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You're So Vain

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"You're So Vain" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released as a single in November 1972. The lyrics describe a self-absorbed lover. The subject's identity has long been a matter of speculation. Simon said the song refers to three men, one of whom she has named publicly: the actor Warren Beatty. The bass guitar intro was played by Klaus Voormann.[4] The strings were arranged by Simon and orchestrated by Paul Buckmaster.

"You're So Vain"
Side A of US single
Single by Carly Simon
from the album No Secrets
B-side"His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin"
ReleasedNovember 8, 1972
Recorded1972
StudioTrident
Genre
Length4:19
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Carly Simon
Producer(s)Richard Perry[3]
Carly Simon singles chronology
"Legend in Your Own Time"
(1971) 		"You're So Vain"
(1972) 		"The Right Thing to Do"
(1973)
Music video
"You're So Vain" on YouTube

In early 1973, "You're So Vain" reached No. 1 in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In 1994, it was ranked 72nd in the Billboard 50th anniversary all-time chart.[5] At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards in 1974, it was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It was voted No. 216 in RIAA's Songs of the Century, and in August 2014, the UK's Official Charts Company named it the ultimate song of the 1970s. In 2021, the song was ranked 495th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Lyrics

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Simon wrote "You're So Vain" over the course of a year. She had already written the chorus lyric, "‘You’re so vain / You probably think this song is about you". A year later, she saw a man wearing a scarf arrive at a party and study himself in a mirror; a friend of Simon said "he looks like he's walking onto a yacht", inspiring the rest of the lyrics.[6]

Simon used the word "gavotte", a French dance, as it provided a necessary rhyme and "that’s what a pretentious, vain man would do".[6] The line "clouds in my coffee" was inspired by a comment from her piano player, Billy Mernit, who observed that clouds were reflected in a cup of coffee she was drinking.[6] Before Simon rewrote the lyrics, the song was titled "Bless You, Ben".[6]

The lyrics, "Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga, and your horse naturally won; Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia, to see the total eclipse of the sun" may retrospectively reference the Solar eclipse of March 7, 1970 visible along the east coast of North America,[7][8] or prospectively reference the Solar eclipse of July 10, 1972 only visible in northern and eastern Canada.[9] Simon told the CBC that she took artistic license with the reference, and the subject may not have actually witnessed the eclipse in Nova Scotia.[10] Her 2012 memoir, More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon, quotes her saying, "I didn't know anyone who raced at Saratoga or went to view the total eclipse, I just wanted to portray someone who thought he was ultra-cool"[11]

Subject

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Simon confirmed that the actor Warren Beatty (pictured in 1961) was one inspiration for the lyrics.

In 1972, Simon told an interviewer that the song was about "men", not a specific man.[12] In 1983, she said it was not about Mick Jagger,[13] who contributed uncredited backing vocals to the song.[14] In a 1993 book, Angie Bowie said she was the wife of a "close friend" mentioned in "You're So Vain", and that Jagger had been "obsessed" with her.[15]

Simon appeared as a guest artist on Janet Jackson's 2001 single "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)", which sampled "You're So Vain". In the song, Simon recites: "The apricot scarf was worn by Nick / Nothing in the words referred to Mick."[16] "Nick" refers to the novelist Nicholas Delbanco, whom Simon dated in the 1960s.[16]

Simon denied that the song referred to her ex-husband James Taylor.[17] David Bowie, David Cassidy and Cat Stevens have been cited by the press as possibilities.[18][19][20]

In August 2003, Simon agreed to reveal the subject to the highest bidder of the Martha's Vineyard Possible Dreams charity auction. The highest bid was $50,000 from Simon's friend Dick Ebersol, the president of NBC Sports. A condition of the prize was that Ebersol not reveal the name.[21] Ebersol said Simon allowed him to divulge a clue, and said the person's name contained the letter E.[22] In 2004, Simon said the name also contained the letters A and R.[23] In 2005, Simon's ex-husband, Jim Hart, said he was sure the song was not about anyone famous.[24]

In her 2008 book Girls Like Us, Sheila Weller includes a detailed account of Simon's love affair with the musician Dan Armstrong, and suggests that he was the inspiration. Her heartbreak over losing him inspired the song "Dan, My Fling", which appears on her first album.[25]

The radio host Howard Stern said Simon had privately revealed the identity to him after her 2014 interview on his radio show; Stern said, "There is an odd aspect to it... He's not that vain." He also said she said it was a "composite of three people".[26] Simon confirmed that she had given the names to a few people, including Stern.[27]

In an interview for WNYC in November 2009, Simon said she had hidden the name of the subject in a new recording of the song. The next day, WNYC crew detected the name "David" concealed in a back-played whisper.[28] However, Simon said she had spoken "Ovid" both forwards and backwards, and that this sounded like David.[29] In February 2010, Simon reiterated that the name was whispered in a rerecording of "You're So Vain": "There's a little whisper—and it's the answer to the puzzle."[30] A representative for Simon said the name was "David".[30]

Media outlets speculated that the subject was the Elektra Records executive David Geffen;[31] Hart denied this the following day.[12] Simon said that when she wrote the song, she had not met Geffen.[32] Simon's publicist confirmed the song was not about Geffen, but that there was "a David who is connected to the song in some way, shape, or form".[12] Vanity Fair noted that in addition to "David", "Warren" and an unintelligible name are whispered during the recording.[33] After her performance of the song with Simon in July 2013, the songwriter Taylor Swift said that Simon had revealed the identity of the subject to her in confidence.[34]

