Carly Simon (born Carly Elisabeth Simon on 25 June 1945 - New York City, US… Read Full Bio ↴Carly Simon (born Carly Elisabeth Simon on 25 June 1945 - New York City, USA) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work. Throughout her career, she has amassed a total of 13 Top 40 Hits including "You're So Vain", "Nobody Does It Better" and "Coming Around Again".

Simon's career began with a short-lived music group with her sister Lucy as The Simon Sisters. They had a minor hit in 1964 called "Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod", and made three albums together before Lucy left to get married and start a family. Later, Carly Simon collaborated with eclectic New York rockers Elephant's Memory for about six months. She also appeared in the 1971 Milos Forman movie Taking Off, playing an auditioning singer, and sang "Long Term Physical Effects", which was included in Taking Off, the 1971 soundtrack for the movie.

Simon's major breakthrough was 1972's No Secrets. The album spawned several successful singles, including Simon's biggest hit, "You're So Vain". Simon continued to produce successful albums through the 1970s and early 1980s, moving into film scores after she was dropped by her record label in 1985. She performed the main title song for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me - "Nobody Does It Better" which was a worldwide hit in 1977.

Pretty Strange
Carly Simon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Love
Who knows about love
And even those who do know
Won't reveal it

Back when you were in your prime
Love was just a waste of time
Once you'd flirt discreetly

Now you give completely
That's pretty strange
You can try to play at love
Even be blas© at love
But although you doubt it
You can't live without it
That's pretty strange

Love
Who knows about it
And even those who do know
Won't reveal it

Love can make you cry sometimes
Make you want to die sometimes
But when cryin's done then

Love is so much fun then
That's pretty strange

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Carly Simon's song Pretty Strange delve into the complexity of love and the contrasting emotions that come with it. The opening lines suggest that love is a mysterious concept that even those who understand it choose to keep it to themselves. This implies that love can be a personal experience and varies from person to person.

The rest of the song talks about how different love can be in different phases of life. In the past, when the singer was young, she never saw the value in love and deemed it a waste of time. However, as she grew older and fell in love, her perspective changed as she began to commit to love with total surrender. This shift in perception is described as "pretty strange."

The song also acknowledges that love can be challenging, as it can make one cry and even want to die. But, in the end, love is enjoyable and fulfilling. The last line suggests that despite the pain, love is an essential aspect of life and worth the trouble.

Overall, the song Pretty Strange highlights the complexity of love as a human experience that is both challenging and rewarding.

Line by Line Meaning

Love
The concept of love

Who knows about love
It is hard to have a comprehensive understanding of love

And even those who do know
Even people who understand love

Won't reveal it
May not be able to clearly articulate their understanding of love

Back when you were in your prime
When you were younger and more attractive

Love was just a waste of time
You may have thought that love was not worth pursuing

Once you'd flirt discreetly
You used to play hard to get

Now you give completely
You are willing to give your all in a relationship

That's pretty strange
A shift in attitude towards love can be surprising

You can try to play at love
You can make an attempt at being in love