Getting Over You

Album: Solitaire (1973)
Charted: 35
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was written and originally recorded by Tony Hazzard with the title "I Think I'm Getting over You." It was included on his 1973 album Was That Alright Then?, and covered later that year by Andy Williams, who truncated the title to "Getting Over You" and put it on his album Solitaire. Also in 1973, Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits released his version, this time titled "(I Think I'm Over) Getting Over You."
  • Tony Hazzard told Songfacts the story behind this song: "The idea for this was conceived in Deya, a village in Northern Majorca in The Balearic Islands. It's now become a fashionable haunt for the glitterati since Richard Branson bought The Es Moli Hotel. In the early '70 the village was very quiet and unspoiled, known mainly for being the former home of Robert Graves, the poet.

    I was staying in the Ca'n Quet, an inexpensive little pension across the valley from the Es Moli. It's now become an extension of the Es Moli.

    We used to have lunch on the terrace surrounded by lemon trees, from which fresh lemons were plucked before the meals to go with the fish or salad.

    I was contemplating a relationship which had ended but which still occupied my mind. There were lots of songs about 'getting over you' but none about the opposite: 'getting over, getting over you.' So it was about reminiscing and memories.

    'Wake me up upon my bed of straw' is one of those lines which just appeared, but seemed right.

    The middle section, about remembering times past, includes 'the quiet talk with friends at sunset' and is a translated line from one of Horace's Odes, and a favorite of mine. I think Robert Graves, being a Classicist, would have approved of that.

    I like Andy Williams' and Peter Noone's versions of the song but I prefer my version. The rhythm track was a happy accident of great musicians playing well together, and I was really happy with my string arrangement. On listening to a take, one of the cellists commented on how much he loved the cello part, for me a great compliment. If I were able to mix it again, I'd raised the level of my voice slightly, a typical tendency (for me) when producing myself."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Chris Isaak

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust

Lajon Witherspoon of SevendustSongwriter Interviews

The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

The Evolution of "Ophelia"

The Evolution of "Ophelia"Song Writing

How five songs portray Shakespeare's character Ophelia.