“Hip to Be Square” is a 1986 pop rock hit by Huey Lewis and the News, written by Huey Lewis, Bill Gibson, and Sean Hopper for their multi-platinum album Fore!. Released on October 6, 1986, the song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. The track features backup vocals from San Francisco 49ers players Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Dwight Clark, and Riki Ellison.
The song is widely interpreted as a satirical commentary on the “yuppie” transformation of the 1960s counterculture generation. Lewis originally wrote the lyrics in the third person to mock the phenomenon of former hippies adopting mainstream, conformist lifestyles while retaining bohemian tastes. He later switched to the first person to enhance the humor, though this change led many listeners to mistakenly view the song as a sincere anthem for conformity rather than a parody.
Its cultural impact was significantly amplified by its association with the novel and film American Psycho. In the story, protagonist Patrick Bateman provides a lengthy critique of the song, describing it as a catchy but lyrically dense statement on the “pleasures of conformity.” This connection cemented the song’s legacy as a defining, albeit ironically misunderstood, snapshot of 1980s American consumerism.
I used to be a renegade, I used to fool around
But I couldn’t take the punishment and had to settle down
Now I’m playin’ it real straight, and yes, I cut my hair
You might think I’m crazy, but I don’t even care
Because I can tell what’s goin’ on
[Chorus]
It’s hip to be square
It’s hip to be square
[Verse 2]
I like my bands in business suits, I watch them on TV
I’m workin’ out most every day and watchin’ what I eat
They tell me that it’s good for me, but I don’t even care
I know that it’s crazy, I know that it’s nowhere
But there is no denying that
[Chorus]
It’s hip to be square
It’s hip to be square
It’s hip to be square
So hip to be square
[Saxophone Solo]
[Verse 3]
It’s not too hard to figure out, you see it every day
And those that were the farthest out have gone the other way
You see them on the freeway, it don’t look like a lot of fun
But don’t you try to fight it, an idea whose time has come
Don’t tell me that I’m crazy, don’t tell me I’m nowhere
Take it from me
[Chorus]
It’s hip to be square
It’s hip to be square
It’s hip to be square
So hip to be square
Tell ’em, boys
[Outro]
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere (So hip to be square)
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
