‘Get It On’ is a song by the English rock band T. Rex, featured on their 1971 album Electric Warrior. Written by frontman Marc Bolan, ‘Get It On’ was the second chart-topper for T. Rex on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it was retitled ‘Bang a Gong (Get It On)’ to avoid confusion with a song of the same name by the group Chase. t spent four weeks at the top in the UK, starting 24 July 1971 (‘Hot Love’ was number one for six weeks from March to May), and it was the group's biggest hit overall, with Bolan claiming that it sold a million. It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at #10 and at #12 in the Cash Box Top 100 in March 1972, becoming the band's only major US hit. The song reached No. 12 in Canada in March 1972.
Following the success of T. Rex's single, ‘Hot Love’, the band went on a United States tour. While in New York in March 1971, Bolan asked drummer Bill Legend to help him brainstorm drum patterns for a song idea that would later become ‘Get It On’. Bolan claimed to have written the song out of his desire to record Chuck Berry's ‘Little Queenie’, and said that the riff was taken from the Berry tune. In fact, a slightly edited line (And meanwhile, I'm still thinking) is delivered during the fade of "Get It On". The line is a nod to a 1959 Chuck Berry’s "Little Queenie," where he sings, "Meanwhile, I'm thinking" with the same inflection.
Written by T. Rex lead singer Marc Bolan, this song is all about sex, but with imagery so comically vague it would be hard for even the most prudish listeners to take offense. Bolan's delivery is feral, and he does keep calling the girl "dirty and sweet," but you really have to stretch to find sexual connotations in a "hubcap diamond star halo" or a "cloak full of eagles." The biggest suggestion is in the title. This is a great example of "glam rock," which was characterized by outrageous, often effeminate costumes, nonsensical lyrics, driving beats and very theatrical stage shows.
In 1985, the "supergroup" The Power Station, which included Robert Palmer and members of Duran Duran, released this as a single under the title "Get It On." Their version went to #9 US and #22 UK.
Labels – Fly (UK), Reprise (US)
Songwriter – Marc Bolan
Producer – Tony Visconti
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Well you're dirty and sweet
Clad in black don't look back and I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
Well you're slim and you're weak
You've got the teeth of the hydra upon you
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
[Chorus]
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
[Verse 2]
Well you're built like a car
You've got a hubcap diamond star halo
You're built like a car, oh yeah
Well you're an untamed youth
That's the truth with your cloak full of eagles
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
[Chorus]
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
[Verse 3]
Well you're windy and wild
You've got the blues in your shoes and your stockings
You're windy and wild, oh yeah
Well you're built like a car
You've got a hubcap diamond star halo
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
[Chorus]
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
[Verse 4]
Well you're dirty and sweet
Clad in black, don't look back and I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
Well you dance when you walk
So let's dance, take a chance, understand me
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
[Outro / Chorus]
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on (ow)
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on (ow - get it on - mh)
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on (a-a-a-a)
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Take me, for a meanwhile I'm still thinking