"Pop Goes the World" is a song by Canadian new wave and synthpop band Men Without Hats. It was released in October 1987 as the lead single from their third studio album Pop Goes the World. The song reached No. 1 in Austria, No. 2 in Canada, and No. 3 in South Africa. It was originally written as an electronic instrumental. The song has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.[1]
Content
Ivan Doroschuk wrote the song as a light-hearted instrumental tune like "Popcorn" and tagged it at the end of a 10-12 track demo he sent his producer. The producer urged him to discard the other songs, put lyrics to the instrumental, and write 10-12 more songs in the same vein as the instrumental. The instrumental became "Pop Goes the World", and the other new songs turned into the rest of the album.[2]
The song tells the story of "Johnny" and "Jenny", the two members of a musical group called "the Human Race" on their quest for fame in the industry. However, at one point the lyrics note that they come to the realization that they could make "more money on a movie screen". The members' instruments of choice vary throughout the song, though Johnny is primarily a guitarist and Jenny is a bassist.
Music video
The music video for the song features lead singer Ivan Doroschuk who tells the story of "Johnny," played by guitarist Stefan Doroschuk (impersonating Elvis Presley), and "Jenny", portrayed by an unknown actress[a] playing a left-handed Höfner 500/1 bass. The two are seen dancing around a bubble-filled stage along with numerous other characters including a keyboard-playing baby and Bonhomme Carnaval (with a different hat). The word "Pop!", in writing reminiscent of a comic book, appears periodically on-screen in time with popping noises that punctuate the song. The video was released in 1988 in the CD Video format.
The song was used by Tide in TV advertisements for their "Pods" in 2012. The opening riff of the song was also utilized in the promotional advertising for the American television series Young Sheldon in the summer of 2017.
Football teams in several countries use versions of the song as chants:
In Argentina, Paraguay, and Ecuador, it is used by several teams and is arguably the most popular tune sung by fans.[19]
In Japan, it is used by the national team and Yokohama F. Marinos.[20]
In Hungary, fans of Diósgyőr use the song with the lyrics: "Amíg élek én, nem érdekel más, csak a Diósgyőr, csak a Diósgyőr, csak a Diósgyőr!" ("As long as I live, I don't care about anything but Diósgyőr, only Diósgyőr, only Diósgyőr!").
In Israel, fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem sing the song with the lyrics: "הפועל עולה" ("Hapoel goes up"). Also in Israel, fans of Hapoel Jerusalem sing the song with the lyrics "סמי בכר מת" ("Sami Bachar is Dead") whenever the referee's call seems to be erronous, after basketball referee Sami Bachar's management of the 2006–07 Israeli Basketball Super League final, which, according to Hapoel, cost them the championship.[21]
Notes
^Although one source identifies the actress as Louise Court,[3] others indicate that this appears to be a case of mistaken identity.[4] Court had previously appeared in the band's videos for "I Like" and "Safety Dance".[4]
