‘Cherry Pie’ is a song by the American glam metal band Warrant. It was released in September 1990, as the lead single from the album of the same name. It preceded the album's release by three days. The song became a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 10 and also reached number 19 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. The song has been cited by many as a "hair metal" anthem.
‘Cherry Pie’ was a very late inclusion on the band's second album, which was originally going to be called Uncle Tom's Cabin. The president of Columbia Records, Don Lenner, wanted a rock anthem, so he called frontman Jani Lane (according to Lane, he wanted a song reminiscent of Aerosmith's ‘Love in an Elevator’), who wrote the song in about fifteen minutes. Guitarist Joey Allen stated that "the whole marketing and everything for that record changed. It was definitely driven by the label and not the band." The song, which was inspired by Def Leppard's ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me,’ which interestingly was also a last-minute addition to that group's Hysteria album, was written down on a pizza box, which is now on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Destin, Florida, part of the Destin Commons. The guitar solo was played by C.C. DeVille as a favor to Lane, who was a long-time friend.
In a 1992 interview with BAM magazine, Warrant's songwriter/frontman Jani Lane said: "A blessing and a curse, that song. I had fun writing it, all 20 minutes. And I had fun singing it. Unfortunately, the song rubbed some people the wrong way. And, of course, the whole title got out of control. It became the album title, the first video... Cherry Pie this, Cherry Pie that. I had fun recording the tune, but it’s probably the last of its type in our repertoire." Many of the band members felt that ‘Cherry Pie’ was not one of the better songs on the album, and see the song as a double-edged sword: it brought them fame, but many of their other songs are overshadowed by the major hit.
The video for ‘Cherry Pie’ received heavy airplay on MTV and other music video stations. It featured the members of Warrant and a scantily clad woman (model Bobbie Brown) who is seen dancing throughout the video while the band members perform and make tongue-in-cheek references to the song's lyrics (for example, when the line referencing baseball is sung, Brown appears in a form-fitting baseball uniform, complete with a bat), all against a white background. Canadian cable-TV music network, MuchMusic refused to air the ‘Cherry Pie’ video on the grounds that it was "offensively sexist". Director Jeff Stein defended the video saying it was a parody: "It's so over-the-top, how could anyone think it was anything but a spoof of other hair-metal videos, you know? If people think it was sexist, it was only sexist as a parody of sexism." Brown became involved with Lane soon after the video was filmed, and married him in 1991.
Label – Columbia
Songwriter – Jani Lane
Producer – Beau Hill
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Dirty, rotten, filthy, stinkin'...
[Chorus]
She's my cherry pie
Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good, make a grown man cry
Sweet Cherry Pie
[Verse 1]
Well, swingin' on the front porch, swingin' on the lawn
Swingin' where we want 'cause there ain't nobody home
Swingin' to the left and swingin' to the right
If I think about baseball, I'll swing all night, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Swingin' in the living room, swingin' in the kitchen
Most folks don't 'cause they're too busy bitchin'
Swingin' in there 'cause she wanted me to feed her
So I mixed up the batter and she licked the beater
[Pre-Chorus]
I scream, you scream, we all scream for her
Don't even try 'cause you can't ignore her
[Chorus]
She's my cherry pie
Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good, make a grown man cry
Sweet cherry pie, oh, yeah
She's my cherry pie
Put a smile on your face, ten miles wide
Looks so good, bring a tear to your eye
Sweet cherry pie
[Verse 2]
Swingin' to the drums, swingin' to guitar
Swingin' to the bass in the back of my car
Ain't got money, ain't got no gas
But we'll get where we're goin' if we swing real fast
[Pre-Chorus]
I scream, you scream, we all scream for her
Don't even try 'cause you can't ignore her
[Chorus]
She's my cherry pie
Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good, make a grown man cry
Sweet cherry pie, oh, yeah
She's my cherry pie
Put a smile on your face, ten miles wide
Looks so good, bring a tear to your eye
Sweet cherry pie, yeah, pie
[Bridge]
(Swing it!)
All night long
(Swing it!)
Like a trained professional
[Verse 3]
Swingin' in the bathroom, swingin' on the floor
Swingin' so hard, forgot to lock the door
In walked her daddy standin' 6 foot 4
He said, "You ain't gonna swing with my daughter no more"
[Chorus]
She's my cherry pie
Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good, make a grown man cry
Sweet cherry pie, oh, yeah
She's my cherry pie
Put a smile on your face, ten miles wide
Looks so good, bring a tear to your eye
Sweet cherry pie
Sweet cherry pie, yeah, huh
[Outro]
Swing it!