The Getaway

Album: The Getaway (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • This disco-inflected song is the title track of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' The Getaway album. Many of Anthony Kiedis' lyrics for the record were inspired by the end of his two-year romantic relationship with supermodel Helena Vestergaard in late 2014. This cryptically written song appears to be about two lovers with a large age difference who realize they need to split up; Kiedis was 50 and Vestergaard only 19 when they began dating.
  • Kiedis told The Sun about The Getaway's lyric content: "It's about the end of a relationship and heartbreak. I was a mess for the last year of my life. To be so in love with somebody and then have it not work out even though you would have done anything to figure it out. I was definitely shaken and saddened. But I got through it and felt even more turned on by life and playing music and so I had something to write about."

    "Those two years of the relationship turned out to be a very valuable experience and material for singing about. One of my best mates said, 'Dude you got a record out of the deal so don't even sweat about it as she was worth all the aggravation."
  • Anna Waronker, best known for being the singer of 1990s rock band That Dog, provided the backing vocals on the song.
  • The synths were played by The Getaway producer Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton). Danger Mouse has also produced the Black Keys, Gorillaz, U2 and Norah Jones, and is a member of Gnarls Barkley (with Cee Lo Green) and Broken Bells (with James Mercer of the Shins).
  • The Getaway was the first album the Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded without longtime collaborator Rick Rubin for over a quarter of a century. The legendary producer had helmed each of the band's records since 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
  • Post Malone joined RHCP when they performed this song at the Grammy Awards in 2019.

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