Paul Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician from Minne… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician from Minneapolis, best known as the former lead singer and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. Since The Replacements broke up in 1991, Westerberg has recorded several solo albums under his own name as well as the moniker Grandpaboy, and written songs for movies including Singles and Open Season. Westerberg has one son.

Got You Down
Paul Westerberg Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Got you Down
He's got your number
Knows where you'll be found
But he don't know everything
Still he's got you down

Like Christopher Columbus
In a world that's flat

He don't know everything

Try telling you that
Or Harry Houdini
He has escaped your grasp
That man is hard to hold
Try telling you that
he's got your number

Knows where you'll be found
But he don't know everything
Still he's got you down
he's got you down

He knows you like the back of his hand
Like Rudolph Valentino
The great lover of your life
It?s been a while since you seen him
I'm sure he's not with his wife

he's got your number
Knows where you'll be found
But he don't know nothin'
Still he's got you down
He's got your number
And he's got you down

But he don't know nothin'
Still he's got you down

Overall Meaning

In the song "Got You Down," Paul Westerberg tells a story of someone with certainty about another person's life. The opening lines "He's got your number, Knows where you'll be found" suggest that the person being sung about is being stalked or monitored by someone who has a keen interest in their life. However, the last line of the first stanza "But he don't know everything, Still, he's got you down" suggests that there might be more to this person's life than meets the eye, and the observer might have underestimated them.

The second stanza goes on to use Christopher Columbus and Harry Houdini as metaphors for this phone stalker on the person being sung about. Just like Columbus thought the world was flat and didn't know everything, so too, the observer thinks they know everything about the person they are stalking but may have overlooked some things. The line "he's escaped your grasp" suggests that certain aspects of the person's life are out of reach or not available to the observer, just like Houdini was hard to hold.

The third stanza refers to how well the observer knows the person they are stalking, with the metaphor "He knows you like the back of his hand." The line "Like Rudolph Valentino, the great lover of your life" suggests that the person being sung about is possibly a romantic interest and has moved on from someone they once loved. The final line of the song "But he don't know nothin', still, he's got you down" suggests that the observer might not know everything about this person's life, but they still think they have them figured out.

Line by Line Meaning

Got you Down
Feeling low and dejected

He's got your number
He has figured you out

Knows where you'll be found
Predicts your movements and locations

But he don't know everything
There are still things he doesn't know about you

Still he's got you down
He understands your personality and behavior

Like Christopher Columbus
He is exploring and discovering you

In a world that's flat
In a world where everything seems mundane and predictable

Try telling you that
He won't believe you if you tell him otherwise

Or Harry Houdini
He is elusive and difficult to catch

He has escaped your grasp
He has managed to avoid being caught or exposed

That man is hard to hold
He is difficult to pin down or understand fully