You 're So Vain - wikipedia You 're So Vain `` You 're So Vain '' Single by Carly Simon from the album No Secrets B - side `` His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin '' Released November 1972 Format 7 '' single Recorded 1972, Trident Studios Genre Pop, soft rock Length 4 : 19 Label Elektra Songwriter ( s ) Carly Simon Producer ( s ) Richard Perry Carly Simon singles chronology `` Legend in Your Own Time '' ( 1971 ) `` You 're So Vain '' ( 1972 ) `` The Right Thing to Do '' ( 1973 ) `` Legend in Your Own Time '' ( 1971 ) `` You 're So Vain '' ( 1972 ) `` The Right Thing to Do '' ( 1973 ) `` You 're So Vain '' is a song written and performed by Carly Simon and released in November 1972. The song is a critical profile of a self - absorbed lover about whom Simon asserts `` You 're so vain, you probably think this song is about you. '' The title subject 's identity has long been a matter of speculation, with Simon stating that the song refers to three men, only one of whom she has named publicly, actor Warren Beatty. The song is ranked at # 82 on Billboard 's Greatest Songs of All - Time. `` You 're So Vain '' was voted # 216 in RIAA 's Songs of the Century, and in August 2014, the UK 's Official Charts Company crowned it the ultimate song of the 1970s. The distinctive bass guitar intro is played by Klaus Voormann and the strings were arranged by Simon and orchestrated by Paul Buckmaster. Simon plays piano on the track. Contents 1 Subject of the song 2 References in the song 3 Later versions and adaptations 4 Chart performance 4.1 Weekly charts 4.2 Year - end charts 5 Awards 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Subject of the song Before the song became a hit single in 1972, Simon told an interviewer that the song was about `` men, '' not a specific `` man ''. In 1983, she said it is not about Mick Jagger, who contributed uncredited backing vocals to the song. In a 1993 book, Angie Bowie claimed to be the `` wife of a close friend '' mentioned in `` You 're So Vain '', and that Jagger, for a time, had been `` obsessed '' with her. Simon made another comment about the subject 's identity 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 ''. Simon said about the song, `` The apricot scarf was worn by Nick ( Delbanco ). Nothing in the words referred to Mick. '' In a 2007 interview Warren Beatty said, `` Let 's be honest. That song was about me. '' Simon had said in 1983 that Beatty `` certainly thought it was about him -- he called me and said thanks for the song... '' In an interview for the 1978 / 1982 version of The History of Rock & Roll radio series, producer Richard Perry acknowledges that Simon was essentially referring to Beatty while also referencing other men in her life. Over the years Simon has divulged `` letter clues '' and has claimed that the subject 's name contains the letters A, E, and R. Shortly before the writing of the song, Simon was married to James Taylor ; she has said that he was `` definitely not '' the subject of the song. David Bowie, David Cassidy and Cat Stevens have all been cited by the press as speculative candidates. In August 2003 Simon agreed to reveal the name of the song 's subject to the highest bidder of the Martha 's Vineyard Possible Dreams charity auction. With the top bid of $50,000, Dick Ebersol, president of NBC Sports and a friend of Simon, won the right to know the name of the subject of `` You 're So Vain ''. A condition of the prize was that Ebersol not reveal the name. Ebersol said Simon allowed him to divulge a clue about the person 's name : `` Carly told me that I could offer up to the entire world a clue as to what she 'll tell me when we have this night in about two weeks. And the clue is : The letter ' E ' is in the person 's name. '' In 2004 Simon told Regis Philbin, `` If I tell it, it 's going to come out in dribs and drabs. And I 've given out two letters already, an ' A ' and an ' E. ' But I 'm going to add one to it. I 'm going to add an ' R, ' in honor of you. '' In 2005 Simon 's ex-husband Jim Hart said he was sure that the song was not about anyone famous. On June 19, 2008, Howard Stern stated that Simon had privately revealed to him about whom the song was written after her interview on his popular radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio. Stern commented, `` There is an odd aspect to it... he 's not that vain. '' On March 17, 2009, Stern stated that she had said it was a `` composite of three people. '' Stern repeated this on May 5, 2014, stating, `` She takes me aside, pulls me close, whispers in my ear... three names. She goes, it was n't one person, it was three people. '' Simon herself confirmed that Stern was among `` a few people '' that she had given the names to. In her 2008 book Girls Like Us, author Sheila Weller includes a detailed account of Simon 's love affair with musician Dan Armstrong, and suggests that he was the inspiration for `` You 're So Vain. '' Her heartbreak over eventually losing him inspired the song `` Dan, My Fling, '' which appears on her first album. Armstrong 's full name, Daniel Kent Armstrong, contains all three letters of Simon 's clue. On November 4, 2009, Simon said she had hidden the name of the subject in a certain version of the song. The next day, the program 's crew revealed the name concealed in a back - played whisper : David. Simon