Plenty of men have thought this song is about them

“You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you…”

Since 1972, music lovers have speculated about just who the “you” Carly Simon sings about in You’re So Vain is. The catchy song has stood the test of time in terms of popularity, but the self-absorbed lover it is written about is a card Simon has kept close to her chest. 

Read more:  A look back at the astonishing Carly Simon

Many thought it was written about Warren Beatty, including Warren Beatty himself, who apparently called Simon to thank her for the song. Other potential celebrity lovers included Mick Jagger, Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens, and David Geffen, but for 45 years Simon kept mum. 

A fourth, unreleased verse of the song revealed in a recent episode of BBC’s Classic Albums series revealed that the late author Willie Donaldson may have been the vain, apricot scarf wearing womaniser Simon has been warbling about all these years. 

The new lyrics are: “A friend of yours revealed to me / That you’d loved me all the time / You kept it secret from your wives / You believed it was no crime / You called me once to ask me things / I couldn’t quite define / Maybe that’s why I have tried to dismiss you / Tried to dismiss you.”

Admit it, you sang those lyrics didn’t you? 

Donaldson and Simon had a relationship in the 1960s, and the reference to his wives strongly suggests that the song is, indeed, about him. 

In her 2015 memoir, Simon describes Donaldson, who died in 2005, as ‘a sardonic, adorable, long-legged, coffee-scented charmer’.

Simon might have her own secrets as to who this song is about, but no doubt just about every woman over the past four decades has sang along to it with their own man in mind.

Do you think the evidence is strong for Donaldson being the man in the song?