I heard an interview of Gotye on NPR about a year ago. He says it is done from the perspective of the man as a sad song about lost love. But when the woman speaks, you find out that he is the Unreliable Narrator. He didn't just do this to her, he did it to the woman before her, and probably the woman before that to. That is his addiction to a certain kind of sadness. So he enjoys feeling sorry for himself, and the broken hearts he leave behind is just the price someone else has to pay.
I heard an interview of Gotye on NPR about a year ago. He says it is done from the perspective of the man as a sad song about lost love. But when the woman speaks, you find out that he is the Unreliable Narrator. He didn't just do this to her, he did it to the woman before her, and probably the woman before that to. That is his addiction to a certain kind of sadness. So he enjoys feeling sorry for himself, and the broken hearts he leave behind is just the price someone else has to pay.