“Get Better” by alt-J
“Get Better” by alt-J is a bit of a complex song, taking into consideration the length and relative complexity of its narrative. According to Alt-J frontman Joe Newman, the song is a combination of two different pieces that he composed separately.
The first one dates back a couple of years to when his sweetheart was going through a physically-painful ordeal, which is where we get the phrase “get better” from. And the second was actually composed during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, which would explain why for instance we find a shoutout to “frontline workers”, a term that has become especially popular during the crisis, in the fourth verse.
The Addressee
And concerning that first half of this piece it is also quite obvious, given the heavy usage of proper nouns, that the addressee is in fact, at least in part, someone the vocalist knows in real life.
So with premise out of the way, in summation the narrative breaks down as so. The addressee would, in all likelihood, be the romantic interest of the vocalist’s. And by the third verse, the fact that she is sick, hospitalized even, is firmly established. And again, given the aforenoted reference, it can be deduced that perhaps what she is suffering from is COVID-19.
Amidst all of this for whatever reason the vocalist’s mind keeps harping back to an earlier, shall we say more innocent stage in this romance. Perhaps in his mind, the early goings represent simpler, happier, non-sick days. Or it could be that, as inferred by the lyricism in the fifth verse, that the addressee proceeds, sometime after getting out of the hospital, to die in a car crash.
So all of the reminiscing would actually be someone who is still alive, the vocalist, harping back to the days when the addressee was also physically present. Or put differently, he appears to be unable to fully accept the fact that she’s gone.
In Conclusion
So by the time the song comes to an end (i.e. in the outro), the phrase “get better” reads more like a sarcastic one. Earlier in the song yes, it is applicable. But wishing someone who has already passed away good health is further indicative of the singer’s inability to accept the reality of the situation.
Facts about “Get Better”
This track is from “The Dream”. “The Dream” is Alt-J’s 2022 album. And the album was produced by one of the band’s regular collaborators, Charlie Andrew.
Stefanie Grunwald, an animator from Germany, is the main visual artist behind this song’s music video. And accordingly, it is an animated affair.
The labels behind this track are Infectious Music and Canvasback Music. Both of these labels have been working with Alt-J for some years now.
“Get Better” was released on 3 November 2021.
Joe Newman is the primary author of this track.
It’s not sarcastic at the end. He’s listening to his dead loved one’s voice telling him to get better, and taking that he knows he will. That is, he’s saying that he knows he will, in time, get over the disabling grief caused by her death, because he knows that’s what she’d want. It’s deeply earnest and beautiful. Not bitter and sarcastic.
That was my take on it as well. It’s beautiful to me.
Yes! The song reminds me of After Life with Ricky Gervais.
Or maybe get better is meant for the one left behind and not the one who has passed.
This song is about mourning a lost loved one.
The verses are not chronological. Only at the end of the song we learn that his loved one has passed.
The verses we hear him traveling to the hospital to deliver a card to the ICU.
“Happy birthday
Staff smuggled in a card I made
It rests under your pillow
When out of ICU, you’ll cringe at all the “I love you”s”
Meanwhile, the chorus changes from:
Get better, my darling
I know you will
to
Get better, my darling
I hope you will
Hinting on his growing sense of despair and lack of trust things will get better.
Then at the end of the song it becomes apparent that she didn’t make it. And the songs chorus turns on himself, as some sort of mantra.
“Get Better, I know I will”
Sad & lovely at the same time. What a voice.
This song is entirely about mourning a loved one. Listen to the lyrics, very powerful, very beautiful.
I found this song after losing my mom the day after Christmas. It’s been somewhat comforting to me.
My Mom passed January 5 and was not expecting this song from this band. Both comforting and saddening. Sorry for your loss. It’s so hard.
This song, at least for me, is about the loss of love. The deep depression that comes from taking everything and trying to care about others. Others trying to help you, harmed by your stupidity. The last lines are consolation to those that tried to help… She sings Elliot Smith. I think that line is being overlooked, but it is the most powerful context to what’s going on I could certainly be wrong, but that’s how I read my favorite song by Alt-J.
This song is genuinely one of the most beautifuls songs I have ever heard. A soft, but powerful voice with eloquent, yet simple string playing to boost it all the while carrying such a potent message… It tugs at ones heart strings does it not? Though I have not expereinced loss like this in my own life as of yet, this piece imposes sympathy in me. While I do not fully understand the scope of the pain and sadness felt, I do feel ever so much closer to it. That feeling Newman imbues into his song so that it may be imparted to me, among other listeners to bring me closer to my fellow man, is truly amazing.
This song strongly resonates with me; I know all too well the pain and tormented grief one endures after losing their partner. These lyrics are so sweet & Beautiful (in complete earnest), yet almost always leaves me with an eerie haunting feeling that is sort of comforting (idk?). Not a single day goes by that I don’t think about /reminiss him. Strange how the oddest and most random things someone says/does are what we miss and need the most after they’re gone… ????❤️????♥️