Context

This line is from the song "Roxanne," written by Sting and sung by The Police on the album Outlandos d'Amour (1978).

Frontman Sting (no, not that Sting) led one of the great bands of the '80s: The Police. "Roxanne" is one of their signature songs, with laid-back vocals and a solid bass line, complete with a reggae guitar riff from Andy Summers.

But who is Roxanne? Sting got her name from the heroine of Cyrano de Bergerac. The movie poster was hanging up in their Paris hotel room and prostitutes were milling about on the streets outside, and bam! Inspiration can strike anywhere, we guess.

"Roxanne" was basically the real-life version of Pretty Woman, as Sting sings about whisking away a prostitute from her life in the red light district. We don't know if he succeeds, but we guarantee that the chorus and guitar line will be stuck in your head for at least the next 24 hours.

Where you've heard it

This song definitely plays once a day on the "oldies" radio station, and if your name happens to be Roxanne, it's been sung to you even more frequently.

The gang in Community sings along to "Roxanne" in the episode "Remedial Chaos Theory."

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This song is perfect for a sing-along or dance party, which aren't particularly pretentious things.