Hey there! This is TOP episode 138. Learn English With Gotye & Kimbra ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’

My name’s Ola and I am an English teacher. My goal is to help you start speaking English with confidence and get rid of speaking barriers. I believe it is achievable for you and it’s time you started speaking English fearlessly! Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. Happy learning! 

Hello hello! I really hope you’re doing fine and you’re ready to finally learn the lyrics and the meaning of the song by Gotye and Kimbra. I added my interpretation, feel free to compare it with yours and share your opinion with all of us. Post a comment at teacherola.com/138. 

You’re gonna learn soooo many phrases today but first song facts, then lyrics line by line and finally the most important part – the practical part. Stay with me it’s crucial for you to speak up. The title of the song I picked for today might suggest that we’ll be dealing with ‘be used to’ but we won’t It’s because we have a separate episode on that topic. It’s episode 24 Used To vs Be/Get used to. Find it at teacherola.com/24.

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“Somebody That I Used to Know” is a song performed by Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter, Gotye. The song features singer Kimbra from New Zealand. The song topped the charts all over the world. To be precise, it peaked at number 1 in approximately 27 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. The song’s music video, which was directed by Natasha Pincus and released in July 2011, has so far garnered over a billion views on YouTube, thereby making it one of the most viewed YouTube videos of all time. 

Gotye told Rolling Stone Australia that this song is about an ex-girlfriend, he said: “It wasn’t a nasty breakup, but it was messy in the sense that we hurt each other more than we needed to because it wasn’t a clean break. I guess it’s closest to what the chorus is about. We both realized we had to move on and we haven’t seen each other since.”

And in another interview, Gotye said: “I think it’s the kind of slow build and drama that it has, the two-part story, and the multiple perspective aspect that has struck people. It’s written openly enough that it expresses the confusion you can have after a broken relationship and the way you can feel emotionally quite up and down. You can feel nostalgic and rosily melancholy, in a way. But sometimes we often feel quite bitter about things, when you have nothing to do with that relationship or maybe with that person anymore, at least not actively. It can be quite a confusing feeling. So maybe the way the song expresses those feelings appears to strike people as quite true, and quite relevant with their experiences.”

Now, let’s jump into the lyrics. Listen and repeat each line of the first verse:

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

In your company – I felt so lonely in your company. Near you. In the company of somebody. Adam’s company.

I enjoy Adam’s company.

They are a very good company. 

I came for company. 

I’m never nervous in your company. 

If you’re a creative person you’re in good company. 

Be careful not to get into bad company.

Two’s company, three’s a crowd. 

And yes. Company also means a business organization. 

I run my own company.

it’s an ache I still remember – an ache. a continuous feeling of pain in a part of the body. Stomach ache, headache, heartache, toothache, backache, earache. 

You get more aches and pains as you get older.

The same word is used as a verb. To ache. 

I’m aching all over.

My legs ached from running all day.

There’s also an adjective ‘achy’ and it’s rather colloquial.

My back is constantly achy.

Next part of the verse. Listen and repeat:

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 that it was over

get addicted to – if you’re addicted you are unable to stop using or doing something as a habit, especially something harmful. We become addicted, we get addicted, we are addicted. 

A lot of people nowadays have become addicted to the internet.

You said that we would still be friends – This is a reported speech. It’s not a quote. If I was to quote her words I would say: ‘We will still be friends’, but it’s not a quote. I’m reporting her words hence ‘will’ changes into ‘would’. She said that we would still be friends.

She said she would plan it.

He promissed he would help us.

They told us they would investigate this case.

I was glad – I was happy. ‘Glad’ is a synonym of ‘happy’. 

I’m so glad you came!

I’m glad about that.

I was glad he had come.

I’m glad to hear that. 

I’m so glad for him. 

I’m glad to meet you.

Time for the chorus. Listen carefully and repeat each line:

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

cut me off –  But you didn’t have to cut me off. To cut somebody off to prevent somebody from leaving or reaching a place or communicating with people outside a place. He has been cut off. She cut him off so as to deprive him of any possibility of contacting her. 

He cut himself off from all human contact.

There are other meanings of ‘cut off’ we should consider. To cut off means to interrupt somebody who is speaking on the phone by breaking the connection.

I don’t know what she wanted to say because we were cut off in the middle of our conversation.

