Meaning of “Gavotte”

Perhaps you, like me, like the song “You’re so Vain” by Carly Simon. When the song came out and was first popular, one of my best friends had a vague understanding of what the word meant and shared that with me, but until today, I never looked it up!

an old French dance in moderately quick quadruple meter.

The song becomes more lively when one sees this video to know what “gavotte” means. Have a sense of humor here, folks. To contrast the mood and culture of the U.S. in 1972 with this video demonstration is funny. Simon wrote the song about a self-absorbed lover, referring to three different men, in particular, Warren Beatty.

Lyrics..

Son of a gun

You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht 
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye 
Your scarf it was apricot 
You had one eye in the mirror, as you watched yourself gavotte 
And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner 
They’d be your partner and

You’re so vain 
You probably think this song is about you

You’re so vain (you’re so vain) 
I bet you think this song is about you 
Don’t you, don’t you?

You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive 
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair and that you would never leave 
But you gave away the things you loved 
And one of them was me 
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee and 
You’re so vain

You probably think this song is about you 
You’re so vain, you’re so vain 
I bet you think this song is about you 
Don’t you don’t you, don’t you?

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee and

You’re so vain 
You probably think this song is about you 
You’re so vain (you’re so vain) 
I bet you think this song is about you 
Don’t you don’t you

Well I hear you went up to Saratoga 
And your horse naturally won 
Then you flew your lear jet up to Nova Scotia 
To see the total eclipse of the sun

Well you’re where you should be all the time 
And when you’re not, you’re with some underworld spy 
Or the wife of a close friend, wife of a close friend and

You’re so vain 
You probably think this song is about you 
You’re so vain (so vain) 
I bet you think this song is about you 
Don’t you don’t you, don’t you, don’t you now

You’re so vain 
You probably think this song is about you 
You’re so vain 
Probably think this song about you 
You’re so vain