Somebody That I Used To Know

Keating 1
Abilene Keating
Dr. Cassel
ENG 1201
12 February 2021
Somebody That I Used to Know
“Now you’re just somebody that I used to know”. The words alone evoke a feeling of
loss, but context tells the story. In the original version of the song by Gotye and Kimbra, it is
referred to as a bad romantic relationship. In the other version by Darren Criss and Matt Bomer,
they use the line to describe a bad brother relationship. Both versions focus on an unhealthy
relationship, but Gotye’s version focuses on a romantic relationship, and Darren and Matt’s
version focuses on a brotherly relationship.
In Gotye’s version of “Somebody That I Used to Know” he starts off in the video naked.
This is supposed to symbolize his vulnerability. Gotye then starts the song by talking about all
the bad things in the relationship. In “Felt so lonely in your company, but that was love and it’s
an ache I still remember”, he shares that the “love” he had was not satisfying. When he starts the
chorus the first time, he starts to become covered in paint. The paint represents his pain and
anger in the relationship. As his unhappiness grows, the paint grows to cover him like clothing.
This “clothing” that he wears makes him blend into the background, showing the audience that
he is losing himself in the breakup that has happened. Then the girl comes in already covered in
paint. She says, “But I don’t want to live that way, reading into every word you say”. This line
shows that she is acknowledging the pain, and as she acknowledges it, the paint starts to come
off her. Gotye’s character allowed himself to get lost in his anger, and Kimbra’s character was
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able to relieve the pain that he put her though and start over. In the end, Gotye is stuck with the
paint on him while Kimba is free of the paint.
Darren Criss and Matt Bomer had a different take on this song. Rather than them being in
a romantic relationship, they were brothers. This video starts with Darren’s character singing in
an empty auditorium to his brother. This is emotional because it is like they are having a
conversation about their true feelings. His brother has never treated him well and they show this
through videos of his past. When Darren says, “now and then I think of all the times you screwed
me over” they show a video of his past and how his brother was being mean to him. They sing to
each other the rest of the video about how they do not really know each other and how they are
just “somebody that I used to know”. At the end they say that line one more time, but there is a
spotlight distance between them. This shows that the have bad memories between them
preventing them from being real brothers.
Both versions use the same lyrics and instrumentation but present a different message.
One being to let go of a bad romantic relationship and the other is reliving a bad brotherly
relationship. One could say that the Darren Criss can appeal to a younger audience, like
teenagers, because it was shown in the show Glee. Glee is set in high school with teenage
characters, making this more relatable to teenagers watching the show. The Goyte version
appeals to a broader audience because more people have been in a bad romantic relationship. It
shows the hard ships of being in a bad romantic relationship, and some people might be able to
relate to that message more.
Both versions of the song appeal to pathos. Though they are told differently, they both
still appeal to emotion in different ways. In Gotye’s version, he looks at the camera most of the
time, so the audience is able to see his pain through his facial expressions. In the second version,
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Darren’s character expresses his pain throughout the song. As he sings to his brother the
audience is able to see the pain in his face. While his brother shows more remorse or sorrow in
his face, like he knows he wronged his brother. Also, with the choice of putting in a scene
Darren’s character being wronged in the past, it added to the emotion being played out.
Although both versions are very similar, they have a different meaning behind them. In
the original, Gotye is singing about being hurt by a bad romantic relationship and not being able
to let go of the pain. Then Darren Criss sings about a bad brother relationship in the second
version, and the characters wanting to move on from that. Both have the same message of facing
the pain of moving on but are shown through two different types of personal relationship.
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Sources Cited:
Gotye. “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Making Mirrors, Samples ‘N’ Seconds Records,
2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY accessed 12 February 2021
Glee Cast. “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Glee: The Music- The Complete Season
Three, Twentieth Century Fox Film, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uFB92lXmUc accessed 12 February 2021

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Keating 1

Somebody That I Used to Know

version focuses on a brotherly relationship.

paint on him while Kimba is free of the paint.

preventing them from being real brothers.

relate to that message more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY accessed 12 February 2021

Three, Twentieth Century Fox Film, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uFB92lXmUc accessed 12 February 2021

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