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Gotta Get Away (The Offspring song)

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"Gotta Get Away"
Single by the Offspring
from the album Smash
B-side"Smash" (live)
ReleasedFebruary 2, 1995 (1995-02-02)
Genre
Length3:53
LabelEpitaph
Songwriter(s)Dexter Holland
Producer(s)Thom Wilson
The Offspring singles chronology
"Self Esteem"
(1994) 		"Gotta Get Away"
(1995) 		"Smash It Up"
(1995)
Alternative Cover
Vinyl Cover

"Gotta Get Away" is a song by American rock band the Offspring. It is the fourth track and third single from their breakthrough album, Smash (1994). The song was a modest hit in several countries and peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Gotta Get Away" was inspired by an early track, "Cogs", written while the band was still named Manic Subsidal.[1] Although the song was a big hit, it did not reach the heights nor achieve the popularity, success, airplay, or sales of the album's previous singles "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem".

The song has two single covers. The first, the cover for the CD single, depicts a skeleton in the same style as the previous singles from Smash: "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem". The second, the cover for the 7-inch vinyl, shows the actor from the video standing outside the coliseum, his eyes covered by the song title. The song also appears as the same numbered track on the Offpsring's Greatest Hits (2005).

Composition

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Gotta Get Away is described as a punk rock,[2] alternative rock[2] and power pop[3] song.

Content

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The lyrics refer to the pressure that lead singer Dexter Holland was under to finish the album on time.[4] He told Rolling Stone:[5]

We were at Track Record Studios in North Hollywood with [producer] Thom Wilson, and we were writing up to the last minute. We didn’t have a lot of time to finish the record and we didn’t have a lot of money. [...] The last two nights I still had four songs left to do. I’d go in, spend a few hours writing a lyric, then a few hours singing it. Then I’d do it again. I remember “It’ll Be a Long Time” and “Smash” happened on those days. I was there until five in the morning trying to get everything done.

Music video

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The music video for the song was directed by Samuel Bayer and filmed at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Salt Lake City, UT on December 17, 1994.[6] The video starts with a boy entering a coliseum where a mosh pit breaks out while the band plays. It is predominantly in black and white. The video ends with the same boy lying on the floor alone. The music video appears on the Complete Music Video Collection DVD, released in 2005.

Track listings

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CD single

No.TitleLength
1."Gotta Get Away"3:56
2."We Are One"4:00
3."Forever and a Day"2:37

Swedish CD maxi and U.K. 7-inch black vinyl

No.TitleLength
1."Gotta Get Away"3:56
2."Smash" (Live version)3:01

Personnel

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The Offspring

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Charts

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Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Europe February 2, 1995 CD Epitaph [17]
United Kingdom August 7, 1995
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Out of Step [27]

References

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  1. ^ The Offspring's Greatest Hits DVD Extra
  2. ^ a b "The 95 Best Alternative Rock Songs Of 1995". SPIN. August 6, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  3. ^ Tijs, Andrew (2016). "The Offspring - Crash". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 734.
  4. ^ The Offspring's Greatest Hits "Gotta Get Away"
  5. ^ Bienstock, Richard (April 8, 2014). "How the Offspring's 'Smash' Defeated the Majors". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  6. ^ The Offspring's official Twitter account, posted and fetched on December 17, 2014.
  7. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 23 July 1995". ARIA. Retrieved June 1, 2017 – via Imgur. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  8. ^
  9. ^ "Offspring – Gotta Get Away" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  10. ^ "Offspring – Gotta Get Away" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. ^ "Offspring – Gotta Get Away" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9026." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  13. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. August 26, 1995. p. 22. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  14. ^ "European Alternative Rock Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. August 19, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 32, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  17. ^ a b "Offspring – Gotta Get Away" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ "Offspring – Gotta Get Away". VG-lista.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  20. ^ "Offspring – Gotta Get Away". Singles Top 100.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  22. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  23. ^ "The Offspring Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "The Offspring Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "The Offspring Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-76.
  27. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. August 5, 1995. p. 31.
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