"Gotta Get Up" | |
---|---|
Song by Nilsson | |
from the album Nilsson Schmilsson | |
A-side | "Without You" |
Released | October 11, 1971 |
Recorded | 1971 |
Genre | |
Length | 2:24 |
Label | RCA Victor |
Songwriter(s) | Harry Nilsson |
Producer(s) | Richard Perry |
Official audio | |
"Gotta Get Up" on YouTube |
"Gotta Get Up" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson and the opening track from his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson . It was first released as the B-side to his single "Without You". "Gotta Get Up" is an upbeat pop song with a music hall feeling [2] and lyrics about transitioning from carefree youth to adult responsibility. Nilsson based the lyrics on his experiences working at a bank and on his parents.
"Gotta Get Up" is about the transition from carefree youth to adult responsibility. The song was originally attempted in March 1968 as a potential track for Nilsson's Aerial Ballet (1968) or Harry (1969). This earlier version of the song is cheerier and more uptempo than the recording that was released on Nilsson Schmilsson. The remake takes on a more serious tone and features an aleatoric glissando at the end. Producer Richard Perry said that the addition was inspired by the number of takes devoted to the song: "We had to do so many takes that we got cabin fever and started messing around, and Harry decided to incorporate the craziness in the song." [3]
Nilsson biographer Alyn Shipton suggests that portions of the song are based on Nilsson's former dayjob as a computer programmer at a bank, while other portions are written from the point of view of his parents. [3] Part of the lyrics mention a woman who knew a military sailor that "would pound her for a couple of days, and then he'd sail across the bubbly waves, and those were happier days." [4] According to Pitchfork writer Mike Powell, the lyric demonstrate Nilsson's "intelligence as a writer ... The Nilsson-ness is in the phrase pound her – a contrast between sweet nostalgia and unsentimental truth." [4]
AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwalk said that the lyrics illustrate a "dread of aging and facing responsibility" as Nilsson describes waking up after a wild party and "having to get on with reality – grudgingly." [2] Aisha Harris of The New York Times wrote that the song's "bright, infectious instrumentation belies melancholy, wistful lyrics about growing older." [5]
On October 11, 1971, "Gotta Get Up" was released as the B-side to Nilsson's single "Without You", a Badfinger cover that reached number one on the Billboard Pop and Adult Contemporary singles charts. Both songs were included on Nilsson Schmilsson, released in November 1971.
In 2019, "Gotta Get Up" was prominently featured as the "reset" song in the Netflix series Russian Doll . The song plays each time the series' protagonist Nadia (co-creator Natasha Lyonne) dies and returns to the same location – a bathroom at her 36th birthday party. [5] [6] Its use is similar to that of Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" from the 1993 film Groundhog Day . [5] [7] Lyonne explained that in choosing the song she was struck by the "buoyant doomsday quality" of Nilsson's life. [5] The cost of using the song so many times took up a significant portion of the music budget. His estate also limited how many times the song could be used. [5]
"Gotta Get Up" experienced a surge in streams and searches after the series was released on February 1, 2019. [8] Spotify saw a 3,300 percent increase in streams in the U.S. after the first week of the show's release. [9] Nielsen SoundScan reported a 2,466 percent increase from 8,000 plays (with few downloads sold) to 216,000 plays (with 1,000 downloads sold). [7]
According to the 1971 LP credits: [10]
George Michael Dolenz Jr. is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees, and a co-star of the TV series The Monkees (1966–1968). After the death of Michael Nesmith on December 10, 2021, Dolenz is the last surviving member of the band.
Harry Edward Nilsson III, sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experiments, a return to the Great American Songbook, and fusions of Caribbean sounds. Nilsson was one of the few major pop-rock recording artists to achieve significant commercial success without performing major public concerts or touring regularly.
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Son of Dracula is a 1974 British musical film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. It was produced by Starr and released in 1974 by Apple Films. It is also the title of a soundtrack released in conjunction with the film.
Nilsson Schmilsson is the seventh studio album by American singer Harry Nilsson, released by RCA Records on November 11, 1971. It was Nilsson's most commercially successful work, producing three of his best-known songs. Among these was the number 1 hit "Without You", written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of the group Badfinger. The album was the first of two Nilsson albums recorded in London and produced by Richard Perry.
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Changes is the ninth studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1970 by Colgems Records. The album was issued after Michael Nesmith's exit from the band, leaving only Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones to fulfill the recording contract they had signed in the mid-1960s. Changes was their last new album for Colgems Records and the group's last album of all new material until Pool It!, released in 1987.
Douglas Farthing Hatlelid, better known as Chip Douglas, is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer, whose most famous work was during the 1960s. He was the bassist of the Turtles for a short period of time and the producer of some of the Monkees biggest hits, including "Daydream Believer" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday".
"Coconut" is a novelty song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released as the third single from his 1971 album, Nilsson Schmilsson. It was on the U.S. Billboard charts for 14 weeks, reaching #8, and was ranked by Billboard as the #66 song for 1972. It charted in a minor way in the UK, reaching #42. "Coconut" did best in Canada, where it peaked at #5.
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"This Could Be the Night" is a song recorded by the American band Modern Folk Quartet (MFQ) in 1965. The lyrics describe a couple on the verge of conquering their inhibitions. Written in tribute to the Beach Boys' leader Brian Wilson, the song is one of three that are credited jointly to Harry Nilsson and Phil Spector, although Nilsson submitted that he was the sole writer on a 1966 copyright form.
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