You probably think this post is about you...

Chances are I will soon change my mind, but the song I chose was Carly Simon's 1972 sensation "You're So Vain." I chose this song because as far as I know, it was one of the first real "f[orget] you" songs. Of the music I am accustomed to listening to (which can loosely be defined as mostly oldies and light rock from the 1950s to today), most female singers until the 1970s would only express heartbreak and regret at being cheated on and forced to break up with someone they once loved. However, Carly Simon quickly scorns the ego of this one particular man, and because no one knows who the man she's referencing is, it remains one of the top cultural mysteries today. Also, for reference, the 'gavotte' is some sort of dance move.

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

You had me several years ago
When I was still quite naive
Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga
And your horse naturally won
Then you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well, you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not, you're with
Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend, and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain (so vain)
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?


The song is mostly about how Carly fell in love at one point with a man who is so full of himself and incredibly vain because everyone wants to emulate or be with him in public. Yet at one point Carly fell for him when she was young and "naive," and believed him when he promised that they would stay together, until he got bored and dumped her. Thus, Carly is still bitter at how he ruined her dreams, ("clouds in her coffee" that dissipated as she matured). But in the song she claims revenge by stating that she's kept up with his life, but knows that behind the press is a life of lies and deceit. When not in the public eye, he is "with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend" (cheating). The underworld spy is the only thing that I still remain confused on. Was she implying that he was consorting with Communists? Despite this, the man has no regrets and still lives the privileged, perfect life he did when Carly met him, and would feel honored that she wrote a song about him.

This song is relevant to our class because while Carly doesn't explicitly state the man's name, she's clearly bashing him and this song acted as a venting mechanism for that. Still, while her intention was to bash his ego, he would still probably feel smug that she wrote a song about their history together. Additionally, as far as I know, not many songs before this one had this bashing mentality; the songs prior to this were more "woe is me" than "I grew up, I got over it, and I still hate you."