denied that the whisper was `` David, '' saying she had spoken `` Ovid '' both forwards and backwards, and that sounded like David. In February 2010, Simon reiterated that the name of the subject was whispered in a re-recording of `` You 're So Vain '' : `` There 's a little whisper -- and it 's the answer to the puzzle. '' A representative for Simon confirmed that the name whispered during the song is `` David ''. Multiple media outlets then speculated that the subject was Simon 's former boss at Elektra, David Geffen, The following day Jim Hart, Simon 's ex-husband and close friend, denied that the song was about Geffen. Simon said that when she wrote the song in 1971, she had not yet met Geffen. Simon 's publicist also confirmed the song was not about Geffen, but that there was indeed `` 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 live performance of the song with Simon in July 2013, Taylor Swift stated that Simon had revealed the identity of the song 's subject to her in confidence. In November 2015, Simon, promoting her about - to - be-published memoir, said, `` I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren ( Beatty ) '' and added that while `` Warren thinks the whole thing is about him, '' he is the subject of that verse only, with the remainder of the song referring to two other, still unnamed men. References in the song The line `` I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won '' refers to the Saratoga Race Course horse - racing season held in late July, August, and early September in Saratoga Springs, New York. The season is frequented by the rich and famous of New York and other East Coast cities. Two solar eclipses ( `` Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun '' ) were visible from Nova Scotia in the early 1970s, on March 7, 1970, and July 10, 1972. Simon said she wrote the song in 1971, but the 1972 eclipse ( which could only be seen in Nova Scotia as opposed to the 1970 eclipse which traversed the entire East Coast, and also happened during the Saratoga racing season ) better fits the narrative. Simon said the line `` clouds in my coffee '' came `` from an airplane flight that I took with Billy Mernit, who was my friend and piano player at the time. As I got my coffee, there were clouds outside the window of the airplane and you could see the reflection in the cup of coffee. Billy said to me, ' Look at the clouds in your coffee '. '' Later versions and adaptations The song has been recorded by Chocolate Starfish, The Mountain Goats, David Axelrod, John Barrowman, Liza Minnelli, Jack Klugman and Tony Randall ( as `` The Odd Couple '' ), Chimira, Venice, The Feeling, Jann Arden, Janet Jackson ( who sampled the song in `` Son of a Gun ( I Betcha Think This Song Is About You ) '', with Simon providing featured vocals ), Trey Songz ( who sampled from Janet Jackson in his single `` About You ), '' Anna Waronker, Faster Pussycat, Dres, Daryll - Ann, Smokie, Queens of the Stone Age, Sally Seltmann, Asaro and Wolcott, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, Marilyn Manson ( featuring Johnny Depp ), and Italian pop star Mina in her 1985 album Finalmente ho conosciuto il conte Dracula... Foo Fighters performed the song live at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008. On July 27, 2013, Simon performed `` You 're So Vain '' with Taylor Swift on her Red Tour. The song `` Starfuckers, Inc. '' by Nine Inch Nails, released in 2000, references `` You 're So Vain '', by quoting the chorus. Supporters of English football team Everton F.C. sang the song to player Leighton Baines at the 2009 football matches. On their 2009 album Felony, New York City metalcore band Emmure had a song titled `` R2Deepthroat '' where vocalist Frankie says `` You 're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you, do n't you ? '' In the lead - up to the 2016 US presidential election, Simon authorized the use of the song in an ad against Donald Trump. In a piece posted by BBC News on May 5, 2017, Simon sings a previously unreleased fourth verse to the song, which she states had been written on a pad some time ago but never made it into the song. It references a man, married multiple times, who `` called her once to ask her things she could n't quite divine ''. Chart performance The song was a number - one hit in the US, Canada and Australia and reached number four in Ireland and South Africa. Bowing at # 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 2 December 1972, the song took only five more weeks to rocket to the top of the chart, where it stayed for the first three weeks of 1973, also spending two weeks at the top of the Easy Listening chart in early 1973, her first number one on either chart. `` You 're So Vain '' was Simon 's breakthrough hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number three 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 number 41. Weekly charts Chart ( 1972 -- 73 ) Peak position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) Canada ( RPM Charts ) Ireland ( IRE Charts ) New Zealand ( Listener ) South Africa UK Singles ( Official Chart Company ) US Billboard Hot 100 US Billboard Easy Listening Year - end charts Chart ( 1973 ) Position Australia Canada 8 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 9 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 7 UK 35 