I’m Special, So Special

This is Week 32 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist
whose name begins with the letters O or P. This is my choice.

Formed in Hereford, England in March 1978 the Pretenders is an English/American rock group with the fabulous Chrissie Hynde behind the mic. The original band was formed by Hynde, who was the main songwriter, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, and included James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion).

Following the unfortunate deaths of Honeyman-Scott (1982) and Farndon (1983), both due to drugs, the band experienced numerous subsequent personnel changes, with Chrissie Hynde as the only consistent member, and Chambers returning after an absence of several years.

Hynde launched a solo career in 2014; after several years without performing, the Pretenders took to the road again in 2017. Chrissie Hynde and Ray Davies of The Kinks share a daughter, Natalie, born in 1983.

The Pretenders produced numerous hit songs including “Brass in Pocket”, “Back On the Chain Gang” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong”, as well as the 1994 hit “I’ll Stand By You”. Their eponymous debut studio album made the band famous with its combination of punk, rock and pop music. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

My song today is “Brass In Pocket“.

The phrase “brass in pocket” is British slang for having money in your pants. Chrissie Hynde heard the phrase backstage at one of their gigs in 1978 and immediately liked it. She later used it in the lyrics to their song “Brass In Pocket,” which is about a female singer approaching her first sexual encounter with confidence. The song was a breakthrough for the band and topped the UK charts in early 1980.

“Brass In Pocket” was released as the band’s third single. It was their first big success, reaching #1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1980 (making it the first new #1 single of the 1980s), #2 in Australia during May 1980 (for three weeks) and #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. It was listed at #389 on Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2021.

In the official video, Hynde portrays a lonely waitress in a backstreet cafe. The rest of the band play customers who arrive in a large pink 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special. The three guys peruse the menus but are soon joined by their girlfriends. All six then leave the restaurant.

This is “Brass In Pocket” by the Pretenders.

Lyrics

I got brass in a pocket
I got bottle, I’m gonna use it
Intention, I feel inventive
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Got motion, restrained emotion
Been driving, Detroit leaning
No reason, just seems so pleasing
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms, gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style, gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers, gonna use my, my, my
Imagination

‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here, no one like me
I’m special (special)
So special (special)
I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me

I got rhythm, I can’t miss a beat
I got a new skank, so reet
Got something, I’m winking at you
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms, gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style, gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers, gonna use my, my, my
Imagination

‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here, no one like me
I’m special (special)
So special (special)
I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me

‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here, no one like me
I’m special (special)
So special (special)
I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me

Oh-oh-oh
Anyway you want

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: James Scott / Chrissie Hynd
Brass in Pocket lyrics © Emi Music Publishing, Music Of Big Deal, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 32 – Don’t Dictate

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.