Can't Get Along (Without You)

Album: Once Upon a Time In The West. (2007)
Charted: 45
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This track was first recorded by frontman Richard Archer's previous band Contempo. It was considered for Hard-Fi's debut album but it didn't feel right. Eventually they decided to re-record it for Once Upon a Time In The West.
  • The video was directed by Jeremie Rozan and Martial Schmeltz and is based on the chase scene from the movie Point Break. It shows Richard Archer being chased around Berlin and according to guitarist Ross Phillips, Archer performed his own stunts.
  • Jeremie Rozan and Martial Schmeltz won MTV Europe's Best Video Award for Justice vs. Simian's indie-disco hit single "We Are Your Friends." When their name was announced at the award ceremony in Copenhagen, fellow nominee Kanye West jumped on the stage to complain as he was told prior to the event that he was going to win the award.
  • In an interview with I Like Music, Hard-Fi's drummer Steve Kemp talked about this song: "Musically we've always been big fans of Soul music. It's something that I totally grew up with, and I know that Rich did as well. One of the things we like about it, the lyrics may be about heartbreak, but the tune itself would always be really uplifting and make you want to shake your ass on the dance floor. And 'Can't Get Along' sort of morphed into that sort of vibe. It was just something that we're really into. The Ramones, they were a punk band obviously and they did it with 'Baby I Love You' and we thought it would work for us, to make a soulful track with an uplifting vibe."
  • In the same interview Steve Kemp recalled the making of the video for this song: "The video for 'Can't Get Along' was comedy. I only had a cameo part in it, Ross had a cameo part, Kai had a part in it, so we basically stood around, but Rich had to literally run for two days solid, 48 hours. He was up at 5am in the morning and finished at 10 o'clock at night, running away from this big giant German guy all the time. And he kind of morphed into his own kind of action hero, it was hilarious watching him doing in own stunts. I have to say Richard Archer did do his own stunts in that video, which is hilarious, because he's the least action star person I've ever met in my entire life. Every time he fell over he'd be like 'ow', which was quite funny. So that was a laugh for me because I didn't really do anything except stood around and watched him."
  • Richard Archer told the Metro newspaper November 16, 2007 about this song: "It's about a man whose life falls to pieces when he leaves the girl he loves. He thinks it's the best thing to do but it's obviously not. He realizes what he's done and tries to go back and fix it."
  • Though this was Hard-Fi's lowest charting single in the UK to date, in Peru this unexpectedly went all the way to #1.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Hawksley Workman

Hawksley WorkmanSongwriter Interviews

One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Brenda Russell

Brenda RussellSongwriter Interviews

Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.