I don’t know how you could be alive on this planet and not have heard this song… really! There are 50+ yrs of ‘questions’ about WHO this person is.. as Carly is an EPIC performer from the 60s and onward (she was married to James Taylor). She doesn’t have a bad song (IMO).. and she has many. Thanks for a wonderful blast from the past, and for your reaction!
Well you should love this channel and great RUclips reactors because I've spent last 6 years talented reactors of different countries and or colors that have no clue of what is considered popular culture. I assure you it's legit 100000%
Carly Simon songs to listen to - Anticipation … Coming Around Again … Nobody Does It Better … That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be … Haven’t Got Time For the Pain.
You're So Vain is in fact about 3 different male suitors Carly had in her life up until 1972.. Verse 2 is specifically about actor, director, producer Warren Beatty. Many have speculated Mick Jagger, James Taylor and Cat Stevens. Carly has denied any of the verses are about them.
Carly Simon has only ever revealed who the song is about to one person and it isn't you. The only thing she has revealed publicly is that it is about one person, not multiple people and the name contains an "a" in it.
She’s made both statements, that the song was about one man, and that the song was about multiple men. She’s also give clues about the name or names, stating one time that it had an “e” in it, then another time she said it had an “a” in it and yet another time she said it had an “r” in it 😂 I think she likes to play into the mystery of the song. It’s a secret she’s been able to keep for decades by playing it this way. Genius! 🤣
I thought the "I had some dreams-they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee..." was exactly what it looks like--you pour the cream and for a moment it's lovely--like beautiful clouds--but it's fleeting; next moment it's not worth much--the beauty has gone. Carly Simon is super talented; singer, songwriter, piano player. The entire No Secrets album is terrific.
Almost certain we all know at least one person this song could be about 🤣 I adore her for refusing to reveal the identity or identities of the main character, the mystery is delicious and adds to the irony, love it.
Carly Simon is a true singer- songwriter. She wrote so many wonderful, personal songs. I still love to listen to her albums. I still have my "No Secrets" and "Hotcakes" LPs.
If you listen to the original studio cut at the 1:40 minute mark you'll recognize the background singer. It's Mick Jagger. Great analysis as always. As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
Carly has refused to publicize Everyone the song is about. Warren Beatty has been acknowledged as one of the offenders. However, a select few evidently do know and are basically sworn to secrecy. A few years ago, supposedly she told Taylor Swift. However, unless it’s disclosed in her Will, don’t expect to ever know for certain.
She allowed the names to be auctioned off for charity with the provision that the buyer sign an NDA. The buyer, coincidentally enough, was a friend of hers from the TV industry, he paid $50,00.00 for the name.
Carley Simon, born with a gold spoon in her mouth. Her father being Richard Simon of Simon and Shuster. Carley was married to James Taylor and gave birth to two of his children. He was pretty messed up on drugs and such which I would guess caused the demise of the marriage. The general consensus is that the song is about the actor Warren Beaty as they had dated before the song was written
And word has it that he was a narcissist and stunk, as in he was malodorous. That was also confirmed for me by hospital personnel that care for his mother as a patient. Conversely, his sister Shirley MacLaine, was completely the opposite, down to earth and clean smelling.
I can't believe you never heard this song. The question always was who is she talking about. You keep taking me a trups down memory lane and i love it. Love you reactions. You are so spot on.
I love Carly Simon, her music seems so heartfelt and honest. She has social anxiety and had stopped performing in public, she finally put on a concert in her hometown for friends, family and people in her town. It was released on DVD, here's the great closing number COMING AROUND AGAIN/ ITSY BITSY SPIDER: ruclips.net/video/q9cidpLcPgA/видео.html
When this song came out, I was at university in the US. Everybody talked about it. The presumption at the time, back in the 1970s was that it was about Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty. As discussed by previous commenters, Ms. Simon has disclosed that Beatty was one of three men she was singing about. She had a famously tumultuous marriage with the equally brilliant singer/songwriter James Taylor from 1972 (when the song was recorded to 1973). You might want to consider listening to one of James Taylor's early hits like the song "Fire and Rain."
I think you'd really appreciate her song, That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be. The lyrics are cutting and insightful. There's an iconic live version where she's playing the keyboard.
