"Who Can It Be Now?" Quotes

Context

This line is from the song "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men at Work, from the album Business as Usual (1981).

This lyric made Australian band Men at Work a household name in America when it blasted them to number one with their debut album. The line helps tell the tale of a paranoid guy who is all freaked out about who's at the door. Is it a salesman? An axe-murderer? His mother-in-law? Oh, the suspense.

Rumor has it this song was inspired by lead singer Collin Hay's fear of the many bill collectors that hounded him before he made it big.

Where you've heard it

Did you catch the article about a conman on the run in the Sydney Morning Herald? Missed that one? Well, it's titled "Who Can It Be Now?" It's likelier that you caught Men at Work singing this line on The Simpsons in an episode where Marge is being stalked by Dwight Diddlehopper. The line can also be heard on the soundtrack of the movie Valley Girl, which we recommend watching only if you have an interest in seeing what Nicolas Cage looked like when he was young.

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.

It would only be pretentious to say this at a party if you brought your own sax player to accompany your words.