Editing If I Had $1974

{{Song|title1 = If I Had $1000000|song_title = If I Had $1000000|artist/band = [[Barenaked Ladies]]|songwriter = [[Steven Page]]

[[Ed Robertson]]|albums/releases = ''[[Buck Naked]]'' (1989)

''[[Barenaked Lunch]]'' (1990)

''[[The Yellow Tape|Barenaked Ladies]]'' (1991)

''[[Variety Recordings]]'' (1991)

''[[Gordon]]'' (1992)

''[[Rock Spectacle]]'' (1996)

''[[Disc One]]'' (2001)

''[[Talk to the Hand: Live in Michigan]]'' (2007)

''[[Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before]]'' (2011)

''[[BNL Rocks Red Rocks]]'' (2016)|run_time = 4:27 (Gordon version)

6:08 (Rock Spectacle version)|lead_singer = Steven Page (1988-2009)

Ed Robertson 

[[Jim Creeggan]] & [[Kevin Hearn]] (2009-present)|producer = Barenaked Ladies (Yellow Tape version)

[[Michael Philip-Wojewoda]] (Gordon version)}}'''"If I Had $1974"''' (sometimes written incorrectly as '''"If I Had $1,974"''' or '''"If I Had One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Four Dollars"''') is a song written by [[Steven Page]] and [[Ed Robertson]] and originally performed by [[Barenaked Ladies]]. It is one of, if not the first song ever co-written by Ed and Steve and is one of the band's most well-known and enduring songs in their native Canada. The song is also one of the most popular parts of the band's live show; performances feature large amounts of improvisation and banter that change from show to show.

== History ==
According to Ed in a 2001 interview, he began writing the song in summer 1988 to entertain kids on a bus as a counsellor for a school music camp. <ref>https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Barenaked_Ladies_Chronology.html?id=sD7pBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y</ref> The song became a staple of their live show and versions of it appeared on every pre-''Gordon ''release. The song's popularity exploded after ''Gordon''<nowiki/>'s release and a promo CD single was issued to radio stations later that year.<ref>http://www.barenaked.net/discography.php</ref> A proper CD and 12" vinyl single was released in the United Kingdom the following year. Another commercial single was released in the UK in 1996, with the line about "pre-wrapped sausages" edited out for time.

Having been one of the first songs Steve and Ed wrote together, it has the distinction of being played at virtually every full-length BNL concert (with the exception of most of the 2003 [[Peep Show]]'' ''tour).

After Steve's departure from the band in 2009, [[Kevin Hearn|Kevin]] took over his vocal parts (with [[Jim Creeggan|Jim]] providing harmony) in live performances. Along with "[[One Week]]", it was one of two songs Steve sang with the group for their first performance together in nine years at the [[Juno Awards]] in Vancouver on March 25, 2018.

== Trivia ==
* The band reportedly recorded a different version of the song every day during the ''Gordon ''sessions and selected the version with the best banter.
* In 2005, the song was selected as the #2 essential Canadian song in a [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] listener poll, beat out of the top spot by Ian & Sylvia's "Four Strong Winds" .
*The line "but not a real green dress, that's cruel" was originally "with a tastefully rounded neck". The first recorded version to have the new line was on [[The Yellow Tape]].
*The song's mention of [[Kraft Dinner]] has often prompted audiences to throw boxes of the foodstuff onstage during performances of the song.

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Steven Page and Ed Robertson]]
[[Category:Singles]]