You're So Vain

"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. The strings were arranged by Simon and orchestrated by Paul Buckmaster.

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. 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
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.

Simon used the word "gavotte", a French dance, as it provided a necessary rhyme and "that’s what a pretentious, vain man would do". 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. Before Simon rewrote the lyrics, the song was titled "Bless You, Ben".

Subject
In 1972, Simon told an interviewer that the song was about "men", not a specific man. In 1983, she said it was not about Mick Jagger, who contributed uncredited backing vocals to the song. 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.

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." "Nick" refers to the novelist Nicholas Delbanco, whom Simon dated in the 1960s.

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

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. Ebersol said Simon allowed him to divulge a clue, and said the person's name contained the letter E. In 2004, Simon said the name also contained the letters A and R. In 2005, Simon's ex-husband, Jim Hart, said he was sure the song was not about anyone famous.

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.

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". Simon confirmed that she had given the names to a few people, including Stern.

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. However, Simon said she had spoken "Ovid" both forwards and backwards, and that this sounded like David. In February 2010, Simon reiterated that the name was whispered in a rerecording of "You're So Vain": "There's a little whisper&mdash;and it's the answer to the puzzle." A representative for Simon said the name was "David".

Media outlets speculated that the subject was the Elektra Records executive David Geffen; Hart denied this the following day. Simon said that when she wrote the song, she had not met Geffen. 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". Vanity Fair noted that in addition to "David", "Warren" and an unintelligible name are whispered during the recording. 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.

In 1983, Simon said that the actor Warren Beatty "certainly thought it was about him—he called me and said thanks for the song". In 2007, Beatty said, "Let's be honest. That song was about me." 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." The song originally had a fourth verse, possibly including another subject.

Reception
Reviewing the single, Record World called it Simon's "most commercial song yet", praising the lyrics, melody and string arrangements. 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. It was voted No. 216 in RIAA's Songs of the Century, and in 2014 the UK Official Charts Company named it the ultimate song of the 1970s. In 2021, it was ranked 495th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Sales
The song was a No.1 hit in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and reached No.4 in Ireland and South Africa. 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
From the No Secrets album liner notes:


 * Carly Simon – lead vocals, acoustic piano, string arrangement
 * Jimmy Ryan – guitars
 * Klaus Voormann – bass
 * Jim Gordon – drums
 * Richard Perry – percussion
 * Paul Buckmaster – orchestration

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.

Track listing

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

Awards

 * "You're So Vain" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.