In 1983, Simon said that the actor Warren Beatty "certainly thought it was about him—he called me and said thanks for the song".[13] In 2007, Beatty said, "Let's be honest. That song was about me."[35] In November 2015, Simon, promoting her memoirs, said, "I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren ... Warren thinks the whole thing is about him ... Now, that doesn't mean that the other two verses aren't also about Warren. It just means that the second one is."[36] The song originally had a fourth verse, possibly including another subject.[37]

Reception

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Reviewing the single, Record World called it Simon's "most commercial song yet", praising the lyrics, melody and string arrangements.[38] At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards in 1974, "You're So Vain" was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

In 1994, "You're So Vain" was ranked 72nd in the Billboard 50th anniversary all-time chart.[5] It was voted No. 216 in RIAA's Songs of the Century,[39] and in 2014 the UK Official Charts Company named it the ultimate song of the 1970s.[40] In 2021, it was ranked 495th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[41]

Sales

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The song was a No. 1 hit in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and reached No. 4 in Ireland and South Africa.[42] Entering at No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 2 December 1972, the song took five more weeks to rise to the top of the chart, where it stayed for the first three weeks of 1973. It was replaced by Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and spent the next month in the runner-up spot. It also spent two weeks at the top of the Easy Listening chart in early 1973, her first No. 1 on either chart. "You're So Vain" was Simon's breakthrough hit in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 3 on the UK chart on its original release in 1973. The song was re-released in the UK in 1991 to cash in on its inclusion in a commercial for Dunlop Tyres, peaking at No. 41.

Personnel

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From the No Secrets album liner notes:

The Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger contributed uncredited backing vocals. Simon said she invited him to join the recording as he happened to be in the studio.[43]

Track listing

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7" single[44]
  • "You're So Vain" – 4:25
  • "His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin" – 3:00

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Certifications for "You're So Vain"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[70] Gold 50,000‡
Japan — 187,500[54]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[71] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[72] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[73] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Awards

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Year Award Category Work Recipient Result Ref.
1974 Grammy Awards Record of the Year "You're So Vain" Carly Simon Nominated [74]
Song of the Year Nominated
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Carly Simon | Soft Rock Stars | Comcast.net". Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  2. ^ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2024. The meta-pop song that keeps on giving, with a central mystery so all-consuming that it can take time to notice the subtler brilliances of its writing, production and performance.
  3. ^ Savage, Mark (May 5, 2017). "You're So Vain's 'lost' verse premiered". BBC News. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  4. ^ "Klaus Voormann : Biography". Voormann.com. August 1, 1971. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (80–71)". Billboard. May 21, 1994. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Chagollan, Steve (April 9, 2012). "Deconstructing Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain'". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Carter, Jamie (March 7, 2024). "54 Years Ago Today A Total Eclipse Of The Sun Inspired 'You're So Vain'". Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2024. The song's iconic lyric, 'you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun' was motivated by events around a landmark eclipse that occurred exactly 54 years ago today, on March 7, 1970.
  8. ^ Hendry, Glenn (April 8, 2024). "A hit song's connection to the solar eclipse and Canada". INsauga. Retrieved December 1, 2024. What is not in dispute is the eclipse she was referring to, which happened on March 7, 1970.
  9. ^ "You're So Vain by Carly Simon". Songfacts. Retrieved December 1, 2024. Glenn A. Walsh, who was Astronomical Observatory Coordinator and a Planetarium Lecturer for Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium, told us: ... In fact, one day in mid-June of 1972, a colleague and I were in the radio station when the record was played. When that particular lyric was heard, he turned to me and said, 'that would be nice.' I knew he meant that it would be nice to fly to Nova Scotia and see the eclipse the next month.
  10. ^ Woodbury, Richard (April 5, 2024). "With eclipse in sight, Carly Simon talks name-dropping Nova Scotia in You're So Vain". CBC. Retrieved November 30, 2024. As for the mystery man who flew his Learjet to Nova Scotia to see an eclipse, Simon said she took certain liberties for artistic reasons.
  11. ^ Davis, Stephen (2013). More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-59240-743-9. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Weller, Sheila (February 27, 2010). "Fun and Games With the David Geffen Rumor About Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain'". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
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  15. ^ Backstage Passes
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  22. ^ Ebersol on NBC's Today, August 5, 2003.
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  24. ^ "I've heard a million different stories—who was Carly Simon actually singing about in "You're So Vain"?". Rule Forty Two. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
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  29. ^ "Carly Simon Now Saying 'You're So Vain' is about Dead Classical Poet". March 12, 2010. Carly Simon Now Saying 'You're So Vain' is about Dead Classical Poet, by Jessica Pressler, Daily Intelligencer, March 12, 2010
  30. ^ a b Simon in Uncut magazine interview, as reported by Newhall, Marissa (February 27, 2010). "Names and faces: Carly Simon, Mark and Jenny Sanford, Seth Green, Stevie Wonder > A vain hunt for 'David'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
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  33. ^ Weiner, Juli (February 26, 2010). "Update: Everyone Owes David Geffen an Apology". VF Daily. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on February 28, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
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  35. ^ "Scoop: Fur Flies Between PETA, Karl Rove". MSNBC. Archived from the original on September 10, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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