Here’s Brit Daniel on the origins of song (Pitchfork interview):
The first time I sang the chorus to “The Way We Get By”, it was just off-the-cuff, but I knew it was good. From that, I turned it into a glorified, fucked-up-relationship song about a scrappy couple getting high in the backseat, makin...
[Verse 1]
We get high in backseats of cars
We break into mobile homes
We go to sleep to "Shake Appeal"
Never wake up on our own
[Chorus]
And that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by
Aw, that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by
[Verse 2]
We go out in stormy weather
We rarely practice discern
We make love to "Some Weird Sin"
We seek out the taciturn
[Chorus]
And that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by
Aw, that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by
Well, that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by, it's the way
And that's the way we get by
That's the way we get by
[Verse 3]
We found a new kind of dance in a magazine
Tried it out, it's like nothing you ever seen
You sweet talk like a cop and you know it
You bought a new bag of pot, said, "Let's make a new start"
[Chorus]
And that's the way to my heart
It's the way to my heart
And that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by
And that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by, it's the way
Well, that's the way we get by
That's the way we get by
[Verse 4]
We get high in backseats of cars
We put faith in our concerns
Fall in love to "Down on the Street"
We believe in the sum of ourselves, I said
[Chorus]
That's the way we get by
It's the way we get by
Aw, that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by
And that's the way we get by
It's the way we get by, it's the way
And that's the way we get by
That's the way we get by
The Way We Get By was written by Britt Daniel.
The Way We Get By was produced by Mike McCarthy & Britt Daniel & Jim Eno.
Spoon released The Way We Get By on Mon Sep 15 2003.