In the early 1990s there was a BBC sitcom based on (kind of) the lyrics from this song.
It was a standard family sitcom, but the parents were called Martin and Loretta Sweet, there was a a child called Jojo and the plot was that they had been successful but lost their cash in the 1991 recession and so were trying to 'get back' to their previous lifestyle.
(I didn't know this at the time, but also the episodes were named after Beatles songs).
For a while in the mid 90s I honestly thought I'd dreamed it, because it wasn't particularly successful and it seemed (to me) such an implausible way to come up with a sitcom idea. But then someone invented the Internet and I was able to check I wasn't going mad.
Anyway.
Excellent write up as usual and I think you have this one placed right.
It is wild, not least because 'BBC makes comedy programme full of Beatles references' seems too ridiculously British to be true. It's the kind of thing that could be a 3 second gag in a Simpson's episode.
This is a top ten one for my wife (as is Come Together; I tried to get her into your project but your low ranking of it has made her deeply suspicious, lol)...I like it a lot, but I think your rating is closer to mine. I love the rock n roll vibe, and I love, love, love the little guitar fills, and it's Paul McCartney at his whimsically surreal lyrical best--but I think the Beatles have enough better songs that are in kind of the same vein as this one that it doesn't totally stand out to me.
That clip reminds me I still need to watch part 3 of Get Back.
I also do appreciate the song more after seeing it evolve before our eyes on the Peter Jackson video.
I know early on you said you'd only rate one version of any tune with multiple versions. I'm guessing that you'll mention when your rating is based on a particular version of a song, and that despite very different endings, all versions of "Get Back" were similar enough that it would have ended up at #80 anyway?
Yeah, I’m aware that they are different takes, but I have a hard time even really remembering what exactly is different (apart from the outro). I’m ‘officially’ ranking the single version which at some point I decided was the one I liked the most.
That footnote about the scrapped Enoch Powell satire is wild, they realized the joke wasn't sharp enough and could read as the opposite of what they meant. Kind of makes sense why 'Get Back' still gets side-eyed sometimes given how close that title and chorus came to meaning something completely different than what ended up on the record. Love watching that creation scene described like this, it's incredible footage
It's a song that seems like it's been there forever. Timeless. It's not my favorite to listen to, but I never object. The lyrics are a bit tossed-off and silly, but that adds to the feel of the song. Nice write-up!
My wife and I had a 3 hour drive last night where we listened to the Beatles on loop and discussed how we'd rank them, and one of the things we both agree: all the Beatles had a gift for making goofy lyrics not feel throwaway: there's often some interaction between the playfulness of the silly lyrics and the vibe of the song that lets you "suspend disbelief" and fully enter the lyrical world of the song.
I do think there’s an element of credit that comes from being the Beatles, which means we’re inclined to give the benefit of the doubt more than we might with an unknown artist, or an artist that doesn’t have a million cool points in the bank.
But that’s maybe 20% of it. They were just really good at making things hang together with very little superstructure.
Yeah, fair point. Maybe like, Yellow Submarine gets a serious boost from the Beatles halo, for example. Or, much as I love it and it pains me to say, Octopus Garden.
But I think Get Back really does stand on its own: the lyrics are loose and vibey, but the vibe they carry has a coherence somehow; and it totally fits with the vibe of the music too.
In the early 1990s there was a BBC sitcom based on (kind of) the lyrics from this song.
It was a standard family sitcom, but the parents were called Martin and Loretta Sweet, there was a a child called Jojo and the plot was that they had been successful but lost their cash in the 1991 recession and so were trying to 'get back' to their previous lifestyle.
(I didn't know this at the time, but also the episodes were named after Beatles songs).
For a while in the mid 90s I honestly thought I'd dreamed it, because it wasn't particularly successful and it seemed (to me) such an implausible way to come up with a sitcom idea. But then someone invented the Internet and I was able to check I wasn't going mad.
Anyway.
Excellent write up as usual and I think you have this one placed right.
That is wild
It is wild, not least because 'BBC makes comedy programme full of Beatles references' seems too ridiculously British to be true. It's the kind of thing that could be a 3 second gag in a Simpson's episode.
This is a top ten one for my wife (as is Come Together; I tried to get her into your project but your low ranking of it has made her deeply suspicious, lol)...I like it a lot, but I think your rating is closer to mine. I love the rock n roll vibe, and I love, love, love the little guitar fills, and it's Paul McCartney at his whimsically surreal lyrical best--but I think the Beatles have enough better songs that are in kind of the same vein as this one that it doesn't totally stand out to me.
That clip reminds me I still need to watch part 3 of Get Back.
I also do appreciate the song more after seeing it evolve before our eyes on the Peter Jackson video.
I know early on you said you'd only rate one version of any tune with multiple versions. I'm guessing that you'll mention when your rating is based on a particular version of a song, and that despite very different endings, all versions of "Get Back" were similar enough that it would have ended up at #80 anyway?
Yeah, I’m aware that they are different takes, but I have a hard time even really remembering what exactly is different (apart from the outro). I’m ‘officially’ ranking the single version which at some point I decided was the one I liked the most.
I agree Two of Us is a better song, but perhaps the Preston contribution gives Get Back the edge from a commercial point of view?
If you do die on the hill, it may well be my dithering indecision that gets you killed. Tragic.
That footnote about the scrapped Enoch Powell satire is wild, they realized the joke wasn't sharp enough and could read as the opposite of what they meant. Kind of makes sense why 'Get Back' still gets side-eyed sometimes given how close that title and chorus came to meaning something completely different than what ended up on the record. Love watching that creation scene described like this, it's incredible footage
Never liked this one much. I agree that it elevated itself a bit thanks to the film. But only a bit.
I will die on the hill that Two of Us should have been the single!
It's a song that seems like it's been there forever. Timeless. It's not my favorite to listen to, but I never object. The lyrics are a bit tossed-off and silly, but that adds to the feel of the song. Nice write-up!
My wife and I had a 3 hour drive last night where we listened to the Beatles on loop and discussed how we'd rank them, and one of the things we both agree: all the Beatles had a gift for making goofy lyrics not feel throwaway: there's often some interaction between the playfulness of the silly lyrics and the vibe of the song that lets you "suspend disbelief" and fully enter the lyrical world of the song.
I do think there’s an element of credit that comes from being the Beatles, which means we’re inclined to give the benefit of the doubt more than we might with an unknown artist, or an artist that doesn’t have a million cool points in the bank.
But that’s maybe 20% of it. They were just really good at making things hang together with very little superstructure.
Yeah, fair point. Maybe like, Yellow Submarine gets a serious boost from the Beatles halo, for example. Or, much as I love it and it pains me to say, Octopus Garden.
But I think Get Back really does stand on its own: the lyrics are loose and vibey, but the vibe they carry has a coherence somehow; and it totally fits with the vibe of the music too.