"Pretending" is a
rock song written and composed by
Jerry Lynn Williams. It was released in 1989 on
Eric Clapton's
Journeyman as the first track of the album. The song was released as the lead single from the album, backed with "Hard Times," and reached #55 on the
Billboard Hot 100, making it the album's highest-charting single on that chart. It was also #1 on the
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. In the Netherlands, it reached #3 on the Dutch Tip 40 and #24 on the Dutch Top 40. It became a live favorite.