I always thought the "clouds in my coffee" line was about how when you first pour in the cream, it's really pretty and interesting and then it quickly disappears and makes the coffee less-than and weaker. The dreams she had about whoever this guy is, dissipated and turned into nothing quickly.
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". Peace out.
She was flying on a jet drinking coffee, and when she put the coffee down, she saw the reflection of the clouds in the coffee. That's how she came up with the lyric. The meaning is till up to interpretation!!!
Close... Billy Murnit was sitting next to Simon on a plane; Simon was in the window seat. She set her cup down and he said, "Look at the reflection of the clouds in your coffee. They remind me of a scene from a Godard movie..." (creamer swirling in a cup of coffee). They each wrote the line in their notebooks. The next week, Simon called Murnit and asked if she could use the line.
This song is about David Geffen. people used to say it was about Mick Jagger. it's not but he does sing backing vocals on the track, you can hear him clearly toward the end of the studio version. This opens such a great genre. female singer-songwriters from the 70's Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Laura Nyro, Patti Smith. Roberta Flack. etc. | Check out an album-listen: Tapestry by Carole King, another carly simon song would be "nobody does it better" studio version or the cover by "Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies"
She is such a damn good songwriter in addition to her vocals and instrumental skills. (It must run in the family because her sister is a damn fine songwriter also.)
Dovonan, Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer, has a very beautiful composition with very peculiar lyrics called Wear Your Love Like Heaven.
It would be difficult to exaggerate just how big this song was. Played ALL the time on the radio. Her posters everywhere. TV performances and interviews. She was big and this song was big.
About the coffee, some people can read the future by looking the bottom of the cup after you drink. I'm not a believer of those "myths" (broken mirror, black cat, etc...) but, I was engaged to a girl in my twenties. One day we're having coffee with a friend of hears that ask me not to shake the cup after finish drinking, just pose down. She looked at the bottom of the cup for few seconds and said that I was get married and have two boys, then looked at my fiance cup and said she would marry a man with a name that started with M and was going to have four kids. I got married years later and got two boys, she got married to a man with a name the started with M and have four kids! Excuse my English, not my first language.
I never thought about it until this listen to the song, but it an earlier version of Alannis Morrisette’s “You Oughta Know.” Both great songs by great singer/songwriters about being screwed over in a relationship that tell the truth about things.
So, recently I read that it's actually about three different people, which is why the chorus makes sense. The song isn't really about any of them, but rather about her encounters with men, with them as examples. I don't know if that's accurate or not. But it does make sense.
Her point with the lyric (which I think is so brilliant), "you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you" is that a secure man would either wonder, consider the possibility that it isn't, or not care at all, the narcissist she's singing about (and if you've ever spent any significant time around a narcissist, you could attest to this, I'm sure) doesn't consider whether it might or might not-- he thinks it's about him, because what isn't about him? Brilliant writing.
The actor Warren Beatty was quite the thing back in the day, and was rumored to be the vain one. Imagine him hearing this on the radio and wondering, “Is this song about me?”
You should react to Nobody Does it Better( James Bond theme song) anticipation, that's the way I always heard it should be and many many more by Carly Simon
I love the way she describes the man/men as being bigger than life (stroking their ego) and then knocks them down with the “I bet you think this song is about you.”
Similar to "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry, this song has been the subject of ~50 years of speculation. Both are good fun for going down the rabbit hole.
Each verse is about a different lover of hers. The first is Warren Beatty and the second is James Taylor. She hasn't revealed who the other verses are about
check out carly and james taylor doing the song Mockingbird. A great performance. You'll love it. Amazing how we can be so busy with our lives we miss things like this. Fortunately, sometimes we catch them up later.
I remember hearing when Carly was interviewed by Jim Ladd on his "innerview" segment on the radio. It was on youtube but can't find it now. I think she went to his house and she talked about a critic who upset her when he said she sounds like a horse whinnying and she responded to it, then a time when she met some teenage girls and she bought them lunch, it was a relaxing calm interview that was really good.
