Brand New Key
"Brand New Key" is a pop song written and sung by the American folk music singer Melanie. Initially a track of Melanie's album Gather Me, produced by Melanie's husband Peter Schekeryk, it was known also as "The Rollerskate Song" due to its chorus. It was her greatest success, scoring No. 1 on the [Billboard Hot 100|Billboard Hot 100] singles chart during December 1971 and January 1972. Billboard ranked it as the Billboard Year-End [Hot 100 singles of 1972|No. 9 song of 1972]. It also scored No. 1 in Canada and Australia and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
Overview
The song is sung from the viewpoint of a girl with roller skates trying to attract the attention of a boy.In an interview with Examiner.com, Melanie described the inspiration for the song:
I was fasting with a 27-day fast on water. I broke the fast and went back to my life living in New Jersey and we were going to a flea market around six in the morning. On the way back… and I had just broken the fast, from the flea market, we passed a McDonald's and the aroma hit me, and I had been a vegetarian before the fast. So we pulled into the McDonald's and I got the whole works... the burger, the shake, and the fries... and no sooner after I finished that last bite of my burger… that song was in my head. The aroma brought back memories of roller skating and learning to ride a bike and the vision of my dad holding the back fender of the tire. And me saying to my dad... "You're holding, you're holding, you're holding, right?" Then I'd look back and he wasn't holding and I'd fall. So that whole thing came back to me and came out in this song.
The song has been described as folk music, pop music, and soft rock. It was arranged by Roger Kellaway.
Possible sexual innuendo
Melanie has acknowledged the possibility of detecting sexual innuendo in the lyrics, but has denied any deeper meaning:Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications
Cover versions
Country singer Deana Carter covered the song on her 1999 top-10 album Everything's [Gonna Be Alright |Everything's Gonna Be Alright]. The cellist band Rasputina had a version on the album Thanks for the Ether. Todd Rundgren played a cover on his 2018 tour. On August 1, 2018, at Daryl's House Club in Pawling, New York, Melanie joined Rundgren onstage to sing "Brand New Key".A female-fronted punk trio, the Dollyrots, included a version on their album Because I'm Awesome. The 2006 American Idol runner-up, Katharine McPhee, covered the song as the bonus track on her 2010 Unbroken album. Olivia Newton-John covered the song on the soundtrack album for the film A Few [Best Men |A Few Best Men] in 2012. Jessica Frech covered the song on her 2012 Reality album. The New York-based singer Jaymay covered the song in 2013. Ray Conniff & The Singers did a cover version on their album I'd Like To Teach The World album in 1971. Maddie Poppe covered it in the top-24 stage of American Idol season 16 on ABC and later went on to win. The Wiggles covered it on their 2022 album Rewiggled.
Parodies
A version of the song entitled "The Combine Harvester", with new rustic-themed lyrics by Irish songwriter Brendan O'Shaughnessy, was recorded by Irish comedian Brendan Grace, reaching No. 1 on the Irish Charts during 1975. In 1976 the same parody was covered in the UK by Scrumpy and Western band the Wurzels, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in June.Movies
Melanie's version is heard in the 1997 film Boogie Nights as Dirk Diggler has his "audition" with Rollergirl in front of Jack Horner. It can also be heard in Jackass 3D during the "Bungee Boogie" skit, in which the cast members try launching themselves with a bungee cord into an inflatable swimming pool.TV shows
On April 4, 2016, Jimmy Fallon lip synced the song during a "Lip Sync Battle" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, while he competed with actress Melissa McCarthy.During the 16th season of American Idol, contestant Maddie Poppe performed the song during the Top 24 elimination round.
The song is played during the "Apocalypse DJ" running sketch portion of the third episode of the 2022 The [Kids in the Hall |The Kids in the Hall] revival series. The sketches depict a radio DJ playing the song over and over again in the aftermath of an apocalypse caused by a "DNA Bomb".
The song is also heard in Family Guy season 20, episode 18, "Girlfriend, Eh?".
The Voice
On the October 17, 2016, episode of singing competition television show The Voice, Team Miley contestants Darby Walker and Karlee Metzger performed the song in a Battle round.In the first online episode of the Comeback Stage of the singing competition television show The Voice, no-chair reject Klea Olson performed the song as part of a Battle round against fellow Team Bebe members Nathan and Chesi Arnett, who performed the song "Tulsa Time".