Getting Started

Album: Seventeen Going Under (2021)
Charted: 47
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Sam Fender's parents split up when he was 8. At first he lived with his father, but when his stepmother kicked him out, he moved back in with his mum. She suffered from fibromyalgia, which affected her mental health and her ability to work. Here, the acerbic troubadour recalls being 18 and wanting to get on his with his life, only to return home and find his mother in turmoil.

    "'Getting Started' is about a conversation between us," Fender told Apple Music. "Me going like, 'This is s--t, but I need to just be a kid, to go out and live my life. I've just turned 18. I want to go out to the pub, to see my mates.' I needed my escapism."
  • During the first verse, Fender admits to earning much-needed cash from some shady characters.

    When you're out of luck and your mother's in need
    I made my money for the crooks and pushers
    In the hopes that I claw somethin' together for tonight


    When Fender was 18, he had a job that led to him mixing with some charming but rather suspect people. "They ended up disappearing and getting charged for things," he told The Guardian, "but I wasn't involved in anything illicit, I was on the sidelines."
  • I came home and you were on the floor
    Floored by the letters and the council rigmarole
    What I wouldn't do to get you out this hole


    During the second verse, Fender describes finding his mother overwhelmed by all the paperwork she needed to complete in order to get support from the local council and the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions). The stories he tells in the song are personal to him, but his mum's frustration with the DWP is universal. "How you're trapped as a person who's fallen on a hard time by your government," Fender said, "is a unanimous story for so many millions of people in this country."
  • Fender also touches on his mother's financial troubles and mental health issues in "Seventeen Going Under." That song is set a year earlier.
  • Fender wrote "Getting Started" solo. His longtime friend and go-to producer Bramwell Bronte helmed the track.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Famous Singers' First Films

Famous Singers' First FilmsSong Writing

A look at the good (Diana Ross, Eminem), the bad (Madonna, Bob Dylan) and the peculiar (David Bowie, Michael Jackson) film debuts of superstar singers.

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.