It's definitively one hundred percent only about Warren B. Carley raffled off the identity to the highest bidder for a charity forty years after the songs' release. Originally the winner signed a NDA to keep it to themselves, but then Carley just let loose with it in an interview hilariously, admitting she didn't want someone else to steal her thunder of the reveal. She went out of her way to apologize to Annette Benning and praise her as a better woman than her and she was an amazing performer. And Carley can absolutely do whatever she wants cause she is an artist following a long tradition of using their craft as therapy art and she had the tact and class not to name drop the dude in the song or press back in the day when he was the king prince of Hollywood and it mattered. The lyrics are hilarious in their poetic catty lyricism. Reminds me of Taylor Swift or Alanis Moressete in their hay day. Gentlemen, you don't want to piss off and do dirty singer song writers. Not only will they crank out a diss track in your dishonor calling you out, the song will be a banger and become immortalized never leaving the airwaves of oldie stations one day forever or public consciousness or zeitgeist in some way.
Carly Simon did reveal the second verse was about Warren Beatty in a People magazine article. I always thought it was about one guy, but I guess each verse was a different guy. She said it makes sense that Warren would think the whole song was about him. So, I guess Beatty figured it out because she is mum on the other guys until they figure it out. If they haven't by now, I don't think they ever will.
Regarding the line, "I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee", this the vision in her minds eye of a future with the other person that vanished like steam off a hot cup of coffee.
It is about someone. But is it about the one -- or many -- who think it's about them? Carly came from a VERY wealthy family -- her father was a co-founder of major publishing company Simon and Schuster -- and dated several famous and/or rich men and married a couple. It certainly was about at least one of them (rumor has it 3), but she has never confirmed who. (Some say Warren Beatty is confirmed, some say he's not.) It was fun speculating when it came out 50 years ago (damn, I feel old), and it's still fun today. Thanks for a fresh reaction.
"Ironically it is (about him)..." Yep, that was the hook. She said it was about multiple people but Warren Beaty still thinks the whole song is about him. And, she had not met Jagger yet when she wrote it so it was not about him. She is so good at keeping a secret.
Props to Carly for being coy about the subject(s) of this song for over 50 years. - -”In November 2015, Simon, promoting her about-to-be-published memoirs, said, "I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren (Beatty)" and added that "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him". Simon added to the mystery by including “Now, that doesn't mean that the other two verses aren't also about Warren,” she told the BBC. “It just means that the second one is.” - Wiki
The description in the first verse definitely sounds like Warren. The hat and the scarf are exactly how he dressed at the time. There were always pictures in the magazines.
Pour cream into coffee. At first there are pretty clouds billowing in the coffee, but they quickly vanish as the whole cup turns into one ‘café au lait’ color. So she’s saying that her dreams about this guy were like ‘clouds in her coffee’ - beautiful at first, but then quickly dissolved.
I'm an Austrian guy, so not a native English speaker. But "clouds in my coffee" always ment to me : yes, it happend, rose me up for a while, but it doesn't bother me anymore.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone side with the guy/guys in this song! I don’t know what recording you played but to me she actually seemed to be having an off day. That or she was older and her voice wasn’t quite as good as it was in her younger years, or maybe it was at the end of a concert. She didn’t quite hit the higher note on the “Don’t you? Don’t you?” part. She still sounds great but I wanted you to know that the studio version is even better. As others have said, she has some great songs. I didn’t see anyone mention Mockingbird, which she sang with her then husband James Taylor. It was released in 1974. Their voices went well together and they collaborated on several songs. I would recommend starting with the studio version of Mockingbird.
It's about more than one man in her life ... possibly. Imagine all the famous playboys that wondered for years if this song was actually about "them" lol. For more Carly, PLEASE check out "Coming Around Again" and my favorite Bond song "Nobody Does it Better"
Great reaction! I see other suggestions for her music but you could also check out Carole King "I feel the earth move" and "You've got a friend"; or Joni Mitchell "Big yellow taxi" or "Carey".
The lore is that she auctioned off the name of the person who the song was about for more than 1 million dollars... Not that she needed it because she's the heires to the Simon and Schuster company. Fortune
Although she had said this song was not about James Taylor who she had been married to for a time. However it seemed obvious since this was shortly after they parted ways.
She did admit in a People magazine article that only the second verse is indeed about Warren Beatty. She has not revealed who the other verses are about.
Well, thank you Roger, I must have missed that one! She did refuse for quite a long time to tell so I just figured she never told! Thank you for your nice reply about this! Deb
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
I don’t know how you could be alive on this planet and not have heard this song… really! There are 50+ yrs of ‘questions’ about WHO this person is.. as Carly is an EPIC performer from the 60s and onward (she was married to James Taylor). She doesn’t have a bad song (IMO).. and she has many. Thanks for a wonderful blast from the past, and for your reaction!
