Somebody That I Used to Know was written and recorded by Belgian-Australian singer and songwriter Gotye, featuring New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand in July 2011 as the second single from his third studio album, 'Making Mirrors'. It was later released by Universal Music in December 2011 in the United Kingdom, and in January 2012 in the United States and enjoyed astonishing success around the world: as of May 2012, the song has sold more than one million copies in the United Kingdom becoming the best selling single of the year so far; and five million in the United States. It is the most downloaded song of all time in Belgium, the Netherlands' most successful chart single ever (although other singles have sold more copies), and the third best-selling digital single in Germany. "Somebody That I Used to Know" has sold more than seven million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling digital singles of all time.
Since then it has been sampled, remixed and covered numerous times, amongst them by two of the cast of the musical Ghost.
Gotye feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know (2011)
AUS#1, AT#1, BE#1, CAN#1, CZK#1, DE#1, DK#1, FIN#1, FR#1, HUN#1, IRL#1, ISR#1, IT#1, MEX#1, NL#1, NZ#1, POL#1, ROM#1, RSA#1, SVK#1, SWE#1, UK#1, US#1, VEN#1, BRZ#2, CH#2, NOR#2, ES#3, JAP#15
Ghost Covers Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (2012)
Lyrics:
[Gotye:]
Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
[Kimbra:]
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know
[Gotye:]
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)
Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)
(I used to know)
(That I used to know)
(I used to know)
Somebody
