Somebody that I used to know

One of the biggest hits from Australia in 2011, and which is now on Prague radio, is called Somebody that I used to know. Have you heard it? Spending 8 weeks on the top of the Australian chart, this song by Gotye and New Zealand singer Kimbra expresses the intense feelings which come about when a couple breaks up (= separates), and how the same event can be interpreted completely differently by each person.

The song has topped the charts in other countries, and with over 53 millions views on You Tube, it has been a pleasing contrast to all the party hits and ‘I’m in love’ feel good songs which have been incredibly successful this past year. So just for the next five minutes, let’s put Pitbull and Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to one side 😉

Somebody that I used to know
Here’s the chorus which Gotye sings:

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

The song is quite rich in vocabulary, and you can see they still have this tension between them in the video.

Word Bank
to cut someone off = to stop contacting them.
make out = pretend; act like.
eg “He made out that he was really rich, but it was just to impress the girls.”
to treat = ‘to treat’ here refers to how someone behaves towards someone else.
eg “He treats her well | badly | like a princess | like dirt.”
to stoop so low = the general meaning of ‘stoop’ is to bend the top part of your body downwards.
When we use it in a collocation like this, we are saying you did something in a ‘downward’ direction, that was bad or morally wrong.

Eg A search for ‘stoop’ on Twitter gives these these examples:

@_itsjuslexx
I promised myself to live up to a certain standard …I will not stoop to low levels to get my way…but will simply tell the truth..
@JohnLindahl
There will be people who try to drag you down. Ignore it. You may be compelled to stoop to their level but that’s exactly what they want.

rough = in this context ‘rough’ can mean ‘tough’ or ‘unfair’

Used to

I’m sure many of you have seen ‘used to‘ in your English coursebook. Here in the song it comes to life.

In short, we use used to + (bare) infinitive to talk about things we did regularly in the past, but which we then stopped. As in the song, it can also be used to describe something that was true in the past but no longer is.

‘Used to’ can be used for describing both actions and states.

Examples:

“We used to live in Sydney together” (we did this for a long time, but not anymore)
“We used to walk along the beach. It was so beautiful.” (we did this often in the past)

“He was the love of my life. Then we split up, and he moved to London. He was my lover and my boyfriend, but now I don’t see him – he’s someone who I used to know.”

Some couples after a break up stay in contact and even become good friends. In other relationships, they go in different directions and never meet again.

Is there somebody that you used to know?

If the answer’s ‘yes’ and you’re feeling a bit down, ok, NOW you can play Pitbull 🙂

Photo: D. Sweetnam

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