You know that feeling when you're just done? Like, you’ve put your heart through a meat grinder and the last thing you want to do is go back for seconds. That is exactly where Pink meets us in her 2012 hit. People usually call it Pink's Try, but if you're humming the chorus, you’re looking for the song gotta get up and try because that line hits like a physical shove. It isn't just a pop song. It’s a manifesto for the exhausted.
When "Try" first dropped as the second single from The Truth About Love, it felt different from "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)." It wasn't snarky. It wasn't "So What" levels of bratty defiance. It was heavy. It was muscular. Honestly, it’s one of the few songs from that era that actually sounds better when you’re older and a bit more bruised by life.
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The Reality Behind the Lyrics of the Song Gotta Get Up and Try
Most people think Pink wrote this. She didn't. That’s a common misconception. It was actually penned by Busbee and Ben West. Busbee, who we tragically lost in 2019, was a melodic genius who knew how to bridge the gap between country storytelling and pop power. When Pink heard the demo, she reportedly fought for it. She knew.
The song asks a terrifying question: "Where there is desire, there is gonna be a flame / Where there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned."
It’s basic physics. Emotional thermodynamics. If you want the heat of a relationship, you have to accept the possibility of the third-degree burn. The song gotta get up and try isn't telling you that things will be fine. It’s telling you that things will be painful, and you should do it anyway. That is a hard sell. Most pop songs promise a "happily ever after" or a "thank u, next" dismissal. This one just promises more work.
The production by Greg Kurstin is intentionally sparse at the start. You get that driving, muted guitar line. It feels like a heartbeat during a panic attack. Then the drums kick in, and Pink’s vocals lose that breathy quality and turn into a raspy roar. She’s not singing to a lover; she’s singing to her own reflection in a cracked mirror.
Why the Music Video Changed Everything
We have to talk about the video. If you haven't seen it in a while, go back and watch it. It’s not a dance routine. It’s Apache dance—a violent, highly stylized form of street performance. Pink and her partner, Colt Prattes, are covered in colorful powder, but they aren't celebrating. They are colliding.
They throw each other. They catch each other. They look like they want to kill each other and save each other at the exact same time.
Pink’s mother reportedly told her it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever done, but also that it was terrifying to watch. That’s the point. The song gotta get up and try is about the physicality of emotional resilience. Resilience isn't a quiet thought. It’s a bailing-water-out-of-a-sinking-boat kind of effort.
The video was directed by Floria Sigismondi. She’s the same visionary who worked with David Bowie and Marilyn Manson. She didn't want a "pretty" video. She wanted grit. She wanted the dust to fly off their bodies when they hit the floor. It’s a visual representation of the "flame" mentioned in the lyrics. You see the sparks, but you also see the bruises.
The Psychology of Risk and Resilience
Why does this song still resonate? Why do people still search for the song gotta get up and try more than a decade later?
Because humans are biologically wired to avoid pain.
Psychologists often talk about the "negativity bias." We remember the burns way more vividly than the warmth of the fire. Pink's track argues against our own evolution. It says the desire is worth the risk.
Think about the bridge: "Ever worry that it might be ruined? / Does it make you wanna cry? / When you're out there on your own / And you're just about to die."
It’s hyperbolic, sure. But that’s how heartbreak feels. It feels terminal. The genius of the songwriting here is that it doesn't offer a "fix." It offers a cycle. You get up, you try, you fail, you get burned, you heal, and—crucially—you get up again.
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Cultural Impact and Longevity
"Try" peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. But "peak" is a funny word for a song like this. It never really left the cultural consciousness. It’s a staple for reality singing competitions—mostly because it’s incredibly difficult to sing. You need a massive chest voice and the ability to flip into a controlled grit without losing the pitch.
It also redefined what a "Pink song" could be. It moved her away from the "party girl" persona and cemented her as the "adult in the room" of pop music. She wasn't singing about being a "Rockstar" anymore; she was singing about the wreckage left behind after the party ends.
Misconceptions About the Message
Some critics at the time thought the song was a bit "victim-blaming" or that it encouraged people to stay in bad situations. Honestly? I think that’s a shallow take.
The song isn't about staying with a specific person who treats you like garbage. It’s about the act of loving itself. It’s about not letting a bad experience turn you into a cynical, closed-off husk. The "try" isn't necessarily about saving a dead relationship; it’s about the willingness to remain vulnerable in a world that rewards being guarded.
If you listen closely, the lyrics never say "stay with him" or "stay with her." They say "gotta get up and try." That could mean trying again with someone new. It could mean trying to find yourself again.
Performance and Technicality
Pink performed this at the 2012 American Music Awards while recreating the music video's choreography live. No lip-syncing. Just pure, raw athleticism while being tossed through the air. It’s arguably one of the most impressive live pop performances of the 2010s. It proved that the song gotta get up and try was more than just a studio creation. It was a physical feat.
How to Apply the "Try" Mindset Today
If you’re stuck in a loop of "why bother," this song is your wake-up call. It’s easy to be cynical. It’s safe to be cold. It takes an incredible amount of guts to be the person who says, "Yeah, this might end in a disaster, but I’m going in anyway."
Actionable Steps for the "Exhausted"
- Acknowledge the Burn: Don't pretend it doesn't hurt. The song doesn't. The first step to getting up is admitting you're on the floor.
- Vary Your Effort: You don't have to sprint every day. Sometimes "getting up" is just making the bed. Other times, it's opening your heart to someone new.
- Separate the Outcome from the Effort: You can't control the "flame," but you can control the "desire." Focus on your capacity to care, not the guarantee of success.
- Watch the Performance: Seriously. When you feel like you can't do one more thing, watch Pink do that choreography while singing live. It’s a shot of pure adrenaline.
The song gotta get up and try remains a masterpiece because it doesn't lie to us. It tells us that life is a series of collisions. We are going to get bruised. We are going to get burned. But the alternative—sitting in the dark, away from the flame—is a much colder way to live. So, take a breath, brush the dust off your knees, and get back in the ring.
The flame is waiting.