He’s so vain, he knew it was about him all along. He may not have walked into a party like he was walking onto a yacht, but Warren Beatty did inspire at least part of Carly Simon’s iconic song, “You’re So Vain.” Simon has kept the inspiration to her song a secret for 44 years, but now she’s finally letting out at least part of her secret in a new memoir, Boys in the Trees.
“I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren,” she told People. But he’s so vain, he thought he was in there more. “Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!” she said, confirming that he’s at least partly right. Here are the lyrics Simon said are about Beatty:
“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…”
Simon maintains that the song is also about two other men, but she’s staying tight-lipped about their identities, “at least until they know it’s about them.” Previously, she promised a clue when a new recording of the song was played in reverse.
People thought it sounded like “David,” but she debunked the idea that the song was about music exec David Geffen. She also denied that it was about Mick Jagger in the Janet Jackson song, “Son of a Gun,” saying, “The apricot scarf was worn by Nick. Nothing in the words referred to Mick.” Nick refers to novelist Nicholas Delbanco, who was involved with Simon in the 1960s.
She told People she thought she’d never even admit that the song was about multiple people, so good luck getting her to reveal who the other two men are. After all, the mystery is part of the fun.
http://www.redbookmag.com/life/a41019/carly-simon-youre-so-vain-warren-beatty/
[Before Taylor Swift started writing about her ex-boyfriends, there was Carly Simon…]