Somebody That I Used To Know

“Somebody That I Used To Know” is a popular song that was written, produced, and performed by Australian singer-songwriter Goyte (a.k.a. Walter de Backer) featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand July 5, 2011 as the second single from Goyte’s third studio album, Making Mirrors. The song was later released by Universal Music in December 2011 in the United Kingdom, and January 2012 in Ireland and the United States.

From Wikipedia:
“Somebody That I Used to Know” was written and recorded by Gotye at his parents’ house on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, and is lyrically related to the experiences he has had with romantic relationships. The song is a mid-tempo ballad. It samples Luiz Bonfá‘s instrumental “Seville” from his album, Luiz Bonfá Plays Great Songs (1967) with percussion over a xylophone melody from the Joseph Cooper and Sinfonia of London 1961 LP A Child’s Introduction to the Instruments of the Orchestra, which is based on “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep“. Lyrically, the song describes the aftermath of a romantic relationship from both parties’ perspectives.

“Somebody That I Used To Know” became a global success and the signature song of both artists. The song is certified multi-platinum in 10 countries, including diamond in Australia, Brazil and the United States. The song had sold more than 13 million copies by 2012, becoming one of the best selling digital singles ever. At the 55th Grammy Awards, :Somebody That I Used To Know” won record of the year.

The music video for was produced, directed and edited by Australian artist Natasha Pincus and filmed by Australian cinematographer Warwick Field. It shows Gotye and Kimbra naked throughout the clip, and as they sing, his skin is gradually painted into the backdrop via stop motion animation. The video’s background is based on a 1980s artwork created by Gotye’s father, Frank de Backer, who also designed the cover art for the related album, Making Mirrors. Emma Hack, an Australian artist was hired by Pincus to work on the body paintings for Gotye and Kimbra. Melbourne scenic artist Howard Clark painted the backdrop. According to Hack, it took more than 23 hours to paint both Gotye and Kimbra to fit with Howard’s background.

The song gives the listener both sides of the story in this breakup, with neither party coming out a true victim.

Gotye has not monetised the song or any of his others through advertisements on YouTube, as he believes that there is too much advertising in the world. He has licensed its use to student films free of charge, but has turned down approaches from some commercial films.

Interesting Tidbits: Goyte became an an expert on the ondioline, a rare 1939 electronic keyboard, and formed the Ondioline Orchestra in 2016 to celebrate electronic pioneer Jean-Jacques Perrey. Rather than chasing solo pop stardom after his massive hit, “Somebody That I Used To Know” he went back to playing drums as a non-frontman member of his indie-rock trio, The Basics. Many of his distinct tracks are built from sounds he gathered combing through second-hand record shops or recording environmental noises in the Australian Outback. It is rumored that he donated a lot of retro synths to the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, which is a non profit helping artists record with technology that might have become extinct if not for him and the other kind donors.

I have also included a video by CDK Dance Company that performs to this song, because you know I can’t resist good choreography! I encourage you to watch it because it is FABULOUS.

Lyrics

Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love, and it’s an ache I still remember

Somebody
Somebody
Somebody
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know

Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I’d done

Somebody
Somebody
Somebody
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So, when we found that we could not make sense
Well, you said that we would still be friends
But I’ll admit that I was glad it was over

No, you didn’t have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don’t need that though
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know

Somebody
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know (somebody)
Somebody
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Adam Keefe Horovitz / Luiz Bonfa / Walter Andre E. De Backer

Somebody That I Used to Know lyrics © Unichappell Music Inc., 41 Small Stars, Universal Polygram Int. Publishing Inc., Op Shop Songs Pty Ltd

Jim Adams asks This week the theme is to find a song that mentions abandoning, departing, deserting, exiting, leaving, resigning, or retiring.

Withdrawing, Moving Away, or Separating