You better make sure he knows who James Taylor is.
Well you should love this channel and great RUclips reactors because I've spent last 6 years talented reactors of different countries and or colors that have no clue of what is considered popular culture. I assure you it's legit 100000%
Carly Simon songs to listen to - Anticipation … Coming Around Again … Nobody Does It Better … That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be … Haven’t Got Time For the Pain.
"Let the River Run" is my personal favorite.
You're So Vain is in fact about 3 different male suitors Carly had in her life up until 1972.. Verse 2 is specifically about actor, director, producer Warren Beatty. Many have speculated Mick Jagger, James Taylor and Cat Stevens. Carly has denied any of the verses are about them.
It would be ironic if part of it was about Jagger, since he sang backing vocals on the studio version.
Carly Simon has only ever revealed who the song is about to one person and it isn't you. The only thing she has revealed publicly is that it is about one person, not multiple people and the name contains an "a" in it.
@@matthewsann6077, well, she said one was David Geffen. But I also heard that every verse was about a different person.
Spot on. 3 different men and much speculation over the years. All time classic!
She’s made both statements, that the song was about one man, and that the song was about multiple men. She’s also give clues about the name or names, stating one time that it had an “e” in it, then another time she said it had an “a” in it and yet another time she said it had an “r” in it 😂 I think she likes to play into the mystery of the song. It’s a secret she’s been able to keep for decades by playing it this way. Genius! 🤣
I thought the "I had some dreams-they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee..." was exactly what it looks like--you pour the cream and for a moment it's lovely--like beautiful clouds--but it's fleeting; next moment it's not worth much--the beauty has gone. Carly Simon is super talented; singer, songwriter, piano player. The entire No Secrets album is terrific.
Almost certain we all know at least one person this song could be about 🤣 I adore her for refusing to reveal the identity or identities of the main character, the mystery is delicious and adds to the irony, love it.
Carly Simon is a true singer- songwriter. She wrote so many wonderful, personal songs. I still love to listen to her albums. I still have my "No Secrets" and "Hotcakes" LPs.
If you listen to the original studio cut at the 1:40 minute mark you'll recognize the background singer. It's Mick Jagger.
Great analysis as always.
As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
Anticipation Is another great song by Carly Simon, back in the seventies it was used in a ketsup commercial.
Carly has refused to publicize Everyone the song is about. Warren Beatty has been acknowledged as one of the offenders. However, a select few evidently do know and are basically sworn to secrecy. A few years ago, supposedly she told Taylor Swift. However, unless it’s disclosed in her Will, don’t expect to ever know for certain.
She allowed the names to be auctioned off for charity with the provision that the buyer sign an NDA. The buyer, coincidentally enough, was a friend of hers from the TV industry, he paid $50,00.00 for the name.
Carley Simon, born with a gold spoon in her mouth. Her father being Richard Simon of
Simon and Shuster.
Carley was married to James Taylor and gave birth to two of his children.
He was pretty messed up on drugs and such which I would guess caused the
demise of the marriage.
The general consensus is that the song is about the actor Warren Beaty as they had dated before the song was written
And word has it that he was a narcissist and stunk, as in he was malodorous. That was also confirmed for me by hospital personnel that care for his mother as a patient. Conversely, his sister Shirley MacLaine, was completely the opposite, down to earth and clean smelling.
That’s the Way I,ve Always Heard It Sohoul Be. Amazing vocals.
I can't believe you never heard this song. The question always was who is she talking about. You keep taking me a trups down memory lane and i love it. Love you reactions. You are so spot on.
I love Carly Simon, her music seems so heartfelt and honest. She has social anxiety and had stopped performing in public, she finally put on a concert in her hometown for friends, family and people in her town. It was released on DVD, here's the great closing number COMING AROUND AGAIN/ ITSY BITSY SPIDER: ruclips.net/video/q9cidpLcPgA/видео.html
When this song came out, I was at university in the US. Everybody talked about it. The presumption at the time, back in the 1970s was that it was about Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty. As discussed by previous commenters, Ms. Simon has disclosed that Beatty was one of three men she was singing about. She had a famously tumultuous marriage with the equally brilliant singer/songwriter James Taylor from 1972 (when the song was recorded to 1973). You might want to consider listening to one of James Taylor's early hits like the song "Fire and Rain."
