“Getting Away With It” by Electronic

In Electronic’s “Getting Away With It”, the singer comes off as if he is suffering from self-afflicted depression. Or more to the point, in the first verse, he purposely engages in actions which he knows will make him “feel worse” and concludes that he’s been “getting away with” such ‘all his life’.

The second verse gives a deeper glimpse into his inner workings. Here, it becomes quite obvious that he has low self-esteem. However, he introduces the addressee, a particular individual, into the mix. This person is someone, perhaps a romantic interest, who seems to make the singer forget about his mental issues. And once again he concludes this section by exclaiming that he’s been ‘getting away with it all his life’, with “it” logically being his perpetually-negative disposition. And the third verse is basically an extension of the first and second, though he doesn’t mention the title in that particular passage.

Chorus and Bridge

That brings us to the chorus and bridge. During these parts of the song, it is revealed that the addressee is most likely a romantic interest. Yet the singer’s pessimism persists, as he states this his affections for her or more or less unrequited. Moreover he seems to reaffirm that his overall negative outlook on life is something he’s always had to deal with.

“Getting Away With It” disses singer Morrissey?

So honestly we think that whereas this track may be cool, it is also a bit perplexing. For instance, it has been put forth that this is not a love song or even self-analysis at all but rather a diss track against Morrissey, who was a former bandmate of one of the writers and performers of this track (Johnny Marr). And if such is indeed the case, then the lyrics are logically being relayed from that person’s (i.e. Morrissey’s) perspective. In other words, the singer himself isn’t the depressive, spoiled brat whom he depicts himself as; but rather Morrissey is. However, this would not neatly explain why the concept of “falling in love” is included in the song in the bridge.

In Conclusion

So conclusively, there are a few definitive aspects of the narrator’s life and personality which we can ascertained from the lyrics. One is that he’s the victim of unrequited love, at least based on his own perception. Second is that he has low self-esteem. Third is that the aforementioned condition is largely due to him intentionally engaging in actions to depress himself. And more to the point of the title of this track, he is “getting away with it” all. This would indeed seem to indicate that he has no true intentions to alter the less-than-ideal path that his life is currently on.

Facts about “Getting Away With It”

Electronic was a band that hailed from the United Kingdom. It was comprised of musicians that were better known as members of other groups from across the pond. And the musicians are as follows:

• Johnny Marr from The Smiths
• Bernard Sumner from New Order
• The Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant (who was more of a transitory bandmate)

And it is that same trio of artists who are credited with writing “Getting Away With It”.

Moreover, whereas those same three handle most of musical duties, they were also backed by an entire orchestra. And that orchestra was conducted by Anne Dudley, herself once being a member of a popular 1980s British band called Art of Noise.

The primary label behind this song is Factory Records. And they first released the tune on 4 December 1989.

It is featured on Electronic’s debut album, which is also entitled “Electronic”.

As was somewhat common back then, “Getting Away With It” had two different music videos – one for European consumption and the other for American audiences. The first had Chris Marker (European version) as its director and was made in 1989. And the second was shot the following year.

Electronic was active for a little over a decade, and this ended up being their best-selling song. It peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and also appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, Canadian Singles Chart and ARIA Chart (Australia).

Johnny Marr performs “Getting Away With It”

Below is Johnny Marr’s famous live performance of “Getting Away With It”. The performance took place at the 6 Music Live in October of 2014.