‘One Way or Another’ is a song by American new wave band Blondie from their 1978 album Parallel Lines. The song was released as the fourth North American single from Parallel Lines, following the band's chart-topping ‘Heart of Glass’ single. The song reached number 24 in the US and number 7 in Canada. It was not released as a single in the UK, but later charted in 2013.
Written by Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison for the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines (1978), ‘One Way or Another’ was inspired by one of Harry's ex-boyfriends who stalked her after their breakup. According to Harry, the boyfriend's constant calling and persistent stalking forced her to move out of New Jersey. The stalking had taken place in 1973, when Harry was a member of The Stilettos; Harry's former bandmate Elda Gentile recalled, "It was freaking us all out, especially Chris [Stein]". Harry explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: “I was actually stalked by a nutjob so it came out of a not-so-friendly personal event. But I tried to inject a little bit of levity into it to make it more light-hearted. I think in a way that's a normal kind of survival mechanism. You know, just shake it off, say one way or another, and get on with your life. Everyone can relate to that and I think that's the beauty of it.”
Musically, the song was composed by bassist Nigel Harrison, who first introduced the song to keyboardist Jimmy Destri. He explained, "My original music for 'One Way or Another' was this psychedelic, Ventures-like futuristic surf song gone wrong. Jimmy really liked this piece of music, and we would play it on the road. Then Debbie picked up on it; she came up with the 'getcha-getcha-getcha's'".
‘One Way or Another’ has since seen critical acclaim for Harry's aggressive vocals and the band's energetic performance. It has been ranked by many critics as one of the band's best songs, has appeared on several compilation albums, and has become a live favorite for the band. With radio-friendly songs like this one, Blondie was one of the first Punk bands to have Pop success. They played clubs like CBGB's (stands for Country, BlueGrass, Blues) with bands like The Ramones and Television, but their songs were much lighter and led to mainstream acceptance. The Police and Talking Heads are other groups that came out of that scene.
Since its release, ‘One Way or Another’ has seen critical acclaim. Billboard said that ‘One Way or Another,’ "moves in machine gun fashion as Debbie Harry's vocal sounds almost demonic." Cash Box noted the "gritty fuzz guitar," "pummelling drum beat," "slightly quirky" beat, "engaging bass line" and said that "Harry's slinky vocals are delivered with playful aggressiveness." Pitchfork praised the song as "exuberant new wave, far looser than the stiff, herky-jerky tracks that would go on to characterize that sound in the 80s," while Louder said of the track, "It was the song that took them from the punk clubs of New York to the arenas of the world, and cemented Debbie Harry’s status as rock's foremost badass." Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 298 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Label – Chrysalis (US)
Songwriters – Debbie Harry, Nigel Harrison
Producer – Mike Chapman
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro]
[Verse 1]
One way or another, I'm gonna find ya
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another I'm gonna win ya
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another I'm gonna see ya
I'm gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya
One day, maybe next week, I'm gonna meet ya
I'm gonna meet ya, I'll meet ya
[Chorus 1]
I will drive past your house
And if the lights are all down
I'll see who's around
[Verse 2]
One way or another, I'm gonna find ya
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another, I'm gonna win ya
I'll get ya, I'll get ya
One way or another, I'm gonna see ya
I'm gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya
One day, maybe next week, I'm gonna meet ya
I'll meet ya
[Chorus 2]
And if the lights are all out
I'll follow your bus downtown
See who's hangin' 'round
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Verse 3]
One way or another, I'm gonna lose ya
I'm gonna give you the slip
A slip of the hip or another, I'm gonna lose you
I'm gonna trick ya, I'll trick ya
One way or another, I'm gonna lose ya
I'm gonna trick ya, trick ya, trick ya, trick ya
One way or another, I'm gonna lose ya
I'm gonna give you the slip
[Bridge]
I'll walk down the mall, stand over by the wall
Where I can see it all, find out who you call
Lead you to the supermarket checkout
Some specials and rat food, get lost in the crowd
[Outro]
One way or another I'm gonna get ya
(Where I can see it all, find out who you call)
I'll get ya, I'll get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another I'm gonna get ya
(Where I can see it all, find out who you call)
I'll get ya, I'll get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another I'm gonna get ya
(Where I can see it all, find out who you call)
I'll get ya, I'll get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another I'm gonna get ya
(Where I can see it all, find out who you call)
I'll get ya, I'll get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another I'm gonna get ya
(Where I can see it all, find out who you call)
I'll get ya, I'll get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another I'm gonna get ya
(Where I can see it all, find out who you call)
I'll get ya, I'll get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another–
