I know you
You think I don't but I do
I've been listening and I don't forget so I can do this
I can pass the test
You went to school in Chicago
Your mom's maiden name is Dupree
Your favorite actor is DeNiro
Your birthday's 03/08/83
C.H.I.C.A.G.O.
D.U.P.R.E.E.
D.E.N.I.R.O.
I know you
You think it's weird but it's not
You're all looking at it all upside down
It actually means I really love you
You used to have a dog called Montey
You only drink chardonnay
Your sister's pet name is CeeCee
You have a thing for David Blaine
M.O.N.T.E.Y.
C.H.A.R.D.O.N.N.A.Y.
C.E.E.C.E.E.
And I know you
I know you
You think I'm blind but I'm not
I've been watching and what I've noticed
Is distraction, boredom and vacancy
I know your favorite dish (P.R.I.M.A.V.E.R.A.)
I know your favorite band (Polyphonic S.P.R.E.E.)
You spent a year in Barcelona (B.A.R.C.E.L.O.N.A.)
That asshole's name is Anthony
Turns out you never went to T.U.L.S.A.
To see your old roommate J.A.N.E.
I think my middle name is S.U.C.K.E.R.
And I was born yesterday
I don't know you
I thought I did but I don't
I wasn't listening, not to the right things
One day I won't even remember your face
You think I don't but I do
I've been listening and I don't forget so I can do this
I can pass the test
You went to school in Chicago
Your mom's maiden name is Dupree
Your favorite actor is DeNiro
Your birthday's 03/08/83
D.U.P.R.E.E.
D.E.N.I.R.O.
You think it's weird but it's not
You're all looking at it all upside down
It actually means I really love you
You only drink chardonnay
Your sister's pet name is CeeCee
You have a thing for David Blaine
C.H.A.R.D.O.N.N.A.Y.
C.E.E.C.E.E.
You think I'm blind but I'm not
I've been watching and what I've noticed
Is distraction, boredom and vacancy
I know your favorite dish (P.R.I.M.A.V.E.R.A.)
I know your favorite band (Polyphonic S.P.R.E.E.)
You spent a year in Barcelona (B.A.R.C.E.L.O.N.A.)
That asshole's name is Anthony
To see your old roommate J.A.N.E.
I think my middle name is S.U.C.K.E.R.
And I was born yesterday
I thought I did but I don't
I wasn't listening, not to the right things
One day I won't even remember your face
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
A.N.T.H.O.N.Y is the password in question ;)
This is definitely a couple - specifically, about a couple, told from the man's point of view. she has already left him and he's trying to break into her email to find out why she's been distant. I saw someone mention that the password was Anthony but I think it was Barcelona. That word worked, he saw the mails to Anthony, checked the timing of her non-trip to Tulsa and came to realize that he didn't know her at all. Now, he's so uncertain of everything that he doesn't even think he'll accurately remember her face.
I think her favorite dish is Primavera (P.R.I.M.A.V.E.R.A.).
This is what I take from the song:
The song puts us in the middle of a couple fighting. The man has his suspicions that his girlfriend is cheating and takes her computer and uses things he knows about her to try and guess the password to her (email?).
Shes mad about it but he only feels jealous/compelled to force his way into her private email because he "loves" her.
She insists that nothing is wrong but the singer says hes noticed things arn't right there is "distraction, boredom and vacancy".
He eventually cracks the password and discovers that she lied about a trip away to see a girlfriend and was cheating.
He realises he was too busy paying attention and listening to hear to see the signs sooner but he knows he wont be hung over her forever.
Spot on. I'm right there with you and even though he thinks he finds out that she is cheating it's all just a little bit creepy too. Kind of like one of those "Roomate" movies...like he's going to be waiting with a hatchet when she gets home. I love songs vibe. That WahWah and the organ though out the song gives it this late 60's early 70's "Me and Mrs. Jones" kind of sound. Then the cord change is almost like glass shattering when he finds out about Anthony.
Spot on. I'm right there with you and even though he thinks he finds out that she is cheating it's all just a little bit creepy too. Kind of like one of those "Roomate" movies...like he's going to be waiting with a hatchet when she gets home. I love songs vibe. That WahWah and the organ though out the song gives it this late 60's early 70's "Me and Mrs. Jones" kind of sound. Then the cord change is almost like glass shattering when he finds out about Anthony.
I actually never thought of the narrator and the girl being a couple. I always thought the narrator was kind of a stalker. The narrator is, for some reason, obsessed with this girl and has been watching her, listening, learning as much as he can about her ("I've been listening and I don't forget"). That's the feeling I got because the things he knows about her are such superficial things, not the kind of stuff he should know if they had an actual relationship. She knows about his obsession and (rightfully) thinks he's a creep ("you think it's weird but it's not"), but he thinks collecting all this information is some kind of "sign" of his "love" for her ("it actually means I really love you").
Anthony is the boyfriend. The narrator has convinced himself out of desperation and desire that Anthony is an asshole and isn't treating her right. He believes she's bored with him and that she will be leaving him any day now. His observations on their relationship are very biased - he WANTS their relationship to fail - so it's hard to know, via this unreliable narrator, whether their relationship really is unstable at all. As a user above said, it appears her password was Anthony (as that seems to be the last thing he guessed) so that could be a clue that their relationship is in fact plenty happy.
He seems to be trying to break into her computer, perhaps after breaking into her house. He's trying to guess her password by typing in all the things he knows about her. He looks at it as a test ("I can pass the test") of his knowledge of her, to prove - to himself more than anyone else - that he loves her. He is successful and he learns a secret about her - that, when she claimed to be in Tulsa visiting Jane, she was actually elsewhere doing who knows what - which shocks the narrator into realizing that you can't really "know" somebody just by listening in on their life...there's a whole other side to her that he couldn't possibly have known about via his observations.
This is just what I always thought. The idea that the narrator is the girl's boyfriend seems likely as well. It did puzzle me that the revelation about Tulsa comes off as a betrayal - you can't betray someone you don't have a relationship with, so that's a clue that maybe the girl and the narrator are closer than I originally thought. Maybe this is the couple from "You Don't Know Me" :P
This is definitely a couple - specifically, about a couple, told from the man's point of view. she has already left him and he's trying to break into her email to find out why she's been distant. I saw someone mention that the password was Anthony but I think it was Barcelona. That worked, he saw the mails to Anthony, checked the timing of her non-trip to Tulsa and came to realize that he didn't know her at all. Now, he's so uncertain of everything that he doesn't even think he'll accurately remember her face.
This is definitely a couple - specifically, about a couple, told from the man's point of view. she has already left him and he's trying to break into her email to find out why she's been distant. I saw someone mention that the password was Anthony but I think it was Barcelona. That worked, he saw the mails to Anthony, checked the timing of her non-trip to Tulsa and came to realize that he didn't know her at all. Now, he's so uncertain of everything that he doesn't even think he'll accurately remember her face.
Even if they aren't a couple (I think it's more likely they once were a couple, and the narrator can't get over his ex), his obsession could easily make any action that goes against his desires seem like betrayal.
Even if they aren't a couple (I think it's more likely they once were a couple, and the narrator can't get over his ex), his obsession could easily make any action that goes against his desires seem like betrayal.
Absolutely not - you guys are WAY off.
The narrator in the song is her computer, or else its Google. Google/ her PC know all this stuff about her cos she entered it as her password for various stuff. like when a website asks you to answer a security question like "who was your first pet" etc etc.
So its a song about all the personal information we give to total strangers.
The bit I dont understand is the last verse where the computer/ google changes its mind and says "I dont know you, I thought I did but I dont".
I've been listening to this song on and off for years, but hit a really strong Ben Folds patch lately and gave it a second look.
What if this song is about someone who died? The author could be trying to get into the account to let people know, or just for memories.
Note the change in tone after "Turns out you never went to T-U-L-S-A" - maybe she couldn't go because she died? It would also explain "one day I won't even remember your face."