Little Green Bag
{{Infobox song
| name = Little Green Bag
| cover = George Baker Little Green Bag US single.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Cover of the 1969 Dutch single
| type = single
| artist = George Baker Selection
| album = Little Green Bag
| B-side = Pretty Little Dreamer
| released = {{Start date|1969|10}}
| recorded = 1969 at Eclipse Studios, Netherlands
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =*Nederbeat
- pop rock{{Allmusic | class= album| id= mw0000414378| label= Paloma Blanca| first= Richie| last= Unterberger| accessdate= September 13, 2015}}
- soft rock{{cite journal |first= Andrew |last= Johnstone |title= A General Guide to Soft Rock |date= 6 February 2015 |journal= Rip It Up |url= http://www.ripitup.co.nz/music/new-article-page/ |access-date= 30 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150210142138/http://www.ripitup.co.nz/music/new-article-page/ |archive-date= 10 February 2015 |df= dmy-all }}
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=17}}
| label = Negram
| writer = {{hlist|Jan Visser|Hans Bouwens}}
| producer = Luke Wiley
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Dear Ann
| next_year = 1970
}}
"Little Green Bag" is a 1969 song written by Dutch musicians Jan Visser and George Baker (born Hans Bouwens), and recorded by the George Baker Selection at the band's own expense. The track was released as the George Baker Selection's debut single by Dutch label Negram, the B-side being "Pretty Little Dreamer".{{cite web |url=http://www.hollandrocks.com/enc/index.html |title=George Baker biography |publisher=hollandrocks.com |accessdate=26 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040205214120/http://www.hollandrocks.com/enc/index.html |archivedate=February 5, 2004}}{{cite web |url=http://www.45cat.com/record/ngs159 |title=Various worldwide releases of the George Baker Selection single, "Little Green Bag" |publisher=45cat.com |accessdate=19 December 2013}}
Background
The track's original title was "Little Greenback",{{cite web |website=Songfacts.com |title=Little Green Bag |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=21174}} which is slang for a US dollar. However, the single was given the erroneous title "Little Green Bag", which some took to be a "bag of marijuana". The lyrics of the song add to the belief that it is about marijuana, since it describes quite similarly the confusion of trying to find the bag. The "Little Green Bag" title was then retained for all subsequently released versions of the single, as well as the group's 1970 debut album, also titled Little Green Bag.
The single peaked at No. 9 on the Dutch Top 40 singles chart and No. 3 in Belgium. In the United States, the single reached No. 16 in the middle of 1970 on the Cashbox chart and No. 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In 1992, the song was used in Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs with song writers cited as Jan Gerbrand Visser and Benjamino Bouwens.{{fact|date=March 2025}} Also that year, the song reached No. 1 in Japan after being used in a Japanese whiskey commercial.{{cite web |title=George Baker Biography |website=Georgebaker.com |url=http://www.georgebaker.com/website/ontwerpgb/English/biografie.html |accessdate=2007-05-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928060047/http://www.georgebaker.com/website/ontwerpgb/English/biografie.html |archivedate=2007-09-28 }}
Charts
Cover versions
- In 1970, the group I Punti Cardinali released a version titled "La borsetta verde".
- In 1970, Quebec singer Bobby Le Clerc recorded a French cover titled "C'est pourquoi".
- In 1970, the Italian singer Nada recorded an Italian-language version with translated lyrics by Luigi Albertelli under the title "Un passatempo".
- In 1999, Tom Jones released a cover version of the song recorded with Canadian band the Barenaked Ladies, on his album Reload.
- In 2007, The Ventures released a version on their album The Ventures – Rocky!
- In 2008, meg released a version on her album "Serpent".
- In 2012, Garou recorded a cover for his album Rhythm and Blues.
- In 2019, Cinemax / HBO Max's Warrior (Season 1, Episode 10) features a partial Cantonese cover before the closing credits. Visuals are an homage to "Reservoir Dogs" opening credits. Musical artist is uncertain.
- In 2023, the spanish talent show Operación Triunfo covered this song with contestants Paul and Martin.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20200330004557/https://www.metrolyrics.com/little-green-bag-lyrics-george-baker.html Lyrics of Little Green Bag from Metrolyrics.com] (copy archived March 30, 2020)
{{George Baker Selection}}
{{authority control}}
Category:George Baker Selection songs