# Hell, yeah! The song IS about me! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 24, 2000, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144 "2000-03-24T19:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/1 "2000-03-25T06:51:00Z")
I made the mistake of listening to an oldies station on my way home from work last night. Now, I’ve got Carley Simon’s _You’re So Vain_ going through my head, over and over and over and over again. This happens a lot, so ordinarily it’s no big deal. But there is something about this song that really bugs me. The chorus says “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you. Don’t ya?” and then she goes on to sing about how horrible this guys is! Everything in this song is about the vain guy, except that cyrptic part about her dreams being clouds in her coffee (What the Hell does that mean?). Of course, the song is about him!!! He might be vain, but thinking that a song, that refers to him about a dozen times, is about him doesn’t make him vain. What other conclusion could he possibly have? “Don’t ya? Don’t ya? Don’t ya?” How do you argue with a woman like that? She’s lucky James Taylor didn’t strangle her in her sleep. This is worse than the time Gene Pitney’s “Town Without Pity” haunted me for an entire month! (This is difinitely the most mundane and pointless post I’ve ever made.) ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/2 "2000-03-25T06:57:00Z")
Ursa, are you bewildered by the world you see? Ours is not an easy age. Stop to gaze upon a star! ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/3 "2000-03-25T06:58:00Z")
Isn’t a pity what an Arnold without Pity Caaaaaaaaaaaaaan Dooooooooooooo. * * * You want brilliance BEFORE I’ve had my coffee!!! ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/4 "2000-03-25T06:59:00Z")
“about her dreams being clouds in her coffee” It’s actually “grounds” in her coffee. She was referring to Warren Beatty in the song. Apparently he unceremoniously dumped her. He shoulda done it ceremoniously, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/5 "2000-03-24T19:09:00Z")
Quick! Somebody post to “Hotel California stinks” for the benefit of the sequential thread titles. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/6 "2000-03-24T19:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Ursa Major: > **…Carley Simon’s _You’re So Vain_…** I’ve always preferred the cover of that song done by Faster Pussycat. > [@](#): > > WallyM7 said: > **It’s actually “grounds” in her coffee.** It _is_ Clouds. not grounds. She even has a compliation album called “clouds in my coffee” or some such b.s. * * * ## Mere Life is not Victory. Mere Death is not Defeat. Joe Cool ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/7 "2000-03-24T19:27:00Z")
It is “clouds?” Well, that’s dumb. No wonder he dumped her. ---
**Author:** ![MadPoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@MadPoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPoet)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/8 "2000-03-24T19:32:00Z")
I don’t think that I can _take_ it Cuz it took so long to _bake_ it And I’ll never have that recipe again!!! Oh nooo!!! * * * [http://www.madpoet.com](http://www.madpoet.com) “I never meant to hurt you,” you said, And buried yourself in lies instead. Next time I would rather be slain, Than forced to bear your mercy again. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/9 "2000-03-24T20:07:00Z")
MadPoet: no, not _that_ song! (Where’s an ‘upchuck’ smiley when you need one?) ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/10 "2000-03-24T20:17:00Z")
FEEEEEEEEEELINGS! Nothing more than…FEEEEEEEEEE ::POW:: ::Plop!:: ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/11 "2000-03-24T20:29:00Z")
My sister told me once that she read somewhere (sounds like a UL, don’t it?) that Carley Simon originally wrote that song about her son, but the lyrics were completely different. Supposedly, the execs didn’t think the song would be a hit so a new batch of lyrics was whipped up. The “clouds in my coffee” line is supposed to be the only line to survive from the song’s original incarnation. I always imagined she’d just dumped some cream in her coffee and was watching clouds of it swirl around in the cup as she stirred it. * * * “I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy [The Kat House](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/home.htm) [Join the FSH Muscular Dystrophy Webring](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/fshwebring.htm) ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/12 "2000-03-25T09:13:00Z")
And I heard that she wrote the song about Wayne Newton after HE dumped her! How many times did this woman get dumped? * * * Some days you’re the dog, some days you’re the hydrant. ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/13 "2000-03-25T09:25:00Z")
These 12 words will forever haunt my soul… we had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/14 "2000-03-25T13:52:00Z")
And I heard it was Mick Jagger. Maybe it’s a personality type that only women have to put up with, but I always sympathized with Carly on this song. I’ve known a few of the “world revolves around me” types. I imagine that she dated one that thought _every_ song she wrote was about him. :blech: Warren and Mick both fit this profile (don’t know about Wayne). ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/15 "2000-03-25T14:35:00Z")
Most reviews of “You’re So Vain” that I’ve seen say its either about Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty. A couple of years ago, Sheryl Crow had a big hit with “My Favorite Mistake”. According to her, this song was inspired by Carly Simon’s song. So when people would ask Sheryl Crow, “Who is ‘My Favorite Mistake’ about?”, she would always answer, “Either Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty”. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/16 "2000-03-25T14:48:00Z")
That song was released when I was a little kid. I remember liking it a lot (still do, in fact), but being confused as hell, and wondering why in the world she’d have **clowns** in her coffee. MadPoet and smug: see the _I Hate Coldfire_ thread. You two are next. 😃 * * * This space blank, until Wally thinks up something cool to put here. ---
**Author:** ![sorrel554](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@sorrel554](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sorrel554)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/17 "2000-03-25T16:00:00Z")
**Whitetho** : That didn’t stop people from saying that Sheryl Crow’s song was really about Eric Clapton. Now, whether Eric Clapton was vain enough to think the song was about him, I don’t know. 🙂 I always heard Warren Beatty was the vain one for Carly Simon. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/18 "2000-03-25T16:03:00Z")
But getting back to the OP, I think the Bear has a point. You just know that when Warren Beatty hears this song he thinks “Boy that Mick Jagger must have been a lamer. Good thing Carly loved me.” And when Mick Jagger hears it he thinks “That’s right baby. Stick it to old Warren. I know you didn’t really love anybody but me.” They’re both so vain they probably think the song _isn’t_ about them. ---
**Author:** ![Studi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Studi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Studi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/19 "2000-03-25T19:35:00Z")
The lyrics of the song have been partially incorporated into Nine Inch Nails’ _Starfuckers Inc._ “I bet you think this song is about you, don’t you?” In the Nine Inch Nails’ version, the lyrics probably refer to Marilyn Manson. Studi * * * When I grow up, I want to be the Minister of Silly Walks. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144/20 "2000-03-25T21:39:00Z")
Mick Jagger sings backup on that song, so I seriously doubt it’s ABOUT him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-yeah-the-song-is-about-me/15144.md?page=2)