Don't Get Me Wrong

"Don't Get Me Wrong" is a song by British-American alternative rock group the Pretenders. It was the first single released from the group's fourth studio album, Get Close (1986). It was also included on the band's The Singles album, released in 1987. Frontwoman Chrissie Hynde said she was inspired to write the song for her friend John McEnroe.

Background
The song features a jangly guitar sound and an emphasis on melody. Hynde's lyrics contain literary references in addition to the more relationship-based subject matter typical for rock and pop music.

Reception
Billboard said that although Hynde is the only original Pretender remaining, this song represents "a pretty upbeat, strutting, confident Pretenders." Cash Box praised Hynde's "sultry vocal" and "powerful songwriting." Classic rock review describes "Don't Get Me Wrong" as a "jaunty rock track". Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated it the Pretenders' eighth-greatest song, saying that it "[hammers] home the point rather succinctly that when it comes to love from the female point of view, it's best to expect the unexpected."

Chart performance
In the United States, "Don't Get Me Wrong" became the group's second top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 10. It also spent three weeks atop the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in November 1986. In the United Kingdom, the song also peaked at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart. In Australia, it became a top-10 hit, reaching No. 8 on the Kent Music Report.

Music video
The music video for the song is a tribute to the British 1960s TV spy series The Avengers, with Chrissie Hynde playing Emma Peel searching for John Steed, while being diverted by body doubles and rival agents. She drives a 1983 Reliant Scimitar SS1. Steed actor Patrick Macnee appears in the original series' footage, with Hynde electronically inserted. Two edits to the video were made, the second edit adds alternate shots (including a scene of one of the body doubles being revealed to be a woman) and inserts footage of the band performing in a studio.

Personnel

 * Chrissie Hynde – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
 * Robbie McIntosh – guitars
 * T. M. Stevens – bass guitar

Additional personnel
 * Chucho Merchán – bass guitar
 * Steve Jordan – drums, percussion
 * Paul "Wix" Wickens – synthesizer, piano

Covers

 * Leigh Nash released a version in 2018.
 * Hale Appleman covered the song in the musical episode "All That Hard, Glossy Armor" (Season 4, Episode 10) of The Magicians.