About The Song
Released as a single from her third studio album, Come On Over, the country-pop song became one of her biggest singles on the Billboard Hot 100 – where it peaked at No. 7. It also reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and Hot Country Songs chart.
In addition to that, the song was an international success. It is her biggest single in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 3 for three weeks – elsewhere, it hit No. 1, including in Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand, among others.
Today, the sassy single remains one of the biggest hits among Shania Twain’s songs all over the world.
Written by Shania Twain on a Christmas Day, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” sings about various men who think way too highly of themselves – for a good reason. There is the guy who believes he’s intelligent enough, the guy who is obsessed with his physical appearance, and the guy who thinks all the material things he owns are enough to get the girl he likes.
However, regardless of their remarkable talents and unique qualities, they fail to impress the country superstar. After all, all she wants is a man who can keep her “warm in the middle of the night.”
Among the song’s most interesting lyrics, references to the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley and Hollywood star Brad Pitt. Well, her choices held up well, as Presley’s icon has only grown with time, while Brad Pitt was hailed as the “Sexiest Man Alive.”
In 2017, twenty years after the song was released, Twain explained the reason behind using the actor’s name instead of other suitable male celebrities. She said that as she was working on the album, news broke of Pitt’s nude photo scandal with his then-fiancée Gwyneth Paltrow, which led to so much fuss around.
However, Twain was left unimpressed by all the controversy as she finds it pretty normal to see naked people. She further explained that it wasn’t a snarky call-out to Brad Pitt, nor was she picking on the actor. It “was just the association at that moment and things we make fusses about and whatever,” Twain said. She added that it could be any other good-looking man.
The song is accompanied by a music video poking fun at men who are absolutely full of themselves. It was shot in the Mojave Desert at El Mirage Dry Lake and Barstow, California, where Twain can be seen hitchhiking in the middle of the desert.
Video
Lyrics
I’ve known a few guys who thought they were pretty smart
But you’ve got being right down to an art
You think you’re a genius, you drive me up the wall
You’re a regular original, a know-it-all
Oh, oh, you think you’re special
Oh, oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’re a rocket scientist
That don’t impress me much
So you got the brain but have you got the touch
Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much
I never knew a guy who carried a mirror in his pocket
And a comb up his sleeve-just in case
And all that extra hold gel in your hair oughta lock it
‘Cause Heaven forbid it should fall outta place
Oh, oh, so you think you’re something special
Oh, oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt
That don’t impress me much
So you got the looks but have you got the touch
Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much
You’re one of those guys who likes to shine his machine
You make me take off my shoes before you let me get in
I can’t believe you kiss your car good night
C’mon baby tell me, you must be jokin’, right
Oh, oh, so you think you’re something special
Oh, oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’ve got a car
That don’t impress me much
So you got the moves but have you got the touch
Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much
You think you’re cool but have you got the touch
Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm on the long, cold, lonely night
That don’t impress me much
Okay, so what do you think you’re Elvis or something
Whatever
That don’t impress me