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).
Waiting For You
Gotye Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And as always I'm stuck on the same thing
You, and the perfect unfailing
Love that you may bring me
Know you won't come for me
But faith knows no reality
So I'll wait an eternity
The lyrics of Gotye's song "Waiting for You" depicts a person who is waiting for their ideal partner, who they believe will bring them the perfect, unfailing love that they desire. As the song progresses, it becomes clear that this person has been waiting for a long time, and despite knowing that their ideal partner may never come, they remain steadfast in their faith that they will.
The lyrics also hint at the pain and loneliness that this waiting has caused, with the subject being stuck on the same thing and feeling forgotten. However, their faith in the myth of a perfect love persists, and they are willing to wait for an eternity if necessary.
Overall, the song captures the frustration and longing that comes with waiting for someone or something that may never come. The subject's faith, while admirable, is also tinged with a sort of desperation and sadness that is palpable in the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Forgotten how long I've been waiting
It's been so long that I can't remember how long I've been waiting for you
And as always I'm stuck on the same thing
I'm always thinking about you and wanting you here with me
You, and the perfect unfailing
I'm waiting for someone like you, someone who's perfect and will never let me down
Love that you may bring me
I'm waiting for you to come and bring me the love that I'm longing for
Know you won't come for me
Deep down I know that you won't come for me, but I can't help but hope
But faith knows no reality
My faith in you and our love transcends reality and logic
So I'll wait an eternity
I'll wait for you for as long as it takes, even if it feels like an eternity
Here for you
I'm always here waiting for you, no matter what happens or how much time passes
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Walter Andre De Backer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Venissy4
I would have taken ten hours of this divine song made in heaven...
@justelilly
"Waiting For You"
Forgotten how long I've been waiting
And as always I'm stuck on the same thing
You, and the perfect unfailing
Love that you may bring me
Know you won't come for me
But faith knows no reality
So I'll wait an eternity
Here for you
@usernamebada42
A shockingly short track for Boardface... Still gives me the chills
@RazielDark
love is a strange thing...
@JKHFilms
Can’t seem to find this anywhere online
@3031mane
RIGHT! This was a part of a whole album and its not here
@3031mane
Update:
Album called Boardface
@azhagunilavan8708
It’s not in Spotify too
@vidlwebby3304
Forgotten how long I've been waiting
And as always I'm stuck on the same thing
You, and the perfect unfailing
Love that you may bring me
Know you won't come for me
But faith knows no reality
So i’ll wait an eternity (for you)
I’ve been waiting (for you)
Lie here waiting (for you)
It’s always the same thing
But i’m not complaining
@CosmikPlaysGD
Gotye is madly underrated, so that even his more "simple" songs are a whole gem. This being proof of such. 🤎💎