If you get cut off by your parents that means they don’t want you to inherit their money or other assets after their death. 

Adam got cut off and was left penniless. 

I think I have to finally get down to episodes on phrasal verbs. There are other meanings of ‘cut off’ but I’d rather move on to another line of today’s lyrics than fall into this sort of phrasal verb rabbit hole. You know what I mean. Let’s see another phrasal verb:

Make out  – make out like it never happened. He accuses her of making out with someone else, behaving sort of heartless as if their relationship was meaningless. She swiftly moved on. And he blames her. Ok, but what does ‘make out’ mean? Obviously, more than one thing, but let’s just stick to the meaning employed in the song. To make out with somebody means to kiss and touch somebody in a sexual way, also to have sex with somebody. 

She’s only interested in making out, it’s nothing serious. 

That feels so rough – it’s difficult for him, it’s difficult and unpleasant to cope with the fact she has moved on so quickly. He can’t make peace with it. It’s rough. It’s tough. 

He’s had a really rough time recently.

We’re going through a rough patch right now, our marriage is on the rocks. 

Let’s see the lyrics of the second half of the chorus. Listen and repeat:

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

You didn’t have to stoop so low – if somebody stoops so low they drop their moral standards far enough to do something bad or unpleasant. To stoop so low as to do something. For example:

I said I would never stoop so low as to have anything to do with him.

It’s possible to stoop to a new low. It’s used when someone behaves in a worse way than ever before.

I recon our government has stooped to a new low with those decisions.  

Have your friends collect your records – To have someone do something. He’s angry because she asked her friends or their mutual friends to pop in and grab all her records, her CDs if you will. 

To have someone do something means to convince somebody to do something or to arrange for somebody to do something. For instance:

She had him clean the windows. 

And now let’s move on to the last verse sung by 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

And 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…

Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over – Every now and again, from time to time I think of all the times you screwed me over.  to screw someone over has two meanings. To cheat and to scold someone, to give someone a very hard time. I guess it’s the first meaning here. To cheat. To deceive, to trick someone. He cheated her. Aha! So he’s not without guilt!

Tom really screwed us over when he quit in the middle of the project!

But had me believing it was always something that I’d done – So it looks like he put blame on her. Each time he screwed her over he managed to convince her that it had been her own fault. What a bastard! Notice past perfect. 

It was always something that I’d done.

Reading into every word you say – Reading into words is when you are trying to find extra meaning in the things someone said. It’s to think that something means more than it really does. But she was so manipulated by him she learned to be vigilant, and whatever he said got her suspicious. She was alert to seek the true meaning of his words. That’s my interpretation, just for the record. An example sentence:

Don’t read too much into what she says.

And I wouldn’t catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know… – This is what he said. He said that she wouldn’t catch him hung up on somebody that she used to know. If you are hung up on somebody you are very worried about somebody, you are thinking about somebody too much. So I reckon he promissed he would never do that, he would never care for anyone except for her but I think it’s implied he really did. Oh, he’s not innocent, is he? Example sentences:

You’re not still hung up on that man?

They’re too hung up about sport.

Time for your practice. Listen and repeat the sentences out loud. Here we go:

Be careful not to get into bad company.

Two’s company, three’s a crowd. 

I’m aching all over.

A lot of people nowadays have become addicted to the internet.

He promissed he would help us.

I’m glad to hear that. 

He cut himself off from his family.

We’re going through a rough patch right now, our marriage is on the rocks. 

I said I would never stoop so low as to have anything to do with him.

Tom really screwed us over when he quit in the middle of the project!

Don’t read too much into what she says.

You’re not still hung up on that man?

I’m glad you’ve made it! Well done. But don’t stop here. Go to your inbox and grab worksheet 138 in order to test yourself. Complete the gapped text with missing words. If you’re not a member of TOPeople download the worksheet at teacherola.com/138 and become one. It’s free. 

I also have The Worksheet Set. This way you won’t have to download each worksheet separately. It’s gonna be much more convenient to work with this podcast. All the links are in the description below. Worksheet Sets are useful to all Polish listeners because they include translations from Polish. 

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Thank you so much for listening and I’ll see you next Wednesday!! Till then, take care! Take care of yourself. Happy learning. Stay fearless and say it out loud! Bye!