Barenaked Ladies Lyrics Trivia Quiz

Answer: If I Had $1000000

In Canada, the Barenaked Ladies' first album, "Gordon", made waves, establishing the quintet as a force to be reckoned with on pop and adult alternative radios in their home and native land. "If I Had $1000000" would be one of their most enduring tracks, being one that the band would use in nearly ever concert from the start of their careers onward. The track is known for its jokey call-and-response to what the band would do if they had a million (buy a house, buy some art, buy a monkey, etc.). Segments after each chorus allowed the band to improvise with spoken-word though the classic involves talking about Kraft Dinner, a particularly cheap, Canadian meal. It got to the point that fans would throw boxes at the stage during live shows.

The song hit number thirteen on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Answer: It's All Been Done

A bit more of a sober affair after "One Week" hit it big, "It's All Been Done" was the second single (and track) from "Stunt" and it allowed the Ladies to take their first-ever chart-topping song in Canada, managing to peak at number one on both the Canada Top Singles chart and the Canada Adult Contemporary chart.

In North America, the song would be followed as a single by "Call and Answer", featured in the Jim Carrey movie "The Truman Show". These combined would push "Stunt" to become four-times platinum in both Canada and the U.S.

Answer: Shoe Box

Though an upbeat track, "Shoe Box" had a weird history of almost-always being left on the cutting room floor. Tacked onto the end of the band's third album, "Born on a Pirate Ship", the song would manage to become the first single to be released from the disc (being followed by "The Old Apartment").

It also managed to get a significant amount of recognition being featured in an episode (and on the first soundtrack) for the TV show "Friends". It would later *actually* be left on the cutting room floor when it was omitted as a live track on "Rock Spectacle" a year later.

It hit number ten on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Answer: Another Postcard

The band's sixth album, "Everything to Everyone", would fail to see much traction on a track-by-track basis and "Another Postcard", their first single of the bunch, would seem a bit of a novelty. The song, simply about being the recipient of too many postcards depicting chimpanzees, managed to hit number nine on the US Adult Top 40 chart while "Everything to Everyone" faded into the deeper recesses of the band's catalogue. For better deep cuts from this album, try "For You", "Testing 1, 2, 3", "Aluminum", and "Take It Outside", all of which exhibit a clean and mature direction for the band that strays far from chimps.

Answer: Pinch Me

If "Stunt" was considered the Barenaked Ladies' most playful album, "Maroon" brought out a sense of maturity. Their lead single, "Pinch Me", hit number four on the Canada Top Singles chart and number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S, allowing the band to continue their streak of hit contemporary releases. "Maroon" would be very popular across North America, but the band would start to see declining sales with each subsequent album, even if critical reception of the band continued to rise.

Their subsequent releases in the 2000s ("Everything to Everyone", "Barenaked Ladies Are Me", and "Barenaked Ladies Are Men") would have strong track lists, but much less radio play.

Answer: One Week

The song that garnered the most international repute for the band to date, "One Week" was the first single to release from "Stunt", the Barenaked Ladies' anticipated fourth album. It cracked into radio play stateside to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping two other charts and hitting number two on two more.

It would hit number three on the Canada Top Singles chart. Characterized by its playful, almost nonsense-at-times lyrics and filled to the brim with numerous references to then-current pop culture, "One Week" is one of the band's signature songs and one of the top international tracks of 1998.

Answer: Get in Line

"Get in Line" had appeal as a bit of a hidden track upon its release as a single in 1999. Originally, the song was recorded for the official soundtrack for the animated FOX TV show "King of the Hill", and as a single it was released amongst others from the band's "Stunt" album (despite not appearing on the track list). Ultimately, it would show up on the 20th Anniversary Reissue of "Stunt", being considered as part of its set, but it featured in "Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001)" as well.

It hit number eighteen on the Canada Top Singles chart despite all of this. Next time BNL would appear with a song dedicated specifically to a soundtrack album, it would be for "The Big Bang Theory Theme" in 2010.

Answer: Brian Wilson

Though BNL's debut "Gordon" album would walk away with six singles in Canada, "Brian Wilson" would see a bit of a resurgence after the release of the band's "Rock Spectacle" live album. This live version would help the band achieve their first number one album in the U.S.; it would later appear on "Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001)".

In Canada the song would reach number eighteen on the Canadian Singles Chart. It wouldn't be the top song from the disc-- that'd be "Enid"-- but it would become a concert staple while Steven Page, the writer, was still with the band.

Answer: Jane

The first track to appear on the listing for the band's second album, "Maybe You Should Drive", "Jane" hit radios in 1994 and excelled in Canada, reaching number three on the Canadian Singles Chart and number one on the Canada Adult Contemporary chart.

It, along with the follow-up single, "Alternative Girlfriend", would help the band push the album to double-platinum status in Canada. Steven Page, one of the co-writers of the song, named the female character in the song 'Jane St. Clair' after two streets in Toronto.

It's not a particularly nice intersection.

Answer: Odds Are

After the departure of vocalist Steven Page, the Barenaked Ladies continued as a quartet into the 2010s. Though their "All in Good Time" album would be modestly successful in 2010, it was "Grinning Streak", released in 2013, that brought forth a rejuvenated, upbeat sound for the band, almost like it was the second coming of "Stunt" mixed in with the dash of Canadiana that BNL started their career with. "Odds Are" was the stand-out from the album, hitting number sixteen on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart upon its release.

It would be their final charting single from the 2010s despite two later albums.