I think you'd really appreciate her song, That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be. The lyrics are cutting and insightful. There's an iconic live version where she's playing the keyboard.
I always thought the "clouds in my coffee" line was about how when you first pour in the cream, it's really pretty and interesting and then it quickly disappears and makes the coffee less-than and weaker. The dreams she had about whoever this guy is, dissipated and turned into nothing quickly.
Exactly...well put!
Nicely said!
I never saw it that way but it fits perfectly!
A great blast from the past!
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". Peace out.
I didn’t know that. Was he sworn to secrecy as part of the deal?
@@terri2494 Yes he was.
Oh man, I just need to hear those first two chords and I am right back to the 1970's when this song hit the airwaves. ((sigh)) Such good memories!
I’ll never forget when this song was released in 1972, one of the best Carly Simon songs, she great
Carly has never said who this was about, however speculation says its about Warren Beatty. Its been a mystery since the early 70s.
She was flying on a jet drinking coffee, and when she put the coffee down, she saw the reflection of the clouds in the coffee. That's how she came up with the lyric. The meaning is till up to interpretation!!!
Close... Billy Murnit was sitting next to Simon on a plane; Simon was in the window seat. She set her cup down and he said, "Look at the reflection of the clouds in your coffee. They remind me of a scene from a Godard movie..." (creamer swirling in a cup of coffee). They each wrote the line in their notebooks. The next week, Simon called Murnit and asked if she could use the line.
This song is about David Geffen. people used to say it was about Mick Jagger. it's not but he does sing backing vocals on the track, you can hear him clearly toward the end of the studio version.
This opens such a great genre. female singer-songwriters from the 70's Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Laura Nyro, Patti Smith. Roberta Flack. etc. |
Check out an album-listen: Tapestry by Carole King, another carly simon song would be "nobody does it better" studio version or the cover by "Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies"
✨The song about David Geffen was “Free Man in Paris”, by Joni Mitchell.✨🫶🏼✨
She did do it to " this guy" whoever he is...lol...and did it well!
Love this song!
That’s exactly it about the coffee, when you first pour it billows through thee coffee like a cloud.
I think clouds in her coffee, is probably her tears.
It is cathartic
Todd Rundgren “Hello it’s me” or Carole King “It’s too Late”. Both great story songs to check out✌️👍
Carly was doing diss tracks before diss tracks were a thing. :D
She is such a damn good songwriter in addition to her vocals and instrumental skills. (It must run in the family because her sister is a damn fine songwriter also.)
Beautiful song.
Good reaction. You nailed it!
Dovonan, Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer, has a very beautiful composition with very peculiar lyrics called Wear Your Love Like Heaven.
Mick Jagger is singing backup on this song.
Yes, on the studio record. And it's fire.
Heard this on the radio the other day. After the first verse, I said, “I think this song is about me.” The chorus came like a slap in the face.
My favorite Carly Simon song is 'Memorial Day' from the album 'Spy'.
Hollywood playboy actor. Hooked up with many actresses
Love her music, shows her vulnerability and shares it with us. I have had a crush on her for over 50 years.
The coffee line, I took it as coffee being a source of clarity. Clouds in a coffee is fog in that clarity.
You should hear the studio version. Beautiful song.
It would be difficult to exaggerate just how big this song was. Played ALL the time on the radio. Her posters everywhere. TV performances and interviews. She was big and this song was big.
About the coffee, some people can read the future by looking the bottom of the cup after you drink. I'm not a believer of those "myths" (broken mirror, black cat, etc...) but, I was engaged to a girl in my twenties. One day we're having coffee with a friend of hears that ask me not to shake the cup after finish drinking, just pose down. She looked at the bottom of the cup for few seconds and said that I was get married and have two boys, then looked at my fiance cup and said she would marry a man with a name that started with M and was going to have four kids. I got married years later and got two boys, she got married to a man with a name the started with M and have four kids! Excuse my English, not my first language.
Surely one of the best solo female songs ever!😘
Afternoon Mr. Boyd, Love the show!
Beautiful reaction.
