Pretenders: Brass In Pocket - Top of the Pops - January 17, 1980 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit)

Pretenders: Brass In Pocket - On Top of the Pops - January 17, 1980 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit)

"Brass in Pocket", also known as "Brass in Pocket (I'm Special)", is a song by English–American rock band the Pretenders, released in 1979 as the third single from their self-titled debut album. It was written by Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott, and produced by Chris Thomas. Originating as a guitar lick written by Honeyman-Scott, the song's lyrics were explained by Hynde to be about the cockiness that one needs to effectively perform. The song's title derives from a phrase she overheard after a show."Brass in Pocket" became the band's biggest hit to that point, reaching number one in the UK and number 14 in the US. Its music video was the seventh video aired on MTV on its launch on August 1, 1981.

"Brass in Pocket" originated as a guitar line that Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott played for Chrissie Hynde. Hynde then recorded the part and wrote the song's lyrics. Musically, Hynde described "Brass in Pocket" as "trying to be a Motown song, but it didn't quite get it".Hynde got the idea for the song's title when, during an after-show dinner, she overheard someone enquiring if anyone had "Picked up dry cleaning? Any brass in pocket?" Of the song's reference to "bottle", Hynde explained, "Bottle is Cockney rhyming slang. It means bottle and glass. The way Cockney rhyming slang works is the word you're really saying rhymes with the second word. So bottle and glass rhymes with ass. In England, to say somebody has a lot of ass they have a lot of funk. So you say, 'That guy has a lot of bottle.'" Of the song's meaning, Hynde stated: The tradition of ["Brass in Pocket"] is that you're supposed to be kind of cocky and sure of yourself. You're not supposed to go on stage and say, "I'm small and I have no confidence and think I'm a shit." Because you just can't do that on stage. You're not supposed to, and probably you don't have much confidence, and you do think you're a little piece of shit or else you wouldn't have gotten a rock band together in the first place.During an interview with The Observer in 2004, she revealed she was initially reluctant to have the song released: "When we recorded the song I wasn't very happy with it and told my producer that he could release it over my dead body." Hynde later reflected, "Now I like that song because it's one of those songs that served me well. I didn't like my voice on it. I was kind of a new singer, and listening to my voice made me kind of cringe."

The lyrics detail the female singer about to have her first sexual encounter with a particular person, with her expressing confidence that the experience will be successful. According to Rolling Stone magazine critic Ken Tucker, the song uses "an iron fist as a metaphor for [Hynde's] sexual clout". The Rolling Stone Album Guide critic J. D. Considine describes the song as "sassy" and credits the band for "putting bounce in each step" of it. Author Simon Reynolds similarly describes Hynde's vocals as "pure sass" and "feline narcissism", noting that she "linger[s] languorously" over the phrase "I'm special".