Preceded by `` Me and Mrs. Jones '' by Billy Paul US Billboard Hot 100 number - one single January 6, 1973 ( three weeks ) Succeeded by `` Superstition '' by Stevie Wonder Preceded by `` Clair '' by Gilbert O'Sullivan Canadian RPM number - one single January 27, 1973 ( 1 week ) Succeeded by `` Last Song '' by Edward Bear Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result `` You 're So Vain '' Record of the Year Nominated Song of the Year Nominated Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Nominated Grammy Hall of Fame Award Inducted See also List of Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles of 1973 List of number - one adult contemporary singles of 1973 ( U.S. ) List of number - one singles in Australia during the 1970s List of RPM number - one singles of 1973 References Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2013 - 11 - 11. Retrieved 2013 - 11 - 11. ^ Jump up to : Dowd, Kathy Erich ; Hubbard, Kim ( November 18, 2015 ). `` People Exclusive : Carly Simon Says ' You 're So Vain ' Is About Warren Beatty -- Well, Only the Second Verse : ' He Thinks the Whole Thing Is About Him ! ' ''. People. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary ''. Billboard.com. 1994 - 05 - 21. Retrieved 2009 - 08 - 17. Jump up ^ Myers, Justin ( 2014 - 08 - 23 ). `` Official Charts Pop Gem # 70 : Carly Simon -- You 're So Vain ''. Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Klaus Voormann : Biography ''. Voormann.com. 1971 - 08 - 01. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 30. ^ Jump up to : 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 2011 - 06 - 14. ^ Jump up to : Wadler, Joyce ( October 30, 1983 ). `` Carly Simon : Anxiety & ''. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015 - 11 - 18. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 18. Jump up ^ Ruhlmann, William. `` Carly Simon Biography ''. AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 18. Jump up ^ Backstage Passes Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2007 - 09 - 10. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 03. CS1 maint : Unfit url ( link ) ^ Jump up to : `` Regis & Kelly 2004 -- Carly Simon talks about You 're So Vain ''. YouTube. 2012 - 09 - 08. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` ' You 're So Vain ' : Carly Simon reveals mystery man ''. NJ.com. 2010 - 02 - 27. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ Roberts, Soraya ( 2010 - 02 - 27 ). `` Carly Simon 's new ' You 're So Vain ' whispers clue ''. New York Daily News. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ Ninette Sosa. `` Carly Simon reveals ' You 're So Vain ' clue ''. CNN.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Carly Simon gives away who is ' So Vain ' ''. USA Today. Associated Press. August 5, 2003. Archived from the original on 2015 - 02 - 16. Jump up ^ Ebersol on NBC 's Today, August 5, 2003. Jump up ^ `` I 've heard a million different stories -- who was Carly Simon actually singing about in `` You 're So Vain '' ? ``. Rule Forty Two. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ Stern, Howard ( host ) ( May 20, 2014 ). Howard Stern Show. Sirius XM Radio. Jump up ^ `` Carly Simon : You 're So Vain is about Beatty and two others ''. BBC. 2015 - 11 - 19. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 31. Jump up ^ Sheila Weller. Girls Like Us : Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon & the Journey of a Generation, Simon & Schuster. 2008 : ISBN 978 - 0 - 7434 - 9147 - 1 Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2009 - 10 - 20. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Carly Simon Now Saying ' You 're So Vain ' is about Dead Classical Poet ''. Carly Simon Now Saying ' You 're So Vain ' is about Dead Classical Poet, by Jessica Pressler, Daily Intelligencer, March 12, 2010 ^ Jump up to : 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 2015 - 11 - 18. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Carly Simon Reveals Subject of ' You 're So Vain ' ? ''. Spinner.com. February 26, 2010. Archived from the original on 2013 - 08 - 09. Retrieved 2010 - 05 - 02. Jump up ^ Kreps, Daniel ( March 1, 2010 ). `` Carly Simon Refutes Theory That ' So Vain ' Target Is David Geffen ''. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2015 - 05 - 04. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 15. Jump up ^ Weiner, Juli ( February 26, 2010 ). `` Update : Everyone Owes David Geffen an Apology ''. VF Daily. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2010 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Taylor Swift and Carly Simon : You 're So Vain ''. YouTube. 2013 - 07 - 29. Retrieved 2013 - 10 - 05. Jump up ^ Gatto, Kimberly ( 2011 ). Saratoga Race Course : The August Place to Be. The History Press. ISBN 978 - 1609491048. Jump up ^ `` USA -- 1970 March 7 Total Solar Eclipse -- Interactive Google Map ( Full Screen ) -- Xavier Jubier ''. Xjubier.free.fr. Retrieved 2009 - 08 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Canada -- 1972 July 10 Total Solar Eclipse -- Interactive Google Map ( Full Screen ) -- Xavier Jubier ''. Xjubier.free.fr. Retrieved 2009 - 08 - 17. Jump up ^ `` You 're So Vain ''. Carly Simon official website. Archived from the original on 2012 - 09 - 11. Jump up ^ Makarechi, Kia ( March 19, 2012 ). `` Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson Team Up For ' You 're So Vain ' Cover ''. HuffPost Entertainment. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 19. Jump up ^ `` Twitter / CarlySimonHQ : Carly Simon and Taylor Swift ''. Twitter. Retrieved 2013 - 10 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Sportsmail 's guide to the best chants of the season starring Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimi Konstantopoulos and Liam Gallagher ''. Dailymail.co.uk. 2009 - 06 - 05. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ Charles, Chris ( 2009 - 06 - 03 ). `` BBC SPORT Fun and Games Chants of the season ''. BBC News. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ Schultheis, Emily ( October 9, 2016 ). `` Carly Simon uses `` You 're So Vain '' in anti-Trump video ``. CBS News. Jump up ^ `` Carly Simon plays You 're So Vain 's lost verse ''. bbc.com. 2017 - 05 - 05. Retrieved 2017 - 05 - 05. Jump up ^ Brian Currin. `` South African Rock Lists Website -- SA Charts 1965 -- 1989 Acts ( S ) ''. Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ Jaclyn Ward. `` The Irish Charts -- All there is to know ''. Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009 - 06 - 03. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 30. Jump up ^ Hung, Steffen. `` charts.org.nz - Forum - 1973 Chart ( General ) ''. charts.org.nz. Retrieved 7 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` Carly Simon ''. The Official Chart Company. Retrieved 2013 - 06 - 06. Jump up ^ Steffen Hung. `` Forum -- 1970 ( ARIA Charts : Special Occasion Charts ) ''. Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016 - 06 - 02. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ Canada, Library and Archives ( July 8, 2017 ). `` Image : RPM Weekly ''. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1973 / Top 100 Songs of 1973 ''. Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Cash Box YE Pop Singles -- 1973 ''. Archived from the original on 2015 - 01 - 11. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 1973 -- UK Music Charts ''. Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. External links Official `` You 're So Vain '' page Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Carly Simon Discography Studio albums Carly Simon Anticipation No Secrets Hotcakes Playing Possum Another Passenger Boys in the Trees Spy Come Upstairs Torch Hello Big Man Spoiled Girl Coming Around Again My Romance Have You Seen Me Lately This Is My Life Romulus Hunt : A Family Opera Letters Never Sent Film Noir The Bedroom Tapes Moonlight Serenade Into White This Kind of Love Never Been Gone Compilations The Best of Carly Simon Greatest Hits Live Clouds in My Coffee The Very Best of Carly Simon : Nobody Does It Better Christmas Is Almost Here Anthology Christmas Is Almost Here Again Reflections : Carly Simon 's Greatest Hits Carly Simon Collector 's Edition Playlist : The Very Best of Carly Simon Songs From The Trees ( A Musical Memoir Collection ) Soundtracks Working Girl This Is My Life Piglet 's Big Movie Pooh 's Heffalump Movie Concerts Live from Martha 's Vineyard Carly in Concert -- My Romance Live at Grand Central A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary 2 Singles `` That 's the Way I 've Always Heard It Should Be '' `` Anticipation '' `` Legend in Your Own Time '' `` You 're So Vain '' `` The Right Thing to Do '' `` Mockingbird '' `` Have n't Got Time for the Pain '' `` Attitude Dancing '' `` Waterfall '' `` It Keeps You Runnin ' '' `` Nobody Does It Better '' `` You Belong to Me '' `` Devoted to You '' `` Vengeance '' `` Jesse '' `` Why '' `` Kissing with Confidence '' `` You Know What to Do '' `` Tired of Being Blonde '' `` My New Boyfriend '' `` Coming Around Again '' `` Give Me All Night '' `` The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of '' `` All I Want Is You '' `` Let the River Run '' `` Better Not Tell Her '' `` Love of My Life '' `` Son of a Gun ( I Betcha Think This Song Is About You ) '' Other songs `` We Have No Secrets '' `` Night Owl '' `` You Can Close Your Eyes '' The Simon Sisters Meet The Simon Sisters Cuddlebug The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children Lucy & Carly -- The Simon Sisters Sing for Children Winkin ', Blinkin ' and Nod : The Kapp Recordings Carly & Lucy Simon Sing Songs For Children Book : Carly Simon Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=You%27re_So_Vain&oldid=803762618 '' Categories : 1972 singles Carly Simon songs Elektra Records singles Metasongs Billboard Adult Contemporary number - one singles Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles Number - one singles in Australia Number - one singles in New Zealand Oricon International Singles Chart number - one singles RPM Top Singles number - one singles Song recordings produced by Richard Perry Songs written by Carly Simon Pop ballads Songs about actors Works about narcissism Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Unfit url Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Italiano 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Simple English Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 4 October 2017, at 13 : 32. 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Question: who is the subject of the song you're so vain
Answer: three men, only one of whom she has named publicly, actor Warren Beatty