She put creamer in her coffee and it looked like clouds
I never thought about it until this listen to the song, but it an earlier version of Alannis Morrisette’s “You Oughta Know.” Both great songs by great singer/songwriters about being screwed over in a relationship that tell the truth about things.
So, recently I read that it's actually about three different people, which is why the chorus makes sense. The song isn't really about any of them, but rather about her encounters with men, with them as examples. I don't know if that's accurate or not. But it does make sense.
"Clouds in my coffee" is tears falling in the coffee and the results of the mixing
Her point with the lyric (which I think is so brilliant), "you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you" is that a secure man would either wonder, consider the possibility that it isn't, or not care at all, the narcissist she's singing about (and if you've ever spent any significant time around a narcissist, you could attest to this, I'm sure) doesn't consider whether it might or might not-- he thinks it's about him, because what isn't about him? Brilliant writing.
The actor Warren Beatty was quite the thing back in the day, and was rumored to be the vain one. Imagine him hearing this on the radio and wondering, “Is this song about me?”
You should react to Nobody Does it Better( James Bond theme song) anticipation, that's the way I always heard it should be and many many more by Carly Simon
I love the way she describes the man/men as being bigger than life (stroking their ego) and then knocks them down with the “I bet you think this song is about you.”
Similar to "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry, this song has been the subject of ~50 years of speculation. Both are good fun for going down the rabbit hole.
Each verse is about a different lover of hers. The first is Warren Beatty and the second is James Taylor. She hasn't revealed who the other verses are about
She said in a People magazine article that the second verse only is about Warren Beatty. She has not revealed who the other verses are about.
It was thought that this song was about Warren Beatty, who was a reputed ladies man and vain.
check out carly and james taylor doing the song Mockingbird. A great performance. You'll love it. Amazing how we can be so busy with our lives we miss things like this. Fortunately, sometimes we catch them up later.
I remember hearing when Carly was interviewed by Jim Ladd on his "innerview" segment on the radio. It was on youtube but can't find it now. I think she went to his house and she talked about a critic who upset her when he said she sounds like a horse whinnying and she responded to it, then a time when she met some teenage girls and she bought them lunch, it was a relaxing calm interview that was really good.
It's definitively one hundred percent only about Warren B. Carley raffled off the identity to the highest bidder for a charity forty years after the songs' release. Originally the winner signed a NDA to keep it to themselves, but then Carley just let loose with it in an interview hilariously, admitting she didn't want someone else to steal her thunder of the reveal. She went out of her way to apologize to Annette Benning and praise her as a better woman than her and she was an amazing performer. And Carley can absolutely do whatever she wants cause she is an artist following a long tradition of using their craft as therapy art and she had the tact and class not to name drop the dude in the song or press back in the day when he was the king prince of Hollywood and it mattered. The lyrics are hilarious in their poetic catty lyricism. Reminds me of Taylor Swift or Alanis Moressete in their hay day. Gentlemen, you don't want to piss off and do dirty singer song writers. Not only will they crank out a diss track in your dishonor calling you out, the song will be a banger and become immortalized never leaving the airwaves of oldie stations one day forever or public consciousness or zeitgeist in some way.
Carly Simon did reveal the second verse was about Warren Beatty in a People magazine article. I always thought it was about one guy, but I guess each verse was a different guy. She said it makes sense that Warren would think the whole song was about him. So, I guess Beatty figured it out because she is mum on the other guys until they figure it out. If they haven't by now, I don't think they ever will.
Regarding the line, "I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee", this the vision in her minds eye of a future with the other person that vanished like steam off a hot cup of coffee.
❤❤❤
It is about someone. But is it about the one -- or many -- who think it's about them? Carly came from a VERY wealthy family -- her father was a co-founder of major publishing company Simon and Schuster -- and dated several famous and/or rich men and married a couple. It certainly was about at least one of them (rumor has it 3), but she has never confirmed who. (Some say Warren Beatty is confirmed, some say he's not.) It was fun speculating when it came out 50 years ago (damn, I feel old), and it's still fun today. Thanks for a fresh reaction.
"Ironically it is (about him)..." Yep, that was the hook. She said it was about multiple people but Warren Beaty still thinks the whole song is about him. And, she had not met Jagger yet when she wrote it so it was not about him. She is so good at keeping a secret.
