999 | 57 | 69 |
| 6 | Jan 9, 1999 | 56 | 70 |
| 7 | Jan 16, 1999 | 53 | 73 |
| 8 | Jan 23, 1999 | 53 | 73 |
| 9 | Jan 30, 1999 | 54 | 72 |
| 10 | Feb 6, 1999 | 57 | 69 |
| 11 | Feb 13, 1999 | 59 | 67 |
| 12 | Feb 20, 1999 | 63 | 63 |
| 13 | Feb 27, 1999 | 69 | 57 |
| 14 | Mar 6, 1999 | 74 | 52 |
| 15 | Mar 13, 1999 | 70 | 56 |
| 16 | Mar 20, 1999 | 87 | 39 |