"The Freshmen" is a song by American alternative rock band the Verve Pipe. Released in January 1997 as the third single from their second studio album Villains, the song became the band's breakthrough hit and is the group's highest-charting single, peaking at number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 6 in Canada, and number 28 in Australia. Background and content In an interview with Exclusive, lead singer and songwriter Brian Vander Ark stated that the incident which inspired the song was when his pregnant girlfriend had an abortion. In a 2018 interview with Songfacts, Vander Ark said: Versions The song first appeared, in acoustic style, on their 1992 album I've Suffered a Head Injury. It was recorded a second time and released on the band's 1996 album, Villains. Later that year, the band recorded the song again, this time with the producer Jack Joseph Puig, for release as a single in January 1997. Subsequent pressings of Villains replaced the original album version with the single version. "The Freshmen" peaked at number 5 in the United States. In addition, a slightly modified single version was released to radio, with Vander Ark singing the final lyrics of the second verse ("thinks about her now and how he never really wept") in the same melodic sequence as he sings the homologous lyrics at the end of the first verse ("stop a baby's breath..."), as opposed to his higher-pitched, almost yelled rendering of these lyrics in the version that appeared on the album. Track listings US CD single "The Freshmen" (album mix) – 4:29 "The Freshmen" (pop mix) – 4:29 "The Freshmen" (Studio D version) – 5:06 "Ominous Man" (album version) – 4:20 "Spoonful of Sugar" (live) – 4:53 US cassette single A. "The Freshmen" (album mix) – 4:29 B. "The Freshmen" (pop mix) – 4:29 European and Australian CD single "The Freshmen" (mix one) – 4:29 "The Freshmen" (mix two) – 4:29 "Ominous Man" (album version) – 4:20 "Spoonful of Sugar" (live) – 4:53 Charts and certifications Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications |} Release history Cover versions In 2004, Skott Freedman released a piano version of the song on his album Judge a Book. In 2005, the then-Boston Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo covered the song on his first covers album, Covering the Bases. In 2010, Jay Brannan released a soft indie version of the song as a single, "The Freshmen".