Pinch Me

2000 single by Barenaked Ladies

"Pinch Me" is a song by Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies. It was released as the first single from their fifth studio album, Maroon (2000), 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.

The song was co written by frontmen Steven Page and Ed Robertson, but the concept and base for the song came from Robertson. He wrote the song following the "roller coaster" success of Stunt, and returning to Canada to find people less interested or aware of the success. "I was trying to get to the root of what I was feeling 'this is all great, but not right here it's not – not where I live, and not in my heart' It's this notion that you know things are good – they're just not quite good for you." The fundamental guitar riff of the song (through the verses) was based on the song "Leaving Las Vegas" by Sheryl Crow. The recording (and most live performances) is based on a drum loop (along with which drummer Tyler Stewart plays). 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."

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."

+Release dates and formats for "Pinch Me"RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref(s). (Reference(s))United StatesAugust 7, 2000Hot adult contemporary, modern adult contemporary radioRepriseAugust 8, 2000Contemporary hit radio, Contemporary hit, alternative radioSeptember 25, 2000Adult contemporary radio