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).
The Only Way
Gotye Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The end of the journey's in sight
You've travelled so far love
Now all of the stars are aligned
Say goodbye (I don't want to)
Don't you fight (I don't want to)
Leaving your life's no easy ride
All the grief you gave
All the love you made
All your yesterdays
Everything you were
Will fade
This is the only way
All the things you thought
You came here for
Everything you thought
You knew for sure
No meandering
No more wondering
Everything is true
All the things you thought you had to say
Everyone you left along the way
So you gather how
Nothing matters now that your time is through
This is the only way
Gotye's "The Only Way" is a reflective song about the end of a journey and the acceptance of mortality. The lyrics are addressed to a person who is nearing the end of their life and is being urged to accept it without fighting. The opening lines of the song, "Calm down now baby/The end of the journey's in sight/You've travelled so far love/Now all of the stars are aligned" are meant to comfort the listener, to tell them that they have reached a point where they can stop and rest after all their hardships. The line "All the stars are aligned" suggests that everything has fallen into place, that everything in their life has led them to this point.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "This is the only way" several times, which can be interpreted in different ways. It could mean that death is the only way to end life, or it could mean that death is the only way to find peace and acceptance. The next verse talks about all the things that the person has done in their life, both good and bad, and how they will all eventually fade away. The line "Everything is true" suggests that the person has achieved a kind of clarity about their life and their choices.
The final verse of the song is about letting go of everything that the person thought was important or meaningful. The line "No meandering/No more wondering" suggests that the person has finally found a sense of resolution, that they no longer need to search for answers or meaning. The song ends with the line "This is the only way," which, again, can be interpreted in different ways. It could be seen as a final acceptance of death or as a reminder that life is precious and should be lived to the fullest.
Line by Line Meaning
Calm down now baby
Take a deep breath and relax, everything is going to be okay
The end of the journey's in sight
You're close to the end of your journey, keep going
You've travelled so far love
You've come a long way in this journey
Now all of the stars are aligned
Everything in the universe is working together in your favor
Say goodbye (I don't want to)
It's time to say goodbye, but it's okay to feel sad about it
Don't you fight (I don't want to)
Don't resist the natural process of saying goodbye
Leaving your life's no easy ride
Saying goodbye to your life and the people in it can be difficult
All the grief you gave
All the pain and sorrow you caused others
All the love you made
All the positive relationships you had and the love you shared
All your yesterdays
All of your past experiences and memories
Everything you were
All of your past actions and the person you used to be
Will fade
All of those things will become distant memories
This is the only way
Saying goodbye and moving on is the only way to find closure and move forward
All the things you thought
Everything you believed or assumed to be true
You came here for
The reasons you came into this world or pursued certain goals
Everything you thought
All of your assumptions and beliefs
You knew for sure
The things you were positive or confident about
No meandering
No more aimless wandering and uncertainty
No more wondering
No more doubting or questioning yourself and your path
Everything is true
Everything has become clear and truthful
All the things you thought you had to say
All of the things you felt obligated to say or reveal
Everyone you left along the way
All of the people you have left behind in your journey
So you gather how
You now understand how
Nothing matters now that your time is through
No material possessions or worldly matters hold any importance as your time here is over
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bruno Andre H Libert, Raymond Alexandre I Vincent, Walter Andre De Backer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rickardsanchez4602
Calm down now baby
The end of the journey's in sight
You've travelled so far love
Now all of the stars are aligned
Say goodbye (I don't want to)
Don't you fight (I don't want to)
Leaving your life's no easy ride
All the grief you gave
All the love you made
All your yesterdays
Everything you were
Will fade
This is the only way
All the things you thought
You came here for
Everything you thought
You knew for sure
No meandering
No more…
@vidlwebby3304
Calm down now baby
The end of the journey's in sight
You've traveled so far love
Now all of the stars are aligned
Say goodbye (I don't want to, I don't want to)
Don't you fight (I don't want to, I don't want to)
Leaving your life's no easy ride
All the grief you gave
All the love you made
All your yesterdays
Everything you were
Will fade
This is the only way (This is the only way)
Calm down now baby
The end of the journey's in sight
You've traveled so far love
Now all of the stars are aligned
All the things you thought you came here for
Everything you thought you knew for sure
No meandering, no more wondering
Everything is true
All the things you thought you had to say
Everyone you left along the way
So you gather how nothing matters now
That your time is through
Say goodbye (I don't want to, I don't want to)
Don't you fight (I don't want to, I don't want to)
Leaving your life's no easy ride
This is the only way (This is the only way)
This is the only way (This is the only way)
This is the only way (This is the only way)
This is the only way (This is the only way)
This is the only way
This is the only way
This is the only way
This is the only
@ibeanthere233
Calm down now baby
The end of the journey's in sight
You've travelled so far love
Now all of the stars are aligned
Say goodbye (I don't want to)
Don't you fight (I don't want to)
Leaving your life's no easy ride
All the grief you gave
All the love you made
All your yesterdays
Everything you were
Will fade
This is the only way
Calm down now baby
The end of the journey's in sight
You've travelled so far love
Now all of the stars are aligned
All the things you thought
You came here for
Everything you thought
You knew for sure
No meandering
No more wondering
Everything is true
All the things you thought you had to say
Everyone you left along the way
So you gather how
Nothing matters now that your time is through
Say goodbye (I don't want to)
Don't you fight (I don't want to)
Leaving your life's no easy ride
This is the only way
@shinigamikitsune1541
Gotye is truly iconic, but he's so criminally underrated...
@sylarbates2721
so, he couldn´t be iconic... xd
@uihirasawa843
@Sylar Bates iconic because of that one song, but underrated because it's the only song people know him for
@WordUnheard
The happiest, most upbeat song about dying I've ever had the privilege of listening to.
@futurismo7655
I find it completely stupid that a lot of people don’t know that he has other songs and not just somebody that i used to know
@leodanijrmederos1145
Yeah
@ifureaddisugay
@Jack Pandalordwhat other band, whats it called?
@ifureaddisugay
@Jack Pandalord thank you
@chugetnuget6230
@ifureaddis ugay wait what is the band? His comment has
@the1ntr0vert87
Out of Australia he didn’t really exist maybe in the UK. A lot people just thought that was his first song.