Carly Simon of the Simon and a Schuster simons. She is so great.
for years the guess was between Cat Stevens and Warren Beatty . She reveal a few years ago that it was mostly based on Beatty.
the clouds aren't really in the coffee, bro. she was fixated on things that weren't even there, just reflections.
Singer Mark Wills this song is so beautiful the name of the record is Don’t Laugh at Me
Warren Beaty.
She was married to James Taylor and she mentions Saratoga, NY where I saw 20 rock concerts.
Props to Carly for being coy about the subject(s) of this song for over 50 years. - -”In November 2015, Simon, promoting her about-to-be-published memoirs, said, "I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren (Beatty)" and added that "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him". Simon added to the mystery by including “Now, that doesn't mean that the other two verses aren't also about Warren,” she told the BBC. “It just means that the second one is.” - Wiki
The description in the first verse definitely sounds like Warren. The hat and the scarf are exactly how he dressed at the time. There were always pictures in the magazines.
They say she wrote this about Warren Beatty. When she was asked her all she said was, " Warren".
The song refers to her former lover the singer James Taylor
Rumer was always it was about Warren Beatty. You should hear the original studio version where you can hear Mick Jagger on background vocals.
This song was about Warren Beatty
☮️💙💙💙😎
The rumor is that it’s about actor Warren Beatty. She had a thing with him back in the day.
Verse 1: Nick Delbanco
Verse 2: Warren Beatty
Verse 3: Joe Namath
Pour cream into coffee. At first there are pretty clouds billowing in the coffee, but they quickly vanish as the whole cup turns into one ‘café au lait’ color. So she’s saying that her dreams about this guy were like ‘clouds in her coffee’ - beautiful at first, but then quickly dissolved.
I'm an Austrian guy, so not a native English speaker. But
"clouds in my coffee" always ment to me : yes, it happend, rose me up for a while, but it doesn't bother me anymore.
I d recommend "That s the Way I Always heard it Should Be."
Fun fact! Mick Jagger sings back up on the studio version!
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone side with the guy/guys in this song!
I don’t know what recording you played but to me she actually seemed to be having an off day. That or she was older and her voice wasn’t quite as good as it was in her younger years, or maybe it was at the end of a concert. She didn’t quite hit the higher note on the “Don’t you? Don’t you?” part. She still sounds great but I wanted you to know that the studio version is even better. As others have said, she has some great songs. I didn’t see anyone mention Mockingbird, which she sang with her then husband James Taylor. It was released in 1974. Their voices went well together and they collaborated on several songs. I would recommend starting with the studio version of Mockingbird.
It's about more than one man in her life ... possibly. Imagine all the famous playboys that wondered for years if this song was actually about "them" lol. For more Carly, PLEASE check out "Coming Around Again" and my favorite Bond song "Nobody Does it Better"
Anticipation by Carlie Simon
Great reaction! I see other suggestions for her music but you could also check out Carole King "I feel the earth move" and "You've got a friend"; or Joni Mitchell "Big yellow taxi" or "Carey".
Clouds in my coffee: the creamer eventually dissipates and disappears into the coffee. Like her dreams disappear.
She is daughter of Simon from the publishers Simon & Schuster
The lore is that she auctioned off the name of the person who the song was about for more than 1 million dollars... Not that she needed it because she's the heires to the Simon and Schuster company. Fortune
Although she had said this song was not about James Taylor who she had been married to for a time. However it seemed obvious since this was shortly after they parted ways.
Warren Beatty
She always had the hottest album covers. Yeah.
I like rhyming yacht, apricot and gavotte.
The clouds in her coffee are from her tears dripping into the cup.
It's believed the song is specifically about actor and well known ladies man Warren Beatty.
I always thought it was about Warren Beatty, but it was never verified by Carly Simon, she refused to tell who it was about!
She did admit in a People magazine article that only the second verse is indeed about Warren Beatty. She has not revealed who the other verses are about.
Well, thank you Roger, I must have missed that one! She did refuse for quite a long time to tell so I just figured she never told! Thank you for your nice reply about this!
Deb
I can't believe that Carly Simon wrote a song about me.
I love the twisted and ironic logic: the song is about you, but you would only think that if you’re super vain.
I always heard Beaty.
Kris Krstofferson "The Pilgrim" very clever lyrics.