Backer was born in Belgium, but moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia when he was two. Originally a member of the indie band Downstares, Backer began performing under the name Gotye in 2001 when the band disbanded. Aside from his solo work, De Backer has been a member of the indie band The Basics since its formation in 2002.
Gotye's second album Like Drawing Blood was featured by Triple J in May 2006 and was voted Number 1 in the listeners poll of the Best Album of 2006 . The album was also nominated for a J Award that year. Two tracks from that album, Learnalilgivinanlovin and Heart's A Mess, were ranked 94 and 8 respectively in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2006. Like Drawing Blood has been certified Platinum.
In September 2006, Gotye was nominated for an Australian Recording Industry Music Award (ARIA award) for best independent release for his album Like Drawing Blood, and won 'Most Outstanding New Independent Artist' at the inaugural Australian Independent Record (AIR) Chart Awards.
In 2007, Gotye won the ARIA for best male artist. As a result of the publicity of the nomination, Like Drawing Blood re-entered the ARIA album chart and was named iTunes UK Album of the Year in 2008.
In 2009, Heart's A Mess came in at #77 in Triple J Hottest 100 of all time, voted by the Australian public.
Amidst the lead-up to Gotye's third album, Like Drawing Blood re-entered the ARIA charts in mid 2011, peaking at its highest ever position of 13.
After the success of Like Drawing Blood, De Backer was able to establish a permanent home, still in Melbourne's South East. In 2010, De Backer set up a recording studio in a barn at his parents' farm and set about recording tracks for his third album. He released a new single, Eyes Wide Open, in mid-October 2010, online and on 10" vinyl. The single received generally positive reviews and reached number 25 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010. It was also shortlisted for the 2011 APRA Music Awards in the Song of the Year category.
In late March 2011, De Backer revealed the album's title to be Making Mirrors. This title was inspired by an artwork, painted by De Backer's father in the 1980s, discovered by De Backer amongst old bills and newspapers in his parents' barn, which was later edited in Photoshop to become the album artwork. "The mirror reflects on artwork and it is all very related to self-reflection and introspection on the album."
On 19 May, it was announced that the album would be released on 19 August 2011, with the album launch the following day at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Graphic Festival which will feature animators and a 10-piece orchestra as part of Gotye's performance. De Backer also released a follow-up single to Eyes Wide Open titled Somebody That I Used to Know, which was released 6 July 2011, and debuted at #27 on the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. The single became something of a sensation, quickly moving up the ARIA singles chart despite comparatively low airplay to many other charting singles at the time. The track was further boosted by endorsements from well-known celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Lily Allen via Twitter, exposing Gotye's music to their millions of followers. The single has gone on to reach 6× Platinum (420,000 units sold) status.
On 15 July 2011, it was announced that Gotye's single Somebody That I Used to Know had come third in the 2011 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition. As part of the prize, Gotye won a spot to perform at Song Summit 2012 at Darling Harbour, 26–28 May 2012.
On its first week of release, Making Mirrors came in at number one on the ARIA Australian album chart, making Gotye the first Australian act to simultaneously hold both the number one single and album since Silverchair, who achieved the same feat in 2007.
On 11 October 2011, it was announced that Gotye had been nominated for seven ARIA Awards. Due to the release date restrictions of the eligibility period, Making Mirrors could not be nominated, and the seven nominations all related to the single Somebody That I Used to Know. Gotye was nominated for Highest Selling Single, Single of the Year, Best Pop Release, Best Male Artist and three awards in the ARIA Artisan category: Best Video (Natasha Pincus), Engineer of the Year (Francois Tetaz) and Producer of the Year (Wally De Backer). On the same day the nominations were revealed, the winners of the Artisan categories were announced, with Gotye and the album personnel winning all three. On 27 November 2011, Gotye took out three of the four remaining ARIA Award nominations. Single of the Year, Best Male Artist and Best Pop Release.
"Somebody That I Used To Know" has become an international hit, reaching #1 in Australia, Belgium, United Kingdom, Poland, Austria, Ireland, Norway, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Germany, and also reached #1 on the alternative radio airplay charts in The United States and Canada (on the pop charts in those countries, the song has reached #5 and #11, respectively).
Dig Your Own Hole
Gotye Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Still you can't say no
Ever playing upon your mind
But you won't say why
(So shut up!)
Unless you're ready to leave it
(Or make up your mind)
(Do you really believe in it?)
Yes I do
From time to time
In the end
You dig yourself the hole you're in
When you don't know what you want
You just repeat yourself again
In the end
You just repeat yourself again
When you don't know who you are
You dig yourself the hole you're in
(Don't worry)
It's only in your mind
(Don't worry)
But I do
From time to time
You just repeat yourself again
(Don't worry)
You just repeat yourself again
(Don't worry)
You just repeat yourself again
(Don't worry)
You just repeat yourself again
Still it's the wrong way round
And you won't say no
Ever playing upon your mind
But you won't say why
(So shut up!)
Unless you're ready to leave it
(Or make up your mind)
But you need it so much
(Do you really believe in it?)
Yes I do, I do, this time
In the end
You dig yourself the hole you're in
When you don't know what you want
You just repeat yourself again
In the end
You just repeat yourself again
When you don't know who you are
You dig yourself the hole you're in
In the end
(Unless you're ready to leave it)
You just repeat yourself again
(But you don't know you need it)
When you don't know who you are
(Do you really believe in it?)
You dig yourself the hole you're in
The general meaning of the song “Dig Your Own Hole” by Gotye is about the recurring patterns of self-destructive behavior, despite knowing fully well that it's wrong. It is about getting stuck in an endless cycle of repeating mistakes and not being able to break free from it, leading to self-sabotage. The opening line, “And you know it's the wrong way round/ Still, you can't say no,” seems to suggest a person going down the wrong path but refusing to acknowledge the fact that they need to stop. The chorus, “In the end, you dig yourself the hole you're in/ When you don't know what you want/ You just repeat yourself again/ When you don't know who you are/ You dig yourself the hole you're in,” indicates that repeating damaging patterns can lead to a place of emptiness and confusion.
The verses suggest that this cycle of self-destruction has something to do with the past. The line, “Ever playing upon your mind/ But you won't say why” suggests that the individual is trying to bury or hide something, leading to a constant reminder that resurfaces time and again. The line, “Unless you're ready to leave it” suggests that the person is keeping some sort of secret or not facing a truth about themselves that either needs to be confronted, or they need to leave it behind. The song seems to be suggesting that it is up to the individual to stop this cycle, to learn from their mistakes, and not dig themselves further into the hole they have created.
Line by Line Meaning
And you know it's the wrong way round
You recognize that you're going about things the wrong way
Still you can't say no
You're unable to refuse and say 'no' to what's not good for you
Ever playing upon your mind
You're always thinking about it
But you won't say why
You refuse to discuss why it's on your mind
(So shut up!)
Stop worrying and be quiet about it
(Or make up your mind)
Decide to either leave it or choose it
(Do you really believe in it?)
Are you genuinely sure about it?
But you need it so much
However, you're in dire necessity of it
Yes I do
Yes, you have faith in it from time to time
From time to time
Occasionally
In the end
Ultimately
You dig yourself the hole you're in
You're responsible for landing yourself in trouble
When you don't know what you want
When you're clueless with your interests
You just repeat yourself again
You tend to repeat the same mistakes over and over
When you don't know who you are
When you're unsure of your identity
(Don't worry)
Do not fret
It's only in your mind
It's just in your head
But I do
But you worry about this from time to time
You just repeat yourself again
You tend to repeat the same mistakes over and over
Still it's the wrong way round
Despite your knowledge about it being wrong, you go about things the wrong way
(So shut up!)
Stop worrying and be quiet about it
(Or make up your mind)
Decide to either leave it or choose it
But you need it so much
However, you're in dire necessity of it
Yes, I do, I do, this time
I have faith in it this time
Unless you're ready to leave it
Unless you're ready to walk away from it
But you don't know you need it
You do not realize that you're in dire necessity of it
You dig yourself the hole you're in
You're responsible for landing yourself in trouble
When you don't know who you are
When you're unsure of your identity
Contributed by Michael V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Lorde_Peter-Pan
And you know it's the wrong way round
Still you can't say no
Ever playing upon your mind
But you won't say why
Unless you're ready to leave it
(Or make up your mind)
But you need it so much
(Do you really believe in it?)
Yes I do
From time to time
In the end
You dig yourself the hole you're in
When you don't know what you want
You just repeat yourself again
In the end
You just repeat yourself again
When you don't know who you are
You dig yourself the hole you're in
It's only in your mind
(Don't worry)
But I do
From time to time
You just repeat yourself again
(Don't worry)
You just repeat yourself again
(Don't worry)
You just repeat yourself again
(Don't worry)
You just repeat yourself again
Still it's the wrong way round
And you won't say no
Ever playing…
@Unicronicorn
This song not being on Spotify is honestly criminal
@CharlesMontgomeryBurns.
It’s not on Apple Music either, only the music video.
@themusicboy9766
@@CharlesMontgomeryBurns. noooo
@oaf1575
True, the exact reason im here rn is so I can local file it onto my Spotify
@millie4596
looks up song on YouTube in depression
@carrothairs
@@oaf1575 didnt even realize i could do this. Thanks!
@mayahw4948
Whoever creates this guy's visuals deserves an award.
@reecerice3033
Saiman Chow
@Aldestructo
Agreed
@theartfulrogers
I agree, they're incredible. Every video is mind blowing. I done some research and they are award winning! Rubber House is an award-winning animation studio based in Melbourne and Sydney run by directing-duo Greg Sharp and Ivan Dixon. Rubber House creates hand-drawn animation for commercials, music videos, childrens’ series and games, for people like Bethesda, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, Warner Brothers, VICE, Gotye, Jib Jab and JASH.