Carly Simon Reveals the Wildest 'You're So Vain' Theory

Posted on Nov 16th 2009 4:00PM by Mike Ayers
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It's been one of pop culture's enduring mysteries: who was Carly Simon referring to in her hit song 'You're So Vain'? Some of the more popular theories over the years have been Simon's ex-husband James Taylor, as well as Mick Jagger and Warren Beatty. While she's still coy about it -- she's said that it might be about a few men, not just one -- she revealed that the name was hidden within a certain version of the song in a recent interview with WNYC's Soundcheck. NPR's sleuthing revealed that the name 'David' was hidden within.

Simon has recently rerecorded a version of 'You're So Vain' for 'Never Been Gone,' her new record of reimagined songs from her back catalog. And while it would've been easy to ask who it was about, we were more curious as to what the wildest theory Simon's been presented with over the years. "Jesus Christ," she tells Spinner. "I don't remember who they were but it wasn't any one I had respect for before they said that. But after they said it was Jesus Christ, I had enormous respect for them. How unusual. Who would have thought, especially with the 'one eye in the mirror' line. I don't think there were even real mirrors back then. Maybe he was looking at himself in a spoon."

There you have it -- the son of God rules as Simon's craziest theory to date. But, if you think about it, the name David does have biblical origins. So, whether they weren't too far off or it was just about no one in particular, it's still fun to guess.

'Never Been Gone' is out now on Iris Records.

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