‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place’, occasionally written ‘We've Gotta Get Out of This Place’, is a rock song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded as a 1965 hit single by the Animals. It has become an iconic song of its type and was immensely popular with United States Armed Forces G.I.s during the Vietnam War. In 2004 it was ranked number 233 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list; it is also in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. The song reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart on August 14, 1965 (held out of the top slot by the Beatles' "Help!"). The following month, it reached number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, its highest placement there. In Canada, the song also reached number 2, on September 20, 1965.
Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil were husband and wife (and future Hall of Fame) songwriters associated with the 1960s Brill Building scene in New York City. Mann and Weil wrote and recorded ‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place’ as a demo, with Mann singing and playing piano. It was intended for The Righteous Brothers, for whom they had written the number one hit ‘You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'’ but then Mann gained a recording contract for himself, and his label Red Bird Records wanted him to release it instead. Meanwhile, record executive Allen Klein had heard it and gave the demo to Mickie Most, the Animals' producer. Most already had a call out to Brill Building songwriters for material for the group's next recording session (the Animals hits ‘It's My Life’ and ‘Don't Bring Me Down’ came from the same call), and the Animals recorded it before Mann could.
In the Animals' rendition, the lyrics were slightly reordered and reworded from the demo and opened with a locational allusion – although different from that in the songwriters' minds – that was often taken as fitting the group's industrial, working-class Newcastle-upon-Tyne origins.
At the time, the title and simple emotional appeal of ‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place’ lent itself to some obvious self-identifications—for instance, it was a very popular number to be played at high school senior proms and graduation parties. Writer Craig Werner sees the song as reflecting the desire of people to take a hard look at their own lives and the community from where they come. Eric Burdon later said, "The song became an anthem for different people – everybody at some time wants to get out of the situation they're in." The song was very popular with United States Armed Forces members stationed in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was frequently requested of, and played by, American Forces Vietnam Network disc jockeys.
Labels – Columbia Graphophone (UK), MGM (US)
Songwriters – Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Producer – Mickie Most
SONG LYRICS
In this dirty old part of the cityWhere the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'
Now my girl, you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
Oh, yes I know it
(Yeah) And I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah) Every night and day
(Yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We gotta get outta this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get outta this place
'Cause girl, there's a better life for me and you
Now my girl, you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
I know he's been workin' so hard
(Yeah) Every day, baby
(Yeah) Whoa, ohhh...
(Yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We gotta get outta this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get outta this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Somewhere, baby
Somehow I know it, baby
We gotta get outta this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get outta this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Believe me, baby
I know it, baby
You know it too