Somebody That I Used To Know

The lyrics describe someone looking back on a relationship that brought both closeness and loneliness. The speaker says the breakup was probably necessary, and even admits to feeling glad it ended. Yet the other person’s sudden, complete rejection still hurts. The repeated phrase “somebody that I used to know” shows the speaker trying to accept that a once-important person has become a stranger.

Several expressions make the feelings vivid. “Addicted to a certain kind of sadness” suggests that familiar unhappiness can become hard to leave, even when it causes pain. “Cut me off” means ending contact abruptly, while “make out like it never happened” means behaving as if the relationship was never real. The detail of friends collecting records and a changed phone number gives these ideas a concrete, final quality.

The speaker’s feelings are not entirely settled. They insist they do not need the other person’s love, but keep returning to the hurt of being treated like a stranger. Later, they recall feeling blamed for things that went wrong, which complicates the earlier picture of the relationship. The lyrics do not establish exactly who was at fault; instead, they present a painful mix of relief, resentment, and lingering attachment.