In 2003 Extraordinary Machine, which was originally produced by Jon Brion, was submitted to Sony Music executives, who were reportedly unenthusiastic about the finished product and shelved it. On February 26, 2005 radio DJ Andrew Harms at 107.7 The End in Seattle began playing previously unheard tracks from a bootleg copy of Extraordinary Machine, and before long, poor quality copies of "Not about Love", "Get Him Back" and "Used to Love Him" were circulating on the internet. Soon after, CD-quality versions of all the tracks were released through the BitTorrent website TorrentBox. An extensively reworked version of Extraordinary Machine, co-produced by Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew, was released in October 2005.
The Chicago Tribune published a track-by-track comparison of the leaked and official versions of the album, and wrote of "Get Him Back": "Brion's drum fills are more pronounced and strings underscore the vocals, while the Roots' Ahmir Thompson gives the Elizondo-Kehew version a more linear groove." Blender magazine ranked the official version of the song at number thirty-five on its list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005", and a "205 Best Songs to Download from 2005" article in the New York Post placed it at number thirty.
Get Him Back
Fiona Apple Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He give me the gouge and he take my glee
Now every other man I see
Remind me of the one man who disappoined me
Wait till I get him back
He won't have a back to scratch
Yeah, keep turning that chin
As I figure how to kill what I cannot catch
So I say, and on I go
To another one who disappoint me so
Next one up, a contemptible snob
He lived to put things in their place
He did a commendable job
He put himself so low
He can hardly even look me in the face
So wait till I get him back
He won't have a back to scratch
Yeah, keep turning that chin
And you will see my face
As I figure how to kill what I cannot catch
Oh, he made my blood just burn
I flipped so far, I thought that I would not return
But the last one I had who was getting my hopes up
I might've been a little fast to dismiss
I think he let me down, when he didn't disappoint me
He didn't always guess right, but he usually got my gist
So wait till I get him back
I'm gonna bring him home and I'll watch him unpack
Yeah, keep turning that chin
And you will see my face is fixed on the one
I'm gonna get back
I'm gonna get him back, I am
I'm gonna get him back
I really am
I'm gonna get him back
I'm gonna get him back
I am, I'm gonna get him back, oh yeah
In Fiona Apple’s song “Get Him Back,” she sings about the disappointments she’s faced in her romantic relationships. The song’s lyrics talk about her struggles to move on from one particular man who hurt her, and how every man she sees reminds her of him. The lyrics in the chorus express her desire for revenge by stating that she will figure out a way to “kill what I cannot catch”. The song also illustrates the idea that sometimes we become fixated on seeking revenge instead of moving on, which can hinder our healing process.
The first verse of the song sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics by describing a man who hurt her and stole her joy. The second verse introduces a new man who is a “contemptible snob” and who puts her down. In both of these cases, Apple expresses her desire for revenge. However, the third verse sees a change wherein she realizes that the last man she had was not so bad and that she might have been too quick to judge him.
Throughout the song, Apple describes the ways in which men can disappoint and hurt women, and how this can be a difficult emotion to process. The lyrics suggest that it may be a natural part of healing to go through this stage of wanting revenge, but ultimately, it’s better to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
One man, he disappoint me
Fiona is upset with one specific man who has let her down
He give me the gouge and he take my glee
This man has hurt Fiona deeply and taken away her happiness
Now every other man I see
Remind me of the one man who disappoined me
Fiona is having a hard time trusting other men because of this one man's actions
Wait till I get him back
He won't have a back to scratch
Fiona is determined to get revenge on this man and make him pay for his actions
Yeah, keep turning that chin
And you will see my face
As I figure how to kill what I cannot catch
Fiona is confident and focused on getting her revenge
So I say, and on I go
To another one who disappoint me so
Fiona is not giving up on finding love, but she's aware that she may be let down again
Next one up, a contemptible snob
He lived to put things in their place
He did a commendable job
He put himself so low
He can hardly even look me in the face
Fiona has encountered another man who is arrogant and disrespectful towards her
Oh, he made my blood just burn
I flipped so far, I thought that I would not return
This man's behavior has made Fiona very angry and emotional
But the last one I had who was getting my hopes up
I might've been a little fast to dismiss
I think he let me down, when he didn't disappoint me
He didn't always guess right, but he usually got my gist
Fiona regrets dismissing a man who actually cared about her even though he wasn't perfect
So wait till I get him back
I'm gonna bring him home and I'll watch him unpack
Yeah, keep turning that chin
And you will see my face is fixed on the one
I'm gonna get back
Fiona is still determined to get revenge on the man who hurt her before
I'm gonna get him back, I am
I'm gonna get him back
I really am
I'm gonna get him back
I'm gonna get him back
I am, I'm gonna get him back, oh yeah
Fiona is repeating her determination to get revenge on this man
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Fiona Apple Maggart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind