Get the Joke

About

Get the Joke appeared as a B-side to Angels and was co-written by Robbie Williams and long-time guitarist Gary Nuttall. Playful, fast-paced, and full of cheeky asides, it captures Williams’ sense of humour at its sharpest. The song stands out as one of his most overtly comedic early releases — a burst of wordplay and irony set to jangling guitars and a stomping rhythm.

The lyrics are packed with wit and surreal humour, including references to lawsuits, everyday frustrations, and sudden outbursts of absurdity. “It’s suing season and I am broke, who put this spanner stroke chainsaw in my spokes?” hints at the legal and financial battles that surrounded Williams in the mid-1990s, while the final shout of “Arse!” leaves no doubt about its irreverent tone.

Unlike many of his B-sides, Get the Joke has occasionally resurfaced in stripped-back form. An acoustic version performed with Nuttall — filmed for the fan-club DVD Inner Sanctum — reveals how strong the song is beneath its humour, with Williams’ voice and Nuttall’s guitar carrying the melody effortlessly.

That was just me and Gaz messing around. We didn’t overthink it — it was a laugh that somehow worked as a song.Robbie Williams

Despite its comedic surface, Get the Joke encapsulates the charm that made Williams so distinctive as a solo artist: the ability to mix sincerity, mischief, and melody in equal measure. It’s a small reminder that his lighter moments often carried the same confidence and creativity as his biggest hits.