Pinch Me


"Pinch Me" is a song by Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies. It was released as the first single from their fifth studio album, Maroon, on August 7, 2000. The song became the band's last top-10 hit in Canada, peaking at number four on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. In the United States, the single reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 2000, becoming the band's final top-40 hit there. It also peaked at number two on Billboards Triple-A and Adult Top 40 charts.

Background

The fundamental guitar riff of the song was based on the song "Leaving Las Vegas" by Sheryl Crow. The recording is based on a drum loop. The loop was created by taking the best two bars of Stewart himself playing drums, and then looping them. The song was originally written with the chorus rap as the less prominent "underpinning" half of the vocal, with the melody being more prominent, but as the writing process went along, the rap became the foreground. Noting that the melody line was now the background, they took the lyric and also used it for the bridge of the song.
According to Ed Robertson, during the Austin, TX concert on July 21, 2012, "Pinch Me" has one of his favorite "fake lyrics". He explained, "Often when we're writing a song, we just put in fake lyrics for a while, just to fill the space, 'cause we know what we want the melody to be, but we haven't finished the lyrics." The original chorus of the song was this: "Doesn't anyone, make a Chelsea bun, like they used to back, in the day? Sticky-sweet, it's a special treat. If Chelsea Buns were men, I'd be gay."

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor, of Billboard magazine, reviewed the song favorably, saying that "the production is tight, and the melody alternates between minimalist verses and Ed Robertson's trademark hyperkinetic delivery." He goes on to say that the "quirky lyric doesn't go for the wit as past hits have, but it still captures the band's friendly side, which had earned it a strong cult following long before it tore up the charts."

Track listings

US CD single
  1. "Pinch Me"
  2. "Powder Blue"
US 7-inch single
  1. "Pinch Me" – 3:48
  2. "Falling for the First Time" – 3:40
European and Australian CD single
  1. "Pinch Me"
  2. "Pinch Me"
  3. "Inline Bowline"
  4. "Born Human"

    Personnel

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Canada Radio 63
US Adult Top 40 13
US Mainstream